Aristoteles

Japan stages a pair of 'all-star' races each season, the G1 Takarazuka Kinen in early summer and the G1 Arima Kinen at year's end, giving fans a chance to vote for their favourite runners. The last four runnings of these events have been won by females--Lys Gracieux (Jpn) completed the double in 2019, while Chrono Genesis (Jpn) (Bago {Fr}) repeated the feat last year. The latter, who scored by six lengths last June, is back to defend her title in the final top-level test of the first half of the...

The G1 Tenno Sho (Spring), first run at Hanshin in 1938, was subsequently moved to Kyoto, but returns to Hanshin for the 2021 renewal as Kyoto undergoes extensive renovation this spring. Among this season's likely favorites, Aristoteles (Jpn) (Epiphaneia {Jpn}) finished runner up behind 2020 Japanese Triple Crown hero Contrail (Jpn) in last fall's G1 Kikura Sho (Japanese St. Leger) before taking the 2,200-meter G2 American Jockey Club Cup at Nakayama Jan. 24. Heavily favored in his latest start in the G2 Hanshin Daishoten over 3,000 meters Mar. 21, the...