1 of 2 | Calandagan, world’s top-rated horse, stretches his legs on Thanksgiving Day at Tokyo Racecourse in preparation for Sunday’s Grade 1 Japan Cup. Photo by and courtesy of Katsumi Saito
Nov. 28 (UPI) — The Japan Cup caps a busy weekend of racing with American tracks offering important stakes races throughout the Thanksgiving weekend. The action includes official Kentucky Derby prep races in Japan and at Churchill Downs.
Jumping right in…
Japan
Calandagan brings world-topping credentials to Tokyo Racecourse on Sunday to take on a field that includes three Japanese Derby winners in the 45th running of the Grade 1 Japan Cup. He’s also taking on history.
Japanese horses have won every Japan Cup since Kentucky-bred, English-trained Alkaased turned the trick in 2005. No foreigner has even finished in the first three since Ouija Board was third in 2006. Calandagan, a 4-year-old Gleneagles colt representing the Aga Khan’s stables, has the credentials to break that string.
Calandagan tops the Longines World’s Best Racehorses Rankings and already has won the title of Cartier Horse of the Year. He has won three straight races, the Grand Prix de Saint-Cloud, the King George VI and Queen Elizabeth Stakes and the Qipco Champion Stakes, all Group 1 affairs.
Earlier this year, he was second in the Longines Dubai Sheema Classic and the Coronation Cup at Royal Ascot, also Group 1 races.
Still, trainer Francis-Henri Graffard acknowledges the difficulty of taking on Japanese horses on their home turf.
“It is going to be a very tough challenge. But I think I have the right horse to take on that challenge and hopefully it goes well,” he said.
Facing him is a field that includes Yushun Himba (Japanese Derby) winners Croix du Nord (2025), Danon Decile (2024) and Tastiera (2023). Danon Decile has the added edge of having defeated Calandagan by 1 1/4 lengths in the Sheema Classic in April.
The 2-year-olds
The “Japan Road to the Kentucky Derby” fires up with Saturday’s Cattleya Stakes at Tokyo Racecourse. It’s a wait-and-see deal with a field of 12 and no big favorite. With the rapid rise of Japanese horses through the ranks of world dirt racing, capped by Forever Young’s Breeders’ Cup Classic win earlier this month, the series is well worth watching.
Churchill Downs has its own Derby prep Saturday, the Grade II Kentucky Jockey Club Stakes at 1 1/16 miles, with seven colts looking to advance down the road to the Derby.
Several of the “usual suspect” Derby trainers — Bob Baffert, Brad Cox, Kenny McPeek, Steve Asmussen and Saffie Joseph Jr. — are represented. Todd Pletcher is resting undefeated Breeders’ Cup Juvenile winner and current Derby favorite Ned Toffey in Florida with an eye on the Florida Derby series.
Other open stakes for 2-year-olds: Oscar’s Hope, a Twirling Candy colt trained by Tom Amoss, won Wednesday’s $100,000 Jean Lafitte at Delta Downs, backing up a Nov. 1 win at Churchill Downs, and Walter the Mason won Tuesday’s Zia Park Juvenile.
Still on the slate: Friday’s Pulpit Stakes on the Gulfstream Park turf, Saturday’s Ed Brown stakes at 6 1/2 furlongs at Churchill Downs and Sunday’s Grade III Cecil B. DeMille on the Del Mar turf.
State-bred action includes the finals of Gulfstream Park’s Florida Sire Series, a pair of $400,00 races for Florida-breds, and Saturday’s Coronation Futurity and Princess Elizabeth at Woodbine, $250,000 (Canadian) heats for Canadian-bred juveniles.
Parx Racing in Pennsylvania and Zia Park in New Mexico also host-state-bred juvenile races.
The schedule for 2-year-old fillies is similar with the Grade III Golden Rod at Churchill Downs and the Grade III Jimmy Durante on the Del Mar grass.
Turf
Del Mar’s meeting winds down with a spate of turf racing.
Truly Quality tops the morning line in a competitive field of nine set for Friday’s $200,000 Grade II Hollywood Turf Cup at 1 1/2 miles.
Stay Hot, frequently a runner-up of late, is the pick in an equally competitive cast of nine for Saturday’s $200,000 Grade II Seabiscuit Handicap at 1 1/16 miles.
After an early scratch, eight remain for Saturday’s $300,000 Grade II Hollywood Derby. Test Score, who aced the Grade II Twilight Derby in his last start, gets the oddsmaker’s nod in that 1 1/8-mile tilt.
Filly & Mare Turf
Lush Lips is the solid favorite in a field of 12 3-year-old fillies for Friday’s $200,000 Grade II Mrs. Revere at Churchill Downs.
The British-bred daughter of Ten Sovereigns makes her seventh start of 2025, a campaign that includes three wins and three seconds. In her last two starts, the Brendan Walsh trainee finished second in the Grade I Del Mar Oaks and won the Grade I Queen Elizabeth II Challenge Cup at Keeneland.
Ag Bullet, last seen finishing second in the Breeders’ Cup Turf Sprint, returns to work in Sunday’s $300,000 Grade I Matriarch at Del Mar, looking to go last year’s script one better.
In 2025, the now 5-year-old daughter of Twirling Candy finished third in the Breeder’s Cup and third in the Matriarch.
Meanwhile, she had a productive summer, winning the Grade I Jaipur at Saratoga and the $2 million Ladies Turf Sprint at Kentucky Downs. This is no slam-dunk for anyone, though, with a really tough field of 10.
Proctor Street split rivals a furlong from home in Thursday’s $300,000 Cardinal at Churchill Downs, worked her way to a narrow lead and held on to win by 3/4 length over Awesome Czech.
Proctor Street, a 4-year-old Street Sense filly, finished 1 1/8 miles on firm turf in 1:49.65 with Tyler Gaffalione up for trainer Brendan Walsh and owner-breeder Patricia Moseley. She now has five wins, a second and a third from eight starts.
Classic
Rattle N Roll, whose career has taken him from Fairmount Park in Illinois to King Abdulaziz Racecourse in Saudi Arabia and Meydan in Dubai, returns to the shadow of the Twin Spires to try for a repeat of last year’s victory in Friday’s $600,000 Grade II Clark Stakes at Churchill Downs.
He did win at Fairmount in the St. Louis Derby and once in Riyadh, but was up the track in the big Middle Eastern races and again in the Grade II Lukas Classic in Louisville in September. He rebounded to finish second in the Grade III Fayette at Keeneland.
Three survivors of this year’s Triple Crown trail, Gosger, Chunk of Gold and Magnitude, also feature in the nine-horse field.
Sprint
Wendelssohn dueled with Komorebino Omoide nearing the finish of Thursday’s $175,000 Thanksgiving Classic at Fair Grounds, and then pulled away in the final strides to win by 1 1/2 lengths. The 4-year-old Mendelssohn colt ran 6 furlongs on fast track in 1:09.66 with Marcelino Pedroza Jr. aboard.
Distaff
Alpine Princess settled behind pacesetter Corningstone through the backstretch run in Thursday’s $400,000 Grade III Falls City at Churchill Downs, cranked it up on the turn and pulled away late to a 2-length victory. Corningstone held second with the favorite, Royal Spa, fifth.
Alpine Princess, a 4-year-old Classic Empire filly, ran 1 1/8 miles on a fast track in 1:50.46. The Brad Cox trainee bagged her first graded stakes win and sixth overall.
AloJapan.com