Horse Racing: Japan Cup to be run for the 30th time
The Japan Cup is considered to be one of the most prestigious and hard to win horse racing events. The 30th running of this event will be held on Sunday.
The happening of this meet will provide the fans and experts of the sport an insight to how the Japanese horse racing industry has developed over the years. Sports analysts are of the view that the pace at which the Japanese racehorses have improved their
performances in the sport is spectacular.
The first ten runnings of the Japan Cup could not witness many racehorses of the home team win in the races, however the statistics improved consistently. Starting from a winning figure of two in the first 10 Japan Cups, the number has increased to eight
in the last 10 editions of one of the world’s best racing events. Moreover, the Japanese racehorse to have won the latest international event is Alkaased (in 2005). The colt was trained by Luca Cumai, while he was ridden by jockey Frankie Dettori.
The reason why the Japanese racing industry is eager to host the Japan Cup, despite numerous international events going around the world, is known to be honour and money. The purse money that is being offered in Tokyo is about $ 6.5 million. Apart from this
purse money that will extend to the 10th placing, the management has also announced the handing out of big bonuses. The criteria for awarding these bonuses will be the participation of champion racehorses. For instance, it has been revealed that
if So You Think (the Melbourne Cup runner up) comes to Tokyo, a bonus of $ 1.2 million will be given away.
The racehorses that are hopeful of winning away the bonus prizes include Nakayama Festa. He would be given a bonus of $ 600,000 if he manages to finish the event in one of the top three places. The colt is the runner up to the winner in the Arc de Triomphe
that was held in Paris last month. The same token money has been offered to Joshua Tree, the Canadian International winner. The racehorse will be awarded a prize of $ 1.2 million if he manages to win. Joshua tree has been trained by Aiden O’ Brien.
There is a lot of hype for the event as the Japan Cup is the richest horse racing event in the world and is a must see for the fans of the sport.
Tags: