The Fall G1 season begins this weekend with the 45th running of the Sprinters Stakes! The Sprinters Stakes is the 7th leg of the Global Sprint Challenge which involves 9 G1 sprint races run in Japan, Australia, Singapore, England, and Hong Kong. Japan has the honor of hosting second and the seventh leg of the series, the Takamatsunomiya Kinen (G1, T1200m) in late March, and then now the Sprinters Stakes (G1, T1200m) at the beginning of October.

The Sprinters Stakes was the 3rd Japanese G1 race to become open to foreign trained horses back in 1994 (Japan Cup started in 1981, Yasuda Kinen opened up in 1993). Since 1994, 22 foreign trained horses have started in the Sprinters Stakes but only three have won: Hong Kong’s Silent Witness won in 2005, Australia’s Takeover Target won in 2006, and Hong Kong’s Ultra Fantasy won last year.

This year there are three horses shipping to Japan to try their luck, the most since 2006. First is the Singapore horse, Rocket Man, who is currently the favorite. He won the third leg of the Global Sprint Challenge this year. Then there are two horses from Hong Kong, who shipped in more than a month ago to run in the G2 Centaur Stakes back in early September. Lucky Nine came in 2nd in the Centaur Stakes, while Green Birdie was 14th.

45th Sprinters Stakes (G1)

October 2nd, 2011, Nakayama Racecourse

1200m, Turf, Left Handed

3 Year Olds & Up, 57.0kg (55.0kg for F/M)

Post# - Horse Name - (SexAge) - Sire - Owner - Trainer - Jockey

1 - Lucky Nine (IRE) [HK] - G4 - Dubawi - Dr. C. Fuk To & M. Chang Lee Ming Shum - C. Fownes - B. Prebble

This will be his first Global Sprint Challenge race, but based on his stellar performance in the Centaur Stakes [VIDEO] earlier in September. This fella has had a pretty good year in Hong Kong. He won the G1 Mercedes Benz Hong Kong Mile [VIDEO] this year and was 2nd in two different G1 races, Mercedes Benz Hong Kong Classic Cup [VIDEO] and the BMW Champions Mile [VIDEO]. He was also 3rd in the G1 Queen’s Silver Jubilee Cup. He is currently the 4th favorite (as of Friday). He doesn’t have the same buzz as Rocket Man but he has proved that he has proved that he has come to Japan with a full deck.

2 - K I Aston - H6 - Fuji Kiseki - Keiai Gishizairyo Hanbaisho Co. - M. Wada - H. Goto

This will be his first start in a G1 race. Up until this point he has only run in G3s and ungraded stakes. He won a ungraded stakes at Nakayama this past summer and was 4th in the Keeneland Cup (G3, T1200m) [VIDEO] in late August. He was winless last year, unable to even make it in the money until his final 2 races of the year. In 2009 though he had been a pretty solid runner in the ungraded sprints around the country.

3 - Pas de Trois - C4 - Swept Overboard - T. Yoshida - I. Sameshima - K. Ando

This colt has been a very solid sprinter during his past three seasons. Out of the money only 4 times out of 15 races. He has won 6 times, all of them sprints. He has not, however, won a graded stakes race. This summer he was 6th in the Hakodate Sprint Stakes (G3, T1200m) [VIDEO], but then a close 2nd in the Keeneland Stakes (G3, 1200m) [VIDEO]. This will be his second G1 attempt. He was run in the NHK Mile as a 3 year old but he came in 16th. He obviously has potential based on his run in the Keeneland Cup and he has a very good post position. Could he upset all of the favorites? His price will be worth a bet.

4 - A Shin Rigil - F4 - French Deputy - Eishindo Co - T. Takano - H. Tanabe

This filly started out her career in dirt sprints and ran pretty well as she worked through the lower circles of the racing world. They switched her to turf mid 2010 and she handled it pretty well. 1200m seems to be her absolute limit. She has been beaten by Headliner, Dasher Go Go, Tokai Mystery, and A Shin Virgo, as well as finished behind many of the other runners in this weekend’s G1.

5 - Rocket Man (AUS) [SG] - G6 - Viscount - Mr. Crabbia - P. Shaw - F. Coetzee

He is currently the favorite in Sunday’s G1 and rightfully so. He has never been worse than 2nd in all of his 14 starts and he is undefeated for the year. He won this spring’s Dubai Golden Shaheen (UAE-G1, 6F, Tapeta) [VIDEO] , then followed that with a win in two Singapore G1s, the Lion City Cup [VIDEO] and the Krisflyer International Sprint [VIDEO]. He ended his 2010 campaign with a narrow loss to J J The Jet Plane in the Cathay Pacific Hong Kong Sprint (HK-G1) [VIDEO]. This gelding means business.

6 - San Carlo - H5 - Symboli Kris S - Shadai Race H. - Y. Okubo - Y. Yoshida

He was 3rd in the Sprinters Stakes [VIDEO] last year and 2nd in the Takamatsunomiya Kinen (G1, 1200m) [VIDEO] this spring, one would think this guy was about ready to make a splash. Poor San Carlo seems to only glimmer from time to time and apparently only in his G1 performances. Since his decent performance in the Takamatsunomiya Kinen he has had 3 fairly disappointing finishes in the Keio Hai (G2, T1400m) where he was 9th, Yasuda Kinen (G1, T1600m) where he was 13th, and the Centaur Stakes (G2, 1200m) [VIDEO] where he was 4th.

7 - Fifth Petal - H5 - King Kamehameha - Carrot Farm - Y. Kato - N. Yokoyama

Fresh off his first graded stakes victory in three years, in the Keisei Hai Autumn Handicap (G3, 1600m) [VIDEO], this son of King Kamehameha is going to try to snag a G1 title. He has raced in 5 different G1s, his best performance being in the Asahi Hai Futurity Stakes (G1, 1600m) [VIDEO] at Nakayama when he was a 2 year old. A mile to 1800m seems to be where the colt does best, but his first two wins as a 2 year old were in 1200m races. He has failed at all the other type of G1s thrown at him thus far, so a Sprint is the obvious next step.

8 - Dasher Go Go - C4 - Sakura Bakushin O - S. Ashida - T. Yasuda - Y. Kawada

This colt has not had the best of luck. He was supposed to be the second coming of his father, the late top sprinter Sakura Bakushin O but was disqualified from 2nd to 4th in last year’s Sprinters Stakes [VIDEO]. Then earlier this year, in the other G1 Sprint in Japan, the Takamatsunomiya Kinen (G1, 1200m) [VIDEO] he was disqualified from 4th to 11th yet again. He was 3rd in the Centaur Stakes [VIDEO] so he still has talent. He is currently the second favorite behind Rocket Man. It all depends on which Dasher Go Go loads into the gate... Bumper Go Go or Dasher Go Go.

9 - Headliner - G7 - Sakura Bakushin O - Shadai Race H. - M. Nishizono - H. Miyuki

Personally this horse is out of his league. But as a son of the late top Sprinter Sakura Bakushin O, I can understand the desire to try for sprinter G1 glory. His best performance recently was in June, when he was a close 2nd to Dasher Go Go in the CBC Sho (G3, 1200m) [VIDEO], a race he won in 2010. That 2010 G3 win has been his only graded stakes success of his career. Other than his 2nd in the CBC Sho this year, he has not shown or placed in any other graded stakes.

10 - Curren Chan - F4 - Kurofune - T. Suzuki - T. Yasuda - K. Ikezoe

This filly without a doubt deserves to be in this race. She is in the middle of a 4 race win streak and has only been out of the money once. Earlier this year she won the Hanshin Himba Stakes (G2, 1400m) [VIDEO], and then later this summer she won the Hakodate Sprint Stakes (G3, 1200m) [VIDEO] and Keeneland Cup (G3, 1200m) [VIDEO] both against the boys. She is currently sitting as 3rd favorite behind Rocket Man (#1) and Dasher Go Go (#2) but don’t rule the little grey filly out.

11 - Tokai Mystery - M5 - King Kamehameha - M. Uchimura - T. Yasuda - Y. Kitamura

She claimed her first graded stakes victory this summer when she won the Kita Kyushu Kinen (G2, 1200m) [VIDEO] at Kokura Racecourse on the western most island of Kyushu. The problem with this mare is that while she is often the best at tracks like Kokura, Hakodate, and Chukyo, where the level of racing can often be slightly lower, she doesn’t fair as well in the main circuits like Tokyo, Kyoto, or Nakayama. She was 11th in the Centaur Stakes (G2, 1200m) [VIDEO] last month.

12 - Urbanity - H5 - Manhattan Cafe - Shadai Race H. - M. Koga - H. Kitamura

This fella was a surprising 3rd in this spring’s Takamatsunomiya Kinen (G1, 1200m) [VIDEO]. I say surprising because in 2009 he was 14th and 7th in the Sprinters Stakes. He didn’t even bother running in G1 last year. He has not had a win since March 2009 in the Ocean Stakes (G3, 1200m).

13 - B B Guldan - H7 - Chief Bearhart - Bando Farm - M. Ryuoke - T. Sato

I have a soft spot for this old timer. I saw him win the Keeneland Cup (G3, 1200m) [VIDEO] back in 2009, sadly that was also his last victory. He was 2nd in the Sprinters Stakes that year [VIDEO] and then 2nd in the Takamatsunomiya Kinen in 2010 [VIDEO]. He went through a long dry spell of disappointing finished before

running big again in this year’s Keeneland Cup (G3, 1200m) [VIDEO]. He finished just a neck behind filly Curren Chan. Is my boy back? I’d love to see him snag a G1!

14 - A Shin Virgo - F4 - Falbrav - Eishindo Co. - K. Kozaki - Y. Fukunaga

This summer should have been called the Summer of the Sprinting Fillies. Between A Shin Virgo, Curren Chan, and Tokai Mystery the Summer Sprint Series was dominated by the girls. Virgo is sitting pretty as the 5th favorite. She has a pretty respectable record. 15 starts with 7 wins, 3 seconds and 2 thirds. With her victory in the Centaur Stakes (G2, 1200m) [VIDEO] though she rose to a new level. She beat Lucky Nine (#4 fav), Dasher Go Go (#2 fav), and Green Birdie so she definitely earned her way into this G1 event. My only concern is her post position. For a sprint, being that for away from the rail cold cause trouble. But if she runs as well as she has been this year it might not matter much!

15 - Sandalphon - H8 - Sakura Bakushin O - North Hills Co. - M. Matsunaga - M. Sakai

Can someone say filler horse? I know that sounds horrible but this guy hasn’t been better than 9th in a G1 race and is usually in double digits. His last win was last december in an ungraded stakes race. He is in here because his father is the late Sakura Bakushin O and they need to find a stallion to continue his line of top sprinters.

16 - Green Birdie (NZ) [HK] - G8 - Catbird - R. Ka Chun Li - C. Fownes - T. Angland

This gelding has been all over the world during his racing career. Australia, Hong Kong, Singapore, Dubai, and Japan. He tends to be a hit or miss kind of a horse. He either shows up or he does alright. He didn’t run badly in the Centaur Stakes (G2, 1200m) [VIDEO] but he was disqualified from his 4th place finish to 14th. Last year he was 2nd in this race but finished 7th in the Sprinters Stakes. Will Green Birdie have a better trip this time?