On the weekend prior to the Japan Cup at Tokyo, Kyoto Racecourse once again hosts the top-level racing, with the Mile Championship in its traditional spot amid the stunning fall foliage on the third weekend in November.
The second leg of the Japan Autumn International, the Mile Championship this year marks its 30th running.
Although open to foreign horses, this year’s edition is all-local. Tosen Ra and Danon Shark are the top-rated horses in the field, followed closely by Grand Prix Boss, Dark Shadow and Curren Black Hills.
Like its spring counterpart the Yasuda Kinen, the Mile Championship determines the top miler for the season.
Japan Racing on TwinSpires starts at 8pm ET/5pm PT this Saturday.
FREE Past Performances for the horses nominated to the Mile Championship
Field for the 2013 Group 1 Japan Racing Mile Championship
| Post | Horse | Trainer | Jockey | Odds |
| 1 | Copano Richard(JPN) | Toru Miya | Suguru Hamanaka | TBD |
| 2 | Sadamu Patek(JPN) | Masato Nishizono | Ryuji Wada | TBD |
| 3 | Red Oval(JPN) | Takayuki Yasuda | Mirco Demuro | TBD |
| 4 | Daiwa Maggiore(JPN) | Yoshito Yahagi | Masayoshi Ebina | TBD |
| 5 | Tosen Ra(JPN) | Hideaki Fujiwara | Yutaka Take | TBD |
| 6 | Garbo(JPN) | Hidekatsu Shimizu | Syu Ishibashi | TBD |
| 7 | Sanrei Laser(JPN) | Yoshitada Takahashi | Kota Fujioka | TBD |
| 8 | Curren Black Hill(JPN) | Osamu Hirata | Yasunari Iwata | TBD |
| 9 | Danon Yoyo(JPN) | Hidetaka Otonashi | Hideaki Miyuki | TBD |
| 10 | Donau Blue(JPN) | Sei Ishizaka | William Buick | TBD |
| 11 | Sakura Gospel(JPN) | Tomohito Ozeki | Norihiro Yokoyama | TBD |
| 12 | Clarente(JPN) | Kojiro Hashiguchi | Yuga Kawada | TBD |
| 13 | Danon Shark(JPN) | Ryuji Okubo | Yuichi Fukunaga | TBD |
| 14 | L’Ile d’Aval(JPN) | Yasutoshi Ikee | Mickael Barzalona | TBD |
| 15 | Dark Shadow(JPN) | Noriyuki Hori | Ryan Moore | TBD |
| 16 | Grand Prix Boss(JPN) | Yoshito Yahagi | Christophe Lemaire | TBD |
| 17 | Meine Isabel(JPN) | Takahiro Mizuno | Masami Matsuoka | TBD |
| 18 | Real Impact(JPN) | Noriyuki Hori | Keita Tosaki | TBD |
2013 Mile Championship Information
Date: Saturday, November 16
Where: Kyoto Racecourse, Japan
Distance: 1,600 meters, Turf (about 8 furlongs)
Conditions: 3yo & up, fillies & mares
Purse: about US$ 2,311,000
About the Mile Championship
The Mile Championship, for 3-year-olds and up, was founded in 1984 to help bolster the short distance program of the JRA, which for long had been built around longer events. The Mile Championship began accepting horses from overseas in 1998 — a maximum of nine are currently allowed — and received international Grade 1 status in 2004. This year, however, no horses from abroad will be competing.
A full field of 18 starts on the back stretch of the outer oval at the right-handed Kyoto track, which runs flat for close to 600 meters before turning upward. The course rises for four meters over 400 meters, then dips into the final turn before a flat straight that runs for more than 400 meters to the finish line.
A Shin Forward holds the race and course record of 1 minute 31.8 seconds set in 2010.
Past Winners of the Mile Championship
| Year | Winner | Jockey | 2nd | 3rd |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 2012 | Sadamu Patek (JPN) | Y. Take | Grand Prix Boss (JPN) | Donau Blue (JPN) |
| 2011 | Eishin Apollon (USA) | K. Ikezoe | Fifth Petal (JPN) | Sahpresa (FR) |
| 2010 | A Shin Forward (JPN) | Y. Iwata | Danon Yoyo (JPN) | Gorski (JPN) |
| 2009 | Company(JPN) | N. Yokoyama | Meiner Falke (JPN) | Sahpresa (FR) |
| 2008 | Blumenblatt(JPN) | Yutaka Yoshida | Super Hornet(JPN) | Fine Grain(JPN) |
| 2007 | Daiwa Major(JPN) | Katsumi Ando | Super Hornet(JPN) | Suzuka Phoenix(JPN) |
| 2006 | Daiwa Major(JPN) | Katsumi Ando | Dance in the Mood(JPN) | Symboli Gran(IRE) |
| 2005 | Hat Trick(JPN) | Olivier Peslier | Daiwa Major(JPN) | Daiwa Major(JPN) |
About Kyoto Racecourse
The Mile Championship is run over 1600m on turf on a right-handed track. The race starts from the chute at the second turn, traveling flat for 400m to the third turn. The third turn, which is the remaining 800m to the finish, is the highest point of the track. From the backstretch to the third turn, horses travel uphill for 3.6m (0.9%) for 400m, and there is steep downhill of 3.2m (2.28%) for 140m leading to the fourth turn to the homestretch. The 403m homestretch is flat throughout.
