Efforia beat Contrail in the Tenno Sho (Autumn) at the end of October. The fact, that Contrail afterwards won the Japan Cup easily, will make Efforia the red-hot favourite in the 66th Arima Kinen. He had already won the 2000 Guineas earlier this year and lost the Japanese Derby only by a nose, but displayed his class, when defeated older opponents in the Tenno Sho (Autumn).
Chrono Genesis tries to defend her Arima Kinen title, it will be the last race of her successful career. The five-year-old mare, who won four group one races in Japan, only narrowly missed the Dubai Sheema Classic in March, captured the Takarazuka Kinen in June and then came seventh in the 2021 Prix de l’Arc de Triomphe in Paris. She now returns after twelve weeks off, but actually never had problems to overcome longer breaks.
Titleholder won the Japanese St Leger (3,000 m) with five length in October and was then elected third-best horse in the public Arima Kinen vote. It must be said, that not the very best horses had run in the St Leger though. Titleholder had come runner-up two length behind Efforia in the 2000 Guineas, then disappointed as sixth in the Derby.
Akai Ito caused a major surprise by winning the Queen Elizabeth Cup (Gr. 1, 2,000 m) as 64 to 1 outsider on November 14. It was only her second start in a group race, the four-year-old daughter of Kizuna was without a chance in the Fuchu Himba Stakes before. She will now face males for the first time on group level.
Stella Veloce was predicted a great future after he had only narrowly missed the Futurity Stakes as a two-year-old. But this year he finished only third in the Japanese 2000 Guineas and the Derby, most recently ended fourth in the St Leger. The son of Bago will manage any ground and can run at the front or at the bag.
Deep Bond has been Japan's second starter in this year's Prix de l’Arc de Triomphe besides Chrono Genesis, but he finished only last in Paris. However, he had won the Prix Foy wire-to-wire a month before, beat Broome there, who came eleventh in the Japan Cup recently. So obviously Deep Bond will not be among the top favourites of the 2021 Arima Kinen, though he had won the Hanshin Daishoten (3,000 m) and came runner-up in the Tenno Sho (Spring) earlier this year. Like for Chrono Genesis, it is his first run since October 3.
Aristoteles took the lead in the 2021 Japan Cup but finally finished only on the ninth position. He had been more successful with a different tactic in the Kyoto Daishoten in October, where he was beaten only by a nose. One year before, he had been unlucky already, lost the St Leger against Contrail by a neck. On his only start in Nakayama he was successful in the American Jockey Club Cup in January.
Kiseki will only be outsider in his fourth Arima Kinen, it will also be the last race for the seven-year-old son of Rulership. It would be no surprise, if the gray would take the lead in this field once again. He finished runner-up in the 2018 Japan Cup, but has not won a single race since his success in the 2017 St Leger.
Fixed odds for the 2021 Arima Kinen can be found at RaceBets.
The Arima Kinen is run on Sunday morning, 7:40 am (CET). A replay of the race, where the result is NOT displayed in advance, is provided by Horse Racing Japan. Press the video button in the Arima Kinen row.
The Arima Kinen is the horse race with the world's highest betting turnover. Ten of the sixteen starters are selected by a public vote.
Winner of the public vote:
Other starters by prize money:
2020 Arima Kinen
December 26, 2021 - 1m 4½f (2,500 meters), Nakayama, Japan| Pl. | Dist. | Age | Kg | Trainer | Jockey | Odds | ||||
| 1. | Efforia | 3 | 55,0 | Y.Shikato | T.Yokoyama | 2,1 | ||||
| 2. | ¾ | Deep Bond | 4 | 57,0 | R.Okubo | R.Wada | 20,9 | |||
| 3. | ½ | Chrono Genesis | 5 | 55,0 | T.Saito | C.Lemaire | 2,9 | |||
| 4. | ½ | Stella Veloce | 3 | 55,0 | N.Sugai | M.Demuro | 7,9 | |||
| 5. | 1 ½ | Titleholder | 3 | 55,0 | T.Kurita | K.Yokoyama | 10,2 | |||
| 6. | 3 | Aristoteles | 4 | 57,0 | H.Otonashi | Y.Take | 47,7 | |||
| 7. | ½ | Akai Ito | 4 | 55,0 | K.Nakatake | H.Miyuki | 31,8 | |||
| 8. | 2 ½ | Mozu Bello | 5 | 57,0 | N.Morita | K.Ikezoe | 146,2 | |||
| 9. | ½ | You Can Smile | 6 | 57,0 | Y.Tomomichi | Y.Fujioka | 150,6 | |||
| 10. | Hd | Kiseki | 7 | 57,0 | Y.Tsujino | K.Matsuyama | 43,8 | |||
| 11. | 4 | Win Kiitos | 4 | 55,0 | Y.Munakata | Y.Tannai | 70,0 | |||
| 12. | Ns | Shadow Diva | 5 | 55,0 | M.Saito | N.Yokoyama | 144,5 | |||
| 13. | ½ | Panthalassa | 4 | 57,0 | Y.Yahagi | Y.Hishida | 45,5 | |||
| 14. | ¾ | Persian Knight | 7 | 57,0 | Y.Ikee | C.Demuro | 62,3 | |||
| 15. | 3 ½ | Melody Lane | 5 | 55,0 | N.Morita | M.Iwata | 145,8 | |||
| 16. | 1 ¼ | Asamano Itazura | 3 | 55,0 | T.Tezuka | H.Tanabe | 51,1 |
Preview December 17, 2021
Efforia, who recently beat Japan Cup winner Contrail, faces top mare Chrono Genesis in Japan's most popular horse race on December 26.Efforia beat Contrail in the Tenno Sho (Autumn) at the end of October. The fact, that Contrail afterwards won the Japan Cup easily, will make Efforia the red-hot favourite in the 66th Arima Kinen. He had already won the 2000 Guineas earlier this year and lost the Japanese Derby only by a nose, but displayed his class, when defeated older opponents in the Tenno Sho (Autumn).
Chrono Genesis tries to defend her Arima Kinen title, it will be the last race of her successful career. The five-year-old mare, who won four group one races in Japan, only narrowly missed the Dubai Sheema Classic in March, captured the Takarazuka Kinen in June and then came seventh in the 2021 Prix de l’Arc de Triomphe in Paris. She now returns after twelve weeks off, but actually never had problems to overcome longer breaks.
Titleholder won the Japanese St Leger (3,000 m) with five length in October and was then elected third-best horse in the public Arima Kinen vote. It must be said, that not the very best horses had run in the St Leger though. Titleholder had come runner-up two length behind Efforia in the 2000 Guineas, then disappointed as sixth in the Derby.
Akai Ito caused a major surprise by winning the Queen Elizabeth Cup (Gr. 1, 2,000 m) as 64 to 1 outsider on November 14. It was only her second start in a group race, the four-year-old daughter of Kizuna was without a chance in the Fuchu Himba Stakes before. She will now face males for the first time on group level.
Stella Veloce was predicted a great future after he had only narrowly missed the Futurity Stakes as a two-year-old. But this year he finished only third in the Japanese 2000 Guineas and the Derby, most recently ended fourth in the St Leger. The son of Bago will manage any ground and can run at the front or at the bag.
Deep Bond has been Japan's second starter in this year's Prix de l’Arc de Triomphe besides Chrono Genesis, but he finished only last in Paris. However, he had won the Prix Foy wire-to-wire a month before, beat Broome there, who came eleventh in the Japan Cup recently. So obviously Deep Bond will not be among the top favourites of the 2021 Arima Kinen, though he had won the Hanshin Daishoten (3,000 m) and came runner-up in the Tenno Sho (Spring) earlier this year. Like for Chrono Genesis, it is his first run since October 3.
Aristoteles took the lead in the 2021 Japan Cup but finally finished only on the ninth position. He had been more successful with a different tactic in the Kyoto Daishoten in October, where he was beaten only by a nose. One year before, he had been unlucky already, lost the St Leger against Contrail by a neck. On his only start in Nakayama he was successful in the American Jockey Club Cup in January.
Kiseki will only be outsider in his fourth Arima Kinen, it will also be the last race for the seven-year-old son of Rulership. It would be no surprise, if the gray would take the lead in this field once again. He finished runner-up in the 2018 Japan Cup, but has not won a single race since his success in the 2017 St Leger.
Fixed odds for the 2021 Arima Kinen can be found at RaceBets.
The Arima Kinen is run on Sunday morning, 7:40 am (CET). A replay of the race, where the result is NOT displayed in advance, is provided by Horse Racing Japan. Press the video button in the Arima Kinen row.
The Arima Kinen is the horse race with the world's highest betting turnover. Ten of the sixteen starters are selected by a public vote.
Winner of the public vote:
| 1. | Efforia |
| 2. | Chrono Genesis |
| 3. | Titleholder |
| 4. | Akai Ito |
| 5. | Kiseki |
| 6. | Deep Bond |
| 7. | Stella Veloce |
| 8. | Aristoteles |
| 9. | Everyone Black |
| 10. | Win Kiitos |
Other starters by prize money:
| 1. | Mozu Bello |
| 2. | You Can Smile |
| 3. | Persian Knight |
| 4. | Shadow Diva |
| 5. | Panthalassa |
| 6. | Asamano Itazura |
