The first five races of the Global Sprint Challenge has each featured a different winner, the latest being Kanoya Zakura, who won the Centaur Stakes at Hanshin Racecourse on Sept. 14. Whoever tops the Sprinters Stakes this weekend will give Japan a good shot at bringing home its first Global Sprint Challenge title.

The Japanese autumn Grade 1 season is ready for launch with the 42nd Sprinters Stakes on Sunday afternoon at Nakayama Racecourse in Chiba Prefecture, the sixth of eight legs in the Global Sprint Challenge (GSC). The race, unfortunately, will be lacking in international flavor with a pure domestic field of 16, but the Sprinters Stakes will not be short of buzz and excitement with one of the most competitive groups in recent memory set to fill the barriers.

Former Sprinters Stakes champion Takeover Target currently leads the three-year-old GSC series with 16 points, three points ahead of Kingsgate Native and five points ahead of Marchand d’Or. Three horses - Apache Cat, Equiano and Kanoya Zakura - are tied on 10 points. Further down the standings is Symboli Gran on five points, the other runner from the Japan Racing Association (JRA).

Kanoya Zakura can overtake Takeover Target with a victory on Sunday; a runner-up finish would bring her within a point of the leader with two races to go. Symboli Gran would jump to second with a win, and any other champion will immediately come into play with the 10-point reward.

But whoever wins will have to overcome a tough 1,200 meters at Nakayama. The race opens with a downhill of 200 meters to the first turn, which bends for 400 meters before reaching the sharper final turn heading into the 310-meter home stretch - famous for its shortness and the steep uphill over the last 200 meters.

The Sprinters Stakes wasn’t always associated with fame. It was founded in 1967 as the only graded race at 1,200 meters for 3-year-olds and up, and was originally assigned Grade 3 status in 1984. The race was bumped up to Grade 2 in 1987, to serve as a stepping stone to the Yasuda Kinen.

The Sprinters Stakes finally became a Grade 1 race in 1990, when it was fixed a week ahead of the Arima Kinen in December as the finale to the sprint season. It was opened to international entries in 1994, and moved to its current date six years later as the first race of the autumn Grade 1 season.

The following are the early favorites for this year’s Sprinters Stakes:

SUZUKA PHOENIX: With Yutaka Take away in France for the Prix de l’Arc de Triomphe, the 2007 Takamatsunomiya Kinen winner will have a new partner in the saddle: Norihiro Yokoyama. Yokoyama may not have record numbers like Take, but the veteran is no less a big-race jockey than the superstar. Trainer Mitsuru Hashida could not have found a better pinch-hitter in the popular Yokoyama, and come post time, Suzuka Phoenix could very well be the top choice despite an eighth-place finish in the Centaur Stakes. The 6-year-old son of Sunday Silence has never won at Nakayama, but there’s a first time for everything; as long as the horse leaves his barrier smoothly, Suzuka Phoenix could add another Grade 1 title to his trophy case.

FINE GRAIN: The 5-year-old son of Fuji Kiseki was the talk of the spring sprint circuit, winning the Takamatsunomiya Kinen on March 30, his third straight victory - all at 1,200 meters. Fine Grain was the second choice in the Centaur Stakes because of his outstanding spring but flopped to ninth, his first career defeat over six furlongs. But with one race under his belt - and an impost of 57 kilograms, 2 kilograms lighter than what he ran with in the Centaur Stakes - the horse is almost certain to improve on his last outing. Expect Hideaki Miyuki’s mount to bounce back in a big way.

KANOYA ZAKURA: One of two entries from Kojiro Hashiguchi’s stable - and both are expected to challenge for honors - this 4-year-old filly is picking up steam at the right time. She won JRA’s Summer Sprint series after winning back-to-back graded races, and there was nothing fluky about her victory in the Grade 2 Centaur Stakes. With in-form jockey Futoshi Komaki up, Kanoya Zakura, daughter of legendary sprinter Sakura Bakushin O, could make her father very proud this weekend.

KINSHASA NO KISEKI: A narrow second to Fine Grain in the Takamatsunomiya Kinen, the 5-year-old Kinshasa no Kiseki may have finally found his groove at 1,200 meters. He has spent most of his career disappointing despite constant hype surrounding this son of Fuji Kiseki. The turnaround began in the spring when he reached the board in the 1,400-meter Hankyu Hai before finishing runner-up in the Takamatsunomiya Kinen. After a three-month break, Kinshasa no Kiseki posted his first graded win in July in the 1,200-meter Hakodate Sprint Stakes before taking third in the Keeneland Cup at the end of August. Yasunari Iwata, who has ridden the horse the last three times out, has the reins once again and the time could be now for Kinshasa no Kiseki to come full circle.

SLEEPLESS NIGHT: Trainer Kojiro Hashiguchi’s other 4-year-old filly is on an absolute tear, having won four straight all at 1,200 meters, two of the races on dirt. It appears everything is falling into place for the daughter of Japan Cup Dirt winner Kurofune, and the only knock on the young starlet is her lack of experience on the big stage. She also has never tasted the turf at Nakayama, but given her present form, it’s looking very difficult to bet against Sleepless Night.

SYMBOLI GRAN: The 6-year-old veteran came home second behind Kanoya Zakura in the Centaur Stakes to collect five points in the Global Sprint Challenge. He’s experienced in big races, and has fared well at Nakayama in the past, placing three times in seven starts. With Yuichi Fukunaga, who has a knack as a scene stealer, in the driver’s seat, Symboli Gran could turn some heads on Sunday.
(Source: JRA)