Yasuda Kinen opens up after Admire Zoom scratch, Breeders’ Cup berth at stake

Admire Zoom’s withdrawal made the Yasuda Kinen a far better handicapper’s race. With the obvious market leader gone, Tokyo Racecourse’s mile test opened into a wide, tactical scramble for the 76th running, and the winner still earned a Breeders’ Cup Mile berth plus JPY180 million.

That matters because this race has long been a launch point for international mile form. Since joining the Breeders’ Cup Challenge Series in 2016, the Yasuda Kinen has offered an automatic starting place in the Breeders’ Cup Mile, while the first three finishers also became eligible for France’s Prix Jacques le Marois and Prix du Moulin de Longchamp. For the horse who gets it done at Tokyo, the payoff is immediate and global.

The scratch of Admire Zoom, five days before the race, changed the whole betting shape. JRA had already flagged the horse as a major story after his earlier hoof issues appeared to have improved, but BloodHorse reported the problem had recurred and that trainer Yasuo Tomomichi hoped to have him back in the autumn. Without him, the race tilted toward horses with either upward momentum or proven top-level class, and that tension was exactly what made the board more interesting.

Trovatore looked like the most obvious upward mover, arriving off two straight Grade 3 wins on the Tokyo turf, one around a mile and another about nine furlongs. Gaia Force brought the deeper Grade 1 resume, having repeatedly threatened at the highest level without quite breaking through. Panja Tower added a sharper pace angle as a mile specialist with strong Tokyo form, and Kohei Matsuyama came in fresh from a Japanese Derby victory. Luxor Cafe, meanwhile, introduced another layer of uncertainty with his first start on turf.

That uncertainty was not a flaw. It was the point. The Yasuda Kinen has a long habit of rewarding the horse that peaks at the right time, not the one carrying the loudest reputation. Only one favorite has won the last 10 editions, Romantic Warrior, and only one 3-year-old has won since the age condition changed in 2001, Real Impact in 2011. Indy Champ’s 1:30.9 course record from 2019 still underscored how fast the Tokyo mile can get when everything lines up.

The race’s shape also reflected its place in Japanese racing. This year’s field drew 20 nominations for a maximum 18-runner lineup, but JRA said there were no foreign horses among them, even though the event has welcomed more than 50 foreign-trained runners since becoming international in 1993. The history runs through names like Lord Kanaloa, Maurice, Romantic Warrior and Jantar Mantar, with Jantar Mantar winning the 2025 edition and Soul Rush and Gaia Force in the wider spring miler picture.

At Tokyo, the long 525.9-meter straight and uphill finish usually expose any weakness late. That is why the scratch mattered so much: it shifted the race from a star-driven formality into a test of timing, stamina and value, and the horse who emerged from it could leave Japan as a sudden Breeders’ Cup Mile talking point.