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For the seventeenth year in a row, Japanese horses dominated the Japan Cup (G1), the country's premier race, with Vela Azul, a relative newcomer to the top level, in the lead role.
Inside the final 100 yards of the 42nd edition of the Japan Cup, the odds-on favourite, Shahryar, appeared to be pulling away from the second-place finisher, the equally popular Weltreisende. But the tides turned, and Vela Azul, in his maiden grade 1 race, squeezed through the opening and won by three-quarters of a length. Compared to 2021, Shahryar was in second place, and Weltreisende was in third.
The guests with impeccable credentials were out of luck. When compared to the other three, Grand Glory's sixth-place showing in June's Prince of Wales's Stakes (G1) at Ascot Racecourse was the best of the bunch. Onesto, winner of the Grand Prix de Paris (G1), finished seventh; Tunnes, winner of the group 1 in Munich in his most recent run, finished ninth; and Simca Mille, winner of the Qatar Prix Niel (G2), finished 15th.
Having been born at Northern Farm out of the Vela Blanca mare by Kurofune, Vela Azul's triumph was a huge step in the right direction. He had a disappointing start to his career, having won only twice in 16 dirt-track outings over his first two seasons. When trainer Kunihiko Watanabe shifted him to the turf, his performance improved significantly, and he won three of his first six turf races.
On October 10 at Hanshin Racecourse, Vela Azul won the Kyoto Daishoten (G2), also at 2,400 metres, in his sole previous outing in a graded stakes race.
Vela Azul was an unexpected challenger, but Shahryar was showing signs of improvement despite losing ground in the last yards and placing second. A Deep Impact colt named Shahryar, then aged four, won the Tokyo Yushun (Japanese Derby-G1) and placed third in the 2021 Japan Cup. In 2022, he began with a win in the Longines Dubai Sheema Classic (G1) at Meydan, but he then placed fourth in the Prince of Wales's (beaten by a head by Grand Glory) and sixth in the Tenno Sho Autumn (G1) on October 30 after returning from a brief summer vacation.
Even though she won the Triple Tiara for Japanese fillies in 2020, Daring Tact was fourth in the Japan Cup, losing by only 1 1/2 lengths. In 2020, she finished behind Almond Eye and the other two contenders for the renewal's top spot.