THE JAPANESE CLASSICS
Not really in the mood for work, so as promised, a short piece on the Japanese classic races and their English equivalent. The three races that make up the Triple Crown are the Tokyo Yushun (the Japanese Derby), the Kikuka Sho (the Japanese St Leger), and the Satsuki Sho (the Japanese 2000 Guineas).

The Tokyo Yushun, which was inaugurated in 1932, is held at the Tokyo-Fuchu track, while the other two were first ran just before the Second World War - the Kikuka Sho at Kyoto, and the Satsuki Sho at Nakayama in Chiba. It is perhaps the Kanto races that spawn the most famous racers, although Dance In The Dark, Mayano Top Gun and Mejiro McQueen stand out as recent winners of the long-distance event that didn't succeed in the two shorter ones.

The other true classics are the Yushun Himba (the Japanese Oaks) and the Oka Sho (the Japanese 1000 Guineas). For fillies only, both were inaugurated at the end of the 1930s, with the former held at Tokyo-Fuchu and the latter at the Hanshin track.

Other Japanese races of note, although not classics in the true sense of the definition in horse racing terms, are the Arima Kinen, which began in 1956 at Nakayama, and the Takarazuka Kinen, held at the Hanshin track since 1960. Both of these are all-star races, with the entry largely chosen by the public, meaning only the strongest, most popular horses of the year get to make it to the starting gate. As such, both are as close to a classic race as you'll get without actually being one.