By Alan Carasso
A full field of 18 juveniles heads to the post for the final Group 1 event on the JRA calendar, Saturday's Hopeful Stakes over the metric mile and a quarter at Nakayama Racecourse. And the entrants will be looking to join an honour roll that includes the likes of future luminaries such as Epiphaneia (Jpn), Rey de Oro (Jpn), Saturnalia (Jpn) and Contrail (Jpn), who would go on to secure the Triple Crown the following season. As recently as last weekend, the Hopeful form received the best kind of advertisement when 2023 heroine Regaleira (Jpn) (Suave Richard {Jpn}) repeated the dose against the boys in the G1 Arima Kinen over this course.
Like Regaleira, Croix du Nord (Jpn) (Kitasan Black {Jpn}) carries the recognizable colours of Sunday Racing and brings a record of two-from-two into this contest. Unveiled as a 5-1 chance in an 1800-metre newcomers' event at Tokyo June 9, the homebred colt duly obliged by a comfortable 2 1/2 lengths, and he has made just one appearance since, a 3/4-length success in the G2 Tokyo Sports Hai Nisai Stakes at headquarters Nov. 16.
“He moved really nicely,” jockey Yuichi Kitamura said following trackwork on Christmas Day. “He tends to race on his right lead a lot, so this morning we had him change to the left lead in the stretch as a signal that this is the final stage and he did that very well. He has no bad points and gets high marks for his overall ability.”
The commonly owned Magic Sands (Jpn) (Kizuna {Jpn}) is also perfect in his two career trips to the post, a debut success at Hakodate July 7 followed by a nose tally over Arma Veloce (Jpn) (Harbinger {GB}) in the G3 Sapporo Nisai Stakes Aug. 31. The latter was most recently seen causing a minor upset in the G1 Hanshin Juvenile Fillies on Dec. 8.
Giovanni (Jpn), a son of the aforementioned Epiphaneia, has some longshot appeal if Kohei Matsuyama is able to work out a trip from the inside barrier. A first-out maiden winner at Kokura in July, he was narrowly beaten into second in a one-win conditions test Sept. 21 and exits a close runner-up effort in the G2 Kyoto Nisai Stakes on Nov. 23.
US-bred Del Avar (Frankel {GB}) came from well back to graduate at first asking at Fukushima in late June, but was void of excuses when a midfield fifth behind Croix du Nord last time out.
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