REGALEIRA - QEII Cup - Photo: Toshiyuki Miki
Everything is set for the 70th running of the ARIMA KINEN (G1), the most prestigious and eagerly anticipated race on the Japan Racing Association (JRA) calendar, to be held this Sunday, December 28, 2025, at the historic Nakayama Racecourse in Japan.
A field of 16 horses, selected from 22 originally nominated, has been officially confirmed for this iconic event. They will compete over 2,500 meters on turf for the richest and most prestigious prize in Japanese racing. The Arima Kinen offers a purse equal to that of the Japan Cup, with ¥500 million awarded to the winner (approximately US$3.2 million) and a total prize fund of ¥960 billion (around US$6.1 million).
One of the defining features of the Arima Kinen is that part of the field is chosen through a public fan vote, reinforcing the race’s unique bond with racing fans. This year’s clear favorite is REGALEIRA, winner of the 2024 Arima Kinen, who dominated the ballot with more than 612,700 votes, more than three times the number she received last year, making her the most popular horse fans wished to see return.
Alongside Regaleira, five additional horses from the fan-voted Top 10 have been included in the final field: Meisho Tabaru (fourth in the vote), Justin Palace (sixth), Museum Mile (seventh), Danon Decile (eighth), and Redentor (tenth).
The Arima Kinen is open to horses aged three and older, including geldings. This year, the two three-year-old colts and two fillies in the field will carry 56 kilograms, while the remaining runners will shoulder 58 kilograms. The race is scheduled as the 11th event on a 12-race card at Nakayama and will go to post at 3:40 p.m. local time, which corresponds to 1:40 a.m. Eastern Time (U.S.).
Here’s a look at those horses gaining attention:
Regaleira: The Suave Richard-sired Regaleira just clinched her third G1 victory, the Queen Elizabeth II Cup on Nov. 16, adding to her wins of the 2023 Hopeful Stakes and last year’s Arima Kinen. After last year becoming the first 3-year-old filly in 64 years to win the Arima Kinen, Regaleira was discovered to have suffered a fracture. She didn’t race again until the June 15 Takarazuka Kinen, where she finished in 11th place, her first double-digit result. Back in the winner’s circle three months later in the Grade 2 Sankei Sho All Comers over 2,200 meters at Nakayama, then she landed the QEII Cup at Kyoto.
If she can notch a second win in a row of the Arima Kinen, Regaleira will join only four other horses that have done so – Speed Symboli (Japan’s first runner in the Arc), Triple Crown champion Symboli Rudolf, Grass Wonder and Symboli Kris S. Regaleira also would become the very first filly/mare to land back-to-back Arima Kinen victories. Last year, the filly was paired with Keita Tosaki, but this year her expected partner will be Christophe Lemaire, currently atop the jockey rankings with a total 138 firsts, seven wins ahead of second-place Tosaki.
Danon Decile: A 4-year-old old son of Epiphaneia, Danon Decile has two wins from four starts this year. He has landed two G1s thus far (the Tokyo Yushun (Japanese Derby) at Tokyo and the Dubai Sheema Classic at Meydan, and has only missed the board once in his career. Third here last year and coming off a third-place finish in the Japan Cup three months after returning from England, the big chestnut has had an extremely demanding schedule, especially with the effort it took to finish a mere 0.5 seconds behind the record-setting Calandagan in the Japan Cup.
Danon Decile also had to deal with Masquerade Ball crashing into him after the two had passed the finish line, in what was a bizarre confrontation that unseated both Christophe Lemaire and Keita Tosaki. Tosaki, who has ridden Danon Decile’s last four starts, is expected up on Sunday.
Museum Mile: This year’s Satsuki Sho (Japanese 2000 Guineas) champion, Museum Mile, is by 2015 Asahi Futurity Stakes winner Leontes, whose promising racing career was cut short by tendonitis in his 3-year-old year. Son Museum Mile is eyeing his second big title. In his three starts following the Satsuki Sho, Museum Mile was 6-2 at the top level, first in the Japanese Derby and, in the Tenno Sho (Autumn), where he competed against older horses for his first time. In between those two big tests, he won the Grade 2 St. Lite Kinen over 2,200 meters at Nakayama. Having passed on the last of the 3-year-old classics, the Arima Kinen will be his longest race (by 100 meters) to date. The colt is said to be in good condition, filled out and fresh.
Meisho Tabaru: A 4-year-old Gold Ship colt, Meisho Tabaru, returned early this year from a fifth place in the Grade 1 Dubai Turf, took the lead characteristically in the Grade 1 Takarazuka Kinen and held it all the way home, landing on his fourth attempt the first big win of his career. Following the Takarazuka Kinen, Meisho Tabaru returned in the fall and took on the Tenno Sho (Autumn) and finished in sixth place. His five career wins have all come in the 1,800-2,200 range and key will be whether he can follow in his sire’s footsteps and land the Arima Kinen.
Justin Palace: Winner of the Grade 1 Tenno Sho (Spring) in 2023 and second in two other top-level competitions, the now 6-year-old Justin Palace heads into his fourth bid in the Arima Kinen. He went to the Arima from the Kikuka Sho in 2022, from the Tenno Sho (Autumn) in 2023, but over the last two years the demand doubled in his fall campaign. Three big events were on his menu this year and last year, the Ritto-based son of Deep Imact went from the Tenno Sho (Autumn) to the Japan Cup to the Arima Kinen. Last year, he was 4-5 heading in, this year it’s 3-5. This will be Justince Palace’s retirement race. Jockey Taisei Danno, who took the reins in this year’s Tenno Sho (Autumn), is expected up.
Shin Emperor: Second in the 2023 Hopeful Stakes, 5-3 in the first two classics the following year, Shin Emperor is another of those who have come so close but have failed to land a big title. After the Japanese Derby, the French-born colt was off to Ireland, then France, posting 3-12 in the top level Irish Champion Stakes at Leopardstown and the Prix de l’Arc de Triomphe at Longchamp. Following a second in the Japan Cup last year, it was decided to take him abroad again and the Yoshito Yahagi-trained son of Siyouni picked up his first overseas win, the Grade 2 Neom Turf in Riyadh in late February. He then missed the board again in the Dubai Sheema Classic (7th place), and in the Irish Champion Stakes (6th place), before returning to Japan.
Only two months and-some later, he scored an eighth in the Japan Cup, where he was in part disadvantaged by a wide draw. He is tough, tenacious and gutsy, but whether Shin Emperor can rise to the heights while being whisked all over the globe and challenged by one big test after another, remains to be seen.
Others to watch: The 4-year-old Admire Terra gave himself a 58-kg handicap when he tripped and dumped Yuga Kawada at the Japan Cup break. Sired by 2018 Arima runnerup Rey de Oro, Admire Terra has made the board in all his 10 legitimate finishes, placed third in the Kikuka Sho last year, and won the 2,500-meter G2 Meguro Kinen this year. Kawada may get a better chance at the pot this time around.
Tastiera heads into his third start this autumn since winning the Queen Elizabeth II Cup in Hong Kong in the spring. He scored a lackluster 8-7 in the Tenno Sho (Autumn) and Japan Cup, where he ran into trouble with the freewheeling Admire Terra. Interference in the final stage was also a factor in his sixth-place finish in the 2023 Arima. With a smooth trip, he should run better.
Edited Press Release
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