The 6-year-old mare Namura Clair is winless in eight Grade 1 races in Japan since late 2021, a losing streak in top-level races that may end in Sunday’s $2.19 million Takamatsunomiya Kinen for sprinters at Chukyo Racecourse.
Namura Clair was second in the 2024 Takamatsunomiya Kinen, which is annually the first Grade 1 race of the year on turf in Japan. A winner of 6 of 20 starts, including five Grade 2 or Grade 3 races, Namura Clair will have her 2025 debut on Sunday. She won the Grade 2 Hanshin Cup at seven furlongs at Kyoto in December in her final start of 2024.
The Takamatsunomiya Kinen drew a field of 18, including 2024 winner Mad Cool, and Lugal, who won the Grade 1 Sprinters Stakes last September.
In early betting on Friday, Namura Clair was the 7-2 second choice behind Satono Reve at 3-1. Lugal (5-1) and Mad Cool (6-1) were also well-supported.
Lugal was 10th in the 2024 Takamatsunomiya Kinen and did not race again until his win in the Sprinters Stakes. He ended 2024 with an 11th-place finish in the Group 1 Hong Kong Sprint at Sha Tin in December.
Mad Cool was winless in three starts last year after the Takamatsunomia Kinen, including a second by a half-length to Namura Clair in the Hanshin Cup.
Satono Reve, a 6-year-old horse, has won 7 of 11 starts, including three consecutive sprint stakes from April to August last year. Satono Reve was only seventh in the Sprinters Stakes, but rebounded to finish third by three-quarters of a length in the Hong Kong Sprint, his only appearance outside of Japan.
Satono Reve starts from post 10 in the Takamatsunomiya Kinen, while Namura Clair has drawn post 14. Both tend to run from off the pace.
Mad Cool and Lugal, who tend to race as stalkers, begin from posts 1 and 6.
Post time for the Takamatsunomiya Kinen is 2:40 a.m. Eastern on Sunday, or 11:40 p.m. Pacific on Saturday.
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