.jpg) 2022 Champions Cup winner Jun Light Bolt | |
| Class | GI |
|---|---|
| Location | Chukyo Racecourse, Toyoake, Aichi |
| Inaugurated | November 25, 2000 (as theJapan Cup Dirt) |
| Race type | Thoroughbred |
| Website | japanracing |
| Race information | |
| Distance | 1,800 meters (About 9furlongs) |
| Surface | Dirt |
| Track | Left-handed |
| Qualification | 3-y-o & Up |
| Weight | 3-y-o colts &geldings 56 kg 4-y-o & up horses & geldings 58 kg Allowance : 2 kg fillies & mares |
| Purse | ¥ 259,200,000 (as of 2025)
|
| Bonuses | Winning horse owner will receive a ¥3,000,000 bonus. |
TheChampions Cup (formerly theJapan Cup Dirt until 2013) is aGrade 1flat horse race forthoroughbreds aged three and above contested inJapan in early December. Organized byJapan Racing Association, it is run at a distance of 1,800 meters atChukyo Racecourse. In recent years, the race has followed theJapan Cup on the Japanese racing calendar.
The race was moved fromTokyo Racecourse toHanshin Racecourse in 2008. The Japan Cup Dirt had been overshadowed by its turf counterpart (theJapan Cup) in recent years, because turf racing in Japan typically remains more popular and attracts better horses. Attendance for the 2007 Japan Cup Dirt was 56,052, while the attendance for the turf race the following day was 103,545.[1]
With the move to Hanshin, the Japan Cup Dirt was shortened from its original distance of 2,100 meters (about10+1⁄2 furlongs) to 1,800 meters (about 9 furlongs). Now run one week after the Japan Cup, the Japan Cup Dirt shares the weekend with the "World Super Jockeys Series" featuring jockeys from around the world.
TheJapan Cup Dirt was moved toChukyo Racecourse in 2014 and renamed theChampions Cup. According to the Japan Racing Association, the decision to make changes to the race was because of a lack of international participation.[2] The new Champions Cup race will be run left-handed, as opposed to the right turns run since the race moved from Tokyo to Hanshin in 2008. The purse of the race will be reduced to ¥94 million - compared to ¥130 million for the 2013 running - and it will no longer be an invitational race. The 2014 running is scheduled for Sunday, December 7.[3]
(For the 2007 running)[4]
Total JPN ¥277,900,000 (U.S$. 2,416,000)
Like counterpart Japan Cup, as being one of the 4 GI races in Japan Autumn International Series since 2008, a bonus is added to the top 3 if they are not trained in Japan, and raced in one of the following races and finished likewise in same year. If multiple bonus applies, only the highest one counts.
| Preparatory Event to Japan Cup Dirt | Qualification | Japan Cup Bonus(JPN ¥) |
|---|---|---|
| Dubai World Cup Breeders' Cup Classic Kentucky Derby | Current Year Winner | Winner:100,000,000 1st runner-up:40,000,000 2nd runner-up:25,000,000 |
| Current Year Runner-Up | Winner:40,000,000 1st runner-up:16,000,000 2nd runner-up:10,000,000 | |
| Santa Anita Handicap Metropolitan Handicap Stephen Foster Handicap Hollywood Gold Cup Whitney Handicap Pacific Classic Stakes Jockey Club Gold Cup Woodward Stakes Preakness Stakes Belmont Stakes Travers Stakes | Current Year Winner | Winner:70,000,000 1st runner-up:28,000,000 2nd runner-up:18,000,000 |
Speed record:
Most wins by a horse (2):
Most wins by ajockey (4):
Most wins by atrainer (3):
Most wins by an owner (3):
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| Year | Winner | Age | Jockey | Trainer | Owner | Time |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 2000 | Wing Arrow | 5 | Yukio Okabe | Katsumi Minai | Minoru Ikeda | 2:07.2 |
| 2001 | Kurofune | 3 | Yutaka Take | Kunihide Matsuda | Makoto Kaneko | 2:05.9 |
| 2002 | Eagle Café | 5 | Frankie Dettori | Futoshi Kojima | Kiyoshi Nishikawa | 1:52.2 |
| 2003 | Fleetstreet Dancer | 5 | Jon Court | Doug O'Neill | Lee & Ty Leatherman | 2:09.2 |
| 2004 | Time Paradox | 6 | Yutaka Take | Hiroyoshi Matsuda | Shadai Racehorse Co. | 2:08.7 |
| 2005 | Kane Hekili | 3 | Yutaka Take | Katsuhiko Sumii | Makoto Kaneko | 2:08.0 |
| 2006 | Alondite | 3 | Hiroki Goto | Sei Ishizaka | Carrot Farm Co. | 2:08.5 |
| 2007 | Vermilion | 5 | Yutaka Take | Sei Ishizaka | Sunday Racing Co. Ltd. | 2:06.7 |
| 2008 | Kane Hekili | 6 | Christophe Lemaire | Katsuhiko Sumii | Makoto Kaneko | 1:49.2 |
| 2009 | Espoir City | 4 | Tetsuzo Sato | Akio Adachi | Yushun Horse | 1:49.9 |
| 2010 | Transcend | 4 | Shinji Fujita | Yasuda Takayuki | Koji Maeda | 1:48.9 |
| 2011 | Transcend | 5 | Shinji Fujita | Yasuda Takayuki | Koji Maeda | 1:50.6 |
| 2012 | Nihonpiro Ours | 5 | Manabu Sakai | Yuki Ohashi | Hyakutaro Kobayashi | 1:48.8 |
| 2013 | Belshazzar | 5 | Christophe Lemaire | Kunihide Matsuda | Shadai Race Horse Co. | 1:50.4 |
| 2014 | Hokko Tarumae | 5 | Hideaki Miyuki | Katsuichi Nishiura | Michiaki Yabe | 1:51.0 |
| 2015 | Sambista | 5 | Mirco Demuro | Katsuhiko Sumii | K Hidaka Breeders Union | 1:50.4 |
| 2016 | Sound True | 6 | Takuya Ono | Noboru Takagi | Hiroshi Yamada | 1:50.1 |
| 2017 | Gold Dream | 4 | Ryan Moore | Osamu Hirata | Katsumi Yoshida | 1:50.1 |
| 2018 | Le Vent Se Leve | 3 | Mirco Demuro | Kiyoshi Hagiwara | G1 Racing Co. Ltd. | 1:50.1 |
| 2019 | Chrysoberyl | 3 | Yuga Kawada | Hidetaka Otonashi | U Carrot Farm | 1:48.5 |
| 2020 | Chuwa Wizard | 5 | Keita Tosaki | Ryuji Okubo | Shinobu Nakanishi | 1:49.3 |
| 2021 | T O Keynes | 4 | Kohei Matsuyama | Daisuke Takayanagi | Tomoya Ozasa | 1:49.7 |
| 2022 | Jun Light Bolt | 5 | Yukito Ishikawa | Yasuo Tomomichi | Junji Kawai | 1:51.9 |
| 2023 | Lemon Pop | 5 | Ryusei Sakai | Hiroyasu Tanaka | Godolphin | 1:50.6 |
| 2024 | Lemon Pop | 6 | Ryusei Sakai | Hiroyasu Tanaka | Godolphin | 1:50.1 |
| 2025 | W Heart Bond | 4 | Ryusei Sakai | Ryuji Okubo | Silk Racing Co., Ltd. | 1:50.2 |
Champions Cup winners | |
|---|---|
| 2000s |
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| 2010s |
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| 2020s | |
Legend - ♥ = Filly or Mare | |
