Japan sends a delegation formed of eight runners to Hong Kong for FWD Champions Day at Sha Tin on 27 April. Although this is same number as last year, this is much stronger, as the team contained only two Group 1 winners last year, while four of eight horses are Group 1 winners this year.

Owners and trainers in Japan are convinced they need to send better horses to FWD Champions Day, as the competition has been getting tougher and tougher every year.

Ka Ying Rising is arguably the best sprinter in the world and it looks as if he is unbeatable in the G1 Chairman’s Sprint Prize (1200m), however, I believe punters should not neglect the four Japanese representatives in this race.

Satono Reve, trained by Noriyuki Hori who trained Maurice, Satono Crown, and Neorealism, all of whom were Group 1 winners in Hong Kong, finished third to Ka Ying Rising in the G1 LONGINES Hong Kong Sprint (1200m) last December. Sired by 2012 and 2013 LONGINES Hong Kong Sprint victor Lord Kanaloa, Satono Reve collected his first Group 1 at Chukyo on 30 March when he won the Takamatsunomiya Kinen (1200m) with Joao Moreira in the saddle. It looks like Satono Reve is still improving and is ready to perform better in Hong Kong this time.

Danon McKinley travelled to Hong Kong direct from Dubai, where he ran bravely and finished fourth in the G1 Al Quoz Sprint (1200m). He is by Maurice, who won the G1 LONGINES Hong Kong Mile (1600m) in 2015 and the G1 Champions Mile (1600m) and the G1 LONGINES Hong Kong Cup (2000m) in 2016, and should have inherited the character to act very well at Sha Tin.

The racing silks carried by A Shin Fencer are very similar to Eishin Preston, who won the Hong Kong Mile in 2001 and the QEII Cup in 2002 and 2003. Sadly, Eishin Preston died in February, 2025 at age 28. Although A Shin Fencer was beaten fifth in the G1 Takamatsunomiya Kinen, she prefers clockwise track and I hope she handles the track at Sha Tin well. Lugal, winner of the G1 Sprinters Stakes (1200m) in 2024, is another member of Team Japan in the Chairman’s Sprint Prize.

Gaia Force, the only Japanese challenger in the FWD Champions Mile, is a very versatile horse who won the G2 Asahi Hai St. Lite Kinen (2200m) on turf and finished second in the G1 February Stakes (1600m) on dirt. He was fourth in the G1 Yasuda Kinen (1600m) in 2024, finishing only one and half lengths behind the mighty Romantic Warrior and I reckon the mile turf race will suit Gaia Force.

This year’s FWD QEII Cup carries a total purse of HK$28 million and the line-up of the race is illustrious and truly international, as it contains representatives of France, New Zealand, Bahrain and Japan, in addition to selected runners from the home nation.

All three Japanese-trained runners in FWD QEII Cup have visited Hong Kong before and performed well at Sha Tin, as Prognosis finished second to Romantic Warrior in this race in 2023 and 2024, while Liberty Island and Tastiera finished second and third respectively in the LONGINES Hong Kong Cup, won by Romantic Warrior in 2024.

I believe they love the climate at Hong Kong and should be enjoying the days at Sha Tin. And as Romantic Warrior is absent at FWD Champions Day this year, it looks that all three Japanese contenders have decent chances to win the FWD QEII Cup.