The Osaka Hai, the first JRA Grade 1 middle-distance race of 2026 will be held on Sunday, April 5. It will be the first of back-to-back Grade 1 races at Hanshin Racecourse, followed by the Oka Sho (Japanese 1000 Guineas) seven days later.
The race’s history goes back to 1957, when it was a handicap run over 1,800 meters and known as the Sankei Osaka Hai. In 1972, the distance was extended to 2,000 meters and it acquired Grade 2 status in 1984, becoming an international race in 2003. It is one of the most recent races on the Japanese racing calendar to be upgraded to Grade 1 level, which happened in 2017, the year it also became simply known as the Osaka Hai.
The race is for 4-year-olds and up, and there were 16 nominations for the 16-runner field, with some connections deciding to stay put in Japan, rather than take the trip to Dubai amid the Middle East conflict. All runners in the Osaka Hai are set to carry 58 kg, with a 2-kg allowance for fillies and mares.
First favorites have fared quite poorly in the last 10 years, with just two winning, and the latest one was Suave Richard in 2018. Better performances have come from 5-year-olds, who have won the race seven times since 2015. Bellagio Opera set a record time for the race in 2025, clocking 1 minute, 56.2 seconds.
Kazuo Yokoyama guides Bellagio Opera to victory in the 69th Osaka Hai at Hanshin Racecourse in Takarazuka, Hyogo Prefecture, on April 6, 2025. (©SANKEI)
Other big-name winners have included Orfevre (2013), Kizuna (2014) and Kitasan Black (2017).
About the Osaka Hai
Sunday’s winner’s check is ¥300 million JPY (nearly $2 million USD), and the winner also receives an automatic qualification to the Grade 1 Irish Champion Stakes at Leopardstown Racecourse in Dublin in September 2026.
For some of the Osaka Hai runners, February’s Grade 2 Kyoto Kinen, run over 2,200 meters, and the Grade 2 Nakayama Kinen, contested over 1,800 meters in early March, prepared them for Sunday’s event.
This will be the 70th running of the Osaka Hai, and it will be Race 11 on the Sunday card at Hanshin. Post time is 3:40 PM.
Here’s a look at some of the runners expected to be in the lineup:
Danon Decile Set for 2026 Debut
Danon Decile, the highest-ranked horse in the race, campaigned overseas in 2025. And he pulled off an exciting win in the Grade 1 Dubai Sheema Classic last April.
To close out the 2025 racing season, he finished third in both the Grade 1 Japan Cup and the Grade 1 Arima Kinen, and he’ll be making his first appearance of the year on Sunday.
The 5-year-old offspring of Epiphaneia has five career wins to his name, and is trained by Shogo Yasuda. Jockey Ryusei Sakai has been booked to take the ride, and it will be the first time for him to ride Danon Decile.
Croix du Nord sprints in the 92nd Japanese Derby on June 1, 2025, at Tokyo Racecourse. (©SANKEI)
Croix du Nord to Race at Hanshin for 1st Time
The reigning Tokyo Yushun (Japanese Derby) winner will also be having his first race of 2026. In addition, it’ll be Croix du Nord’s first-ever run at Hanshin. He was last seen finishing a creditable fourth in the Japan Cup, behind Calandagan in November 2025.
“He wasn’t so smooth going into the first corner last time, but ran well at the end of the race,” trainer Takashi Saito said, referring to the Japan Cup. “The first and second horses in the Japan Cup were strong, but he showed the same ability he had done in the Derby. He didn’t run in the Arima Kinen, but seems to have kept his condition well while staying at the farm.”
Regular jockey Yuichi Kitamura will ride Croix du Nord.
Lebensstil works out at the JRA Ritto Training Center on April 2. (©SANKEI)
Lebensstil Vying for 2nd Straight Win
Real Steel progeny Lebensstil, who is 6, has had mixed form in graded races. And after being beaten by Jantar Mantar in 2025’s Grade 1 Mile Championship, he came out and won his first start of this year in the Grade 2 Nakayama Kinen over 1,800 meters in early March.
“He ran well in the Nakayama Kinen, despite things being a bit rough going into the first corner,” assistant trainer Hiroyuki Yamazaki said.
“Keita Tosaki hadn’t ridden him since the Radio Nikkei Sho some time ago, but controlled the horse well and got the best out of him.”
Jockey Christophe Lemaire comes in for the ride on Lebensstil on Sunday.
Meisho Tabaru prepares for the Osaka Hai on March 26 in Ritto, Shiga Prefecture. (©SANKEI)
Meisho Tabaru Has Had Success on This Track
The course and distance of the Osaka Hai look to suit Meisho Tabaru, who galloped away to win the Grade 1 Takarazuka Kinen at Hanshin Racecourse in 2025. Sunday’s race will be the Osaka Hai frontrunner’s 2026 debut after a slightly disappointing effort in December’s Arima Kinen.
“He got to the front early on in his last race, but unfortunately couldn’t sustain his run to the finish,” trainer Mamoru Ishibashi said of the 5-year-old. “Thinking about it now, his condition wasn’t quite as good as it was for the Takarazuka Kinen.”
The trainer then said, “He’s currently quite relaxed and not as tense as he can be.”
Regular jockey Yutaka Take retains his association with Meisho Tabaru. The Japanese legend recently achieved the remarkable feat of riding a graded race winner every year of his 40-year riding career so far.
Read the rest of this article about the Osaka Hai and the Japanese horses in contention on JRA News.
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Author: JRA News
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