Champions Cup (G1) Race in Japan
The Champions Cup is a prestigious Grade 1 dirt horse race held annually in early December at Chukyo Racecourse in Japan. Inaugurated in 2000 as the Japan Cup Dirt, it was renamed in 2014. The race covers 1,800 meters (about a mile and an eighth) and is open to thoroughbreds aged three and older, with fillies and mares receiving a 2 kg weight allowance. It offers a total purse of approximately ¥259 million, attracting top dirt specialists.
List of Winners
- Year:2000 Horse – Wing Arrow, Jockey – Yukio Okabe, Trainer – Katsumi Minai
- Year:2001 Horse – Kurofune, Jockey – Yutaka Take, Trainer – Kunihide Matsuda
- Year:2002 Horse – Eagle Café, Jockey – Frankie Dettori, Trainer – Futoshi Kojima
- Year:2003 Horse – Fleetstreet Dancer, Jockey – Jon Court, Trainer – Doug O’Neill
- Year:2004 Horse – Time Paradox, Jockey – Yutaka Take, Trainer – Hiroyoshi Matsuda
- Year:2005 Horse – Kane Hekili, Jockey – Yutaka Take, Trainer – Katsuhiko Sumii
- Year:2006 Horse – Alondite, Jockey – Hiroki Goto, Trainer – Sei Ishizaka
- Year:2007 Horse – Vermilion, Jockey – Yutaka Take, Trainer – Sei Ishizaka
- Year:2008 Horse – Kane Hekili, Jockey – Christophe Lemaire, Trainer – Katsuhiko Sumii
- Year:2009 Horse – Espoir City, Jockey – Tetsuzo Sato, Trainer – Akio Adachi
- Year:2010 Horse – Transcend, Jockey – Shinji Fujita, Trainer – Takayuki Yasuda
- Year:2011 Horse – Transcend, Jockey – Shinji Fujita, Trainer – Takayuki Yasuda
- Year:2012 Horse – Nihonpiro Ours, Jockey – Manabu Sakai, Trainer – Yuki Ohashi
- Year:2013 Horse – Belshazzar, Jockey – Christophe Lemaire, Trainer – Kunihide Matsuda
- Year:2014 Horse – Hokko Tarumae, Jockey – Hideaki Miyuki, Trainer – Katsuichi Nishiura
- Year:2015 Horse – Sambista, Jockey – Mirco Demuro, Trainer – Katsuhiko Sumii
- Year:2016 Horse – Sound True, Jockey – Takuya Ono, Trainer – Noboru Takagi
- Year:2017 Horse – Gold Dream, Jockey – Ryan Moore, Trainer – Osamu Hirata
- Year:2018 Horse – Le Vent Se Leve, Jockey – Mirco Demuro, Trainer – Kiyoshi Hagiwara
- Year:2019 Horse – Chrysoberyl, Jockey – Yuga Kawada, Trainer – Hidetaka Otonashi
- Year:2020 Horse – Chuwa Wizard, Jockey – Keita Tosaki, Trainer – Ryuji Okubo
- Year:2021 Horse – T O Keynes, Jockey – Kohei Matsuyama, Trainer – Daisuke Takayanagi
- Year:2022 Horse – Jun Light Bolt, Jockey – Yukito Ishikawa, Trainer – Yasuo Tomomichi
- Year:2023 Horse – Lemon Pop, Jockey – Ryusei Sakai, Trainer – Hiroyasu Tanaka
- Year:2024 Horse – Lemon Pop, Jockey – Ryusei Sakai, Trainer – Hiroyasu Tanaka
Note: The only mare to have won the Champions Cup is Sambista in 2015. The next edition is scheduled for December 7, 2025.
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