Croix du Nord tops a field of heavyweight contenders seeking hefty purse money and a Breeders' Cup Challenge Series event "win and you're in" entry to the Breeders' Cup Turf (G1T) or Australia's Cox Plate (G1) in the Takarazuka Kinen (G1T) June 14 at Hanshin Racecourse.
The race is one of two annual "Grand Prix" events in which fans vote for horses they want to see run. This year, they are rewarded with their top two picks, Croix du Nord and last year's 3-length winner Meisho Tabaru, in the field.
Sunday Racing's Croix du Nord, a 4-year-old by Kitasan Black, finished 2025 with a fourth-place showing in the Japan Cup (G1T), won by Cartier Horse of the Year Calandagan. Earlier in the season, he won the Prix du Prince d'Orange (G3), defeating Daryz, who went on to win the Prix de l'Arc de Triomphe (G1), with Croix du Nord finishing 14th.
Returning from his winter break, Croix du Nord won his first two starts of 2026, the April 5 Osaka Hai (G1T) and the May 3 Tenno Sho (Spring) (G1T), and trainer Takashi Saito says he seems to have enough left in the tank to keep the string going in the 2,200-meter (about 1 3/8-mile) Hanshin feature.
"It'll be his third race this spring and, having raced over 2,000 meters (about 1 1/4 miles) and 3,200 meters (about 2 miles), I was a bit worried he might be tired," Saito said. "But looking at him, that doesn't seem to be the case. Things will hopefully go smoothly right up until the race, when I think he can do well again. I'm looking forward to it."
Croix du Nord drew gate 5 in a field of 18. Yuichi Kitamura rides.
Yoshitaka Matsumoto's Meisho Tabaru tailed off after winning the Takarazuka Kinen last year, but rebounded in his first start of 2026, finishing second to Croix du Nord in the Osaka Hai. Trainer Mamoru Ishibashi said the pace might have worked against his horse in that race.
"The first half of the Osaka Hai was run in 58.1 seconds," he noted. "The start of the 2,000-meter race at Hanshin is near the first corner, so I think instinctively the jockey went to the front, and he did so quickly. Despite it being a bit of a frantic pace, the horse still did well."
Yutaka Take will start Meisho Tabaru from stall 16 with plenty of time to get a position during the long first run down the stretch.
Danon Decile, winner of the 2024 Tokyo Yushun (Japanese Derby, G1T), was third in the Osaka Hai and also returns. He has finished third in each of his last three races, all grade 1s. His résumé has a gold star on the 2025 Dubai Sheema Classic (G1T), in which he defeated Calandagan.
After those, the field has some potential contenders coming off disappointments, layoffs, or both.
Regaleira, a 5-year-old Suave Richard mare, has two top-level wins to her credit, the most recent coming in the Queen Elizabeth II Cup (G1T) Nov. 16. She then finished fourth in the Arima Kinen (G1T) Dec. 28 and hasn't made it to the races since.
"She's sometimes not so good at the gate, and her condition last time meant she couldn't do so well in the Arima Kinen, which was a bit regretful," said Yu Ota, assistant to trainer Tetsuya Kimura. "She was pretty tired after that race, but now, after time, things have been good with her back at the stable."
Regaleira finished 11th in the 2025 Takarazuka Kinen. Leading jockey Christophe Lemaire rides.
Also set to run for the first time since the Arima Kinen is the winner of that race, the Daisuke Takayanagi-trained Museum Mile. His prolonged absence also had excuses.
Assistant trainer Yuichi Tomomichi said Museum Mile "was supposed to go to Dubai, but with the situation in the Middle East, we canceled. We then thought about Hong Kong, but it might have been that he wouldn't have passed the vet inspection. He's therefore had a spell at the farm, with the Takarazuka Kinen in mind for him next."
The Takarazuka Kinen purse of 575.4 million yen (about US$3.6 million) includes 300 million yen (about US$1.87 million) to the winner. While it provides guaranteed entry to both the Cox Plate and the Breeders' Cup Turf, the winning connections would have to choose, as those events are run just a week apart—with the former Oct. 24 at Flemington Racecourse and the latter Oct. 31 at Keeneland.
