Admire Zoom, the likely favorite in Sunday’s Grade 1 NHK Mile at Tokyo Racecourse in Japan, was the winner of the Grade 1 Asahi Hai Futurity in December.
Winners of that race are often named champion 2-year-old male, but Admire Zoom lost the award to the equally talented Croix du Nord, the winner of the Grade 1 Hopeful Stakes in Japan in late December.
Both were second in their first starts of 2025 – Admire Zoom in the Grade 2 New Zealand Trophy at Nakayama on April 12, and Croix du Nord in the Grade 1 Japanese 2000 Guineas at Nakayama on April 20.
Admire Zoom, who often races as a stalker, was beaten a neck by the closer Immigrant Song in the New Zealand Trophy at a mile, which was Immigrant Song’s second start of the year. A winner of 2 of 5 starts, Immigrant Song was second in an allowance race at a mile at Tokyo in February.
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On Sunday, Admire Zoom will be ridden by Yuga Kawada, who has been aboard for all four of the colt’s starts, including two wins. The benefit of a recent race will help Admire Zoom this weekend, trainer Yasuo Tomomichi told Japan Racing Association publicity earlier this week.
“He’s come on for his last race, when he didn’t run badly,” Tomomichi said.
The $1.74 million NHK Mile is run for 3-year-olds and drew a field of 18. Other notable starters are Lance of Chaos, Magic Sands, and Satono Carnaval.
Lance of Chaos, a winner of 2 of 4 starts, was third in the Asahi Hai Futurity and won the Grade 3 Churchill Downs Cup at a mile at Hanshin Racecourse on April 5 in his second start of the year.
Magic Sands, also a winner of 2 of 4 starts, was sixth in the Japanese 2000 Guineas at 1 1/4 miles in his first start of the year. The NHK Mile will be the shortest race in the brief career of Magic Sands, who has won twice at 1 1/8 miles.
Satono Carnaval finished ninth in the Breeders’ Cup Juvenile Turf at Del Mar last November in his final start of 2024. Satono Carnaval was sixth in the Grade 3 Kyodo News Hai at 1 1/8 miles at Tokyo in his only previous start this year in February.
In the NHK Mile, jockey Damian Lane takes the mount on Satono Carnaval for the first time. Lane, based in Australia, is riding in Japan on a short-term license through June 27. Last weekend, Lane won the Grade 1 spring running of the Tenno Sho on Redentor.
The NHK Mile has a post time of 2:40 a.m. Eastern on Sunday or 11:40 p.m. Pacific on Saturday.
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