Japan’s 57-Year Arc Quest Continues with Admire Terra and Meisho Tabaru

Admire Terra and Meisho Tabaru will carry Japan’s hopes Sunday at ParisLongchamp as one of world racing’s most successful nations once again attempts to capture the prize that has eluded it for more than half a century: the Qatar Prix de l’Arc de Triomphe.

PARIS, France — For Japan, winning the Qatar Prix de l’Arc de Triomphe has become much more than another international objective.

It is unfinished business.

For 57 years, Japanese racing has pursued victory in France’s most celebrated race, beginning when Speed Symboli became the first Japanese-trained horse to contest the Arc in 1969. Since then, Japan has developed into a global powerhouse, producing champions capable of winning major races across the United States, Dubai, Saudi Arabia, Hong Kong and Australia.

Yet the Arc remains unconquered.

On Sunday, October 4, at ParisLongchamp, Admire Terra and Meisho Tabaru will become the latest horses entrusted with trying to change that history.

The challenge is considerable. The €5 million Group 1 is contested over 2,400 meters at ParisLongchamp, a course whose undulations and often more testing ground provide a dramatically different examination from the fast, relatively flat tracks Japanese horses generally encounter at home.

But if Japan has learned anything from more than five decades of trying, it is that conquering the Arc may require doing things differently.

So Close, Yet Still Searching

Japan has not simply participated in the Arc. On several occasions, it has come agonizingly close to winning it.

El Condor Pasa nearly made history in 1999, leading deep into the race before being caught by Montjeu. Nakayama Festa was beaten only a head by Workforce in 2010.

Then came perhaps the most painful chapter of all.

Japanese Triple Crown winner Orfevre appeared poised to finally deliver the breakthrough in 2012 before Solemia caught him near the finish. He returned one year later and finished second again, this time behind Treve.

Those four runner-up performances — El Condor Pasa, Nakayama Festa and Orfevre twice — remain Japan’s best results in the race. No Japanese-trained horse has finished as high as second since Orfevre in 2013.

The pursuit continued in 2025, when Byzantine Dream finished fifth, Japan’s best Arc result in more than a decade. According to the Japan Racing Association, 38 Japanese-trained horses had attempted the Arc through the 2025 edition.

Now Admire Terra and Meisho Tabaru take their turn.

Admire Terra: Learning From Previous Attempts

For trainer Yasuo Tomomichi, Admire Terra represents not only another opportunity but the product of lessons learned from previous defeats.

Winner of the Hanshin Daishoten (G2), Admire Terra arrived in France approximately three weeks before the Arc and has been preparing with the assistance of Japanese trainer Satoshi Kobayashi, who is based in Chantilly.

This will be Tomomichi’s third attempt at the race. He previously saddled Makahiki, 14th in 2016, and Do Deuce, 19th in 2022.

Those experiences influenced the way he approached 2026.

“On my two previous attempts, I brought two very high-quality horses over from Japan. I learned a great deal from those two experiences,” Tomomichi said during a France Galop press conference. “In particular, they led me this time to look for a horse that could really adapt to French ground, because racing in France is difficult.”

Instead of using a French prep race, Tomomichi kept Admire Terra in Japan for the majority of his preparation before bringing him to France for his final three weeks.

The trainer believes the horse’s combination of power, stamina, experience and action could make him particularly suitable for Longchamp.

“This year, we really looked for a horse who might be better able to adapt to Longchamp,” Tomomichi said. “Among the horses we had available, Admire Terra seemed to us to be the best candidate.”

Demuro Brings Something Japan Knows It Needs: Arc Experience

Another important piece of the plan is Cristian Demuro.

The Italian jockey knows exactly what it takes to win the Arc, having captured the race aboard Sottsass in 2020 and Ace Impact in 2023.

Demuro rode Admire Terra during a gallop at ParisLongchamp on September 22, giving both horse and rider an opportunity to become familiar with each other and, importantly, giving Admire Terra experience over the Longchamp course before race day.

Demuro came away encouraged.

“I immediately had a good impression,” he said. “He had a good attitude on the track and was very well balanced. When I asked him to accelerate, he responded to me and kept going all the way to the finish.”

After subsequently riding him at Chantilly, Demuro believes the Japanese runner has continued to progress.

“I think he is at the peak of his form,” Demuro said. “I don’t think we could have him much better than this. Now I hope everything goes well on Sunday.”

The jockey also understands one of the fundamental questions facing Japanese runners in the Arc: can they reproduce their best form under completely different racing conditions?

Longchamp’s uphill and downhill sections, combined with potentially softer turf, present an entirely different test from Japan.

Yet Demuro believes Admire Terra possesses the attributes necessary to handle it.

“Despite these differences, I don’t think there will be a problem for Admire Terra,” he said. “I think he can adapt very well to this track.”

Meisho Tabaru Takes a Different Road to Paris

Japan’s second challenger arrives with another intriguing storyline.

Meisho Tabaru, winner of the Takarazuka Kinen (G1), heads directly into the Arc without a European prep race.

Trainer Mamoru Ishibashi revealed that Sunday’s appearance is the culmination of a plan that began after the horse’s Takarazuka Kinen success.

The Arc had been discussed as a future target, and provided everything progressed correctly, 2026 would be the year to take the chance.

“We followed that programme and that is why we are here today,” Ishibashi said.

It is an especially emotional journey for the horse’s connections because Meisho Tabaru’s owner died last year.

“The fact that we can be here today, continuing the challenges that he had undertaken, is very important to us,” Ishibashi said.

His conclusion was simple:

“Nothing is impossible.”

Yutaka Take Chases the Dream Again

Few people better symbolize Japan’s international racing ambitions than Yutaka Take.

Now celebrating his 40th year as a jockey, the legendary rider will make his 12th appearance in the Prix de l’Arc de Triomphe aboard Meisho Tabaru.

Take has already experienced an Arc podium, finishing third aboard the French-trained Sagacity in 2001. But victory in the race continues to elude him.

“The Qatar Prix de l’Arc de Triomphe is a very special race,” Take said. “So far, I have not achieved the results I had hoped for, but I have always wanted to come back.”

At this stage of an extraordinary career, the Arc remains part of what keeps him riding.

“The Qatar Prix de l’Arc de Triomphe is also one of my motivations,” he said. “This race makes me want to continue my career.”

Meisho Tabaru has frequently produced his best performances from the front, and Take acknowledged that allowing him to use that natural speed could again be the initial plan Sunday.

But nothing is predetermined.

“I am considering several scenarios,” Take said. “He is used to going to the front and has achieved good results that way. So the initial idea could be to let him go to the front as usual. But a lot of things can happen in a race and we will have to be able to adapt.”

57 Years Later, Japan Returns to Longchamp

The significance of Sunday’s challenge stretches far beyond two horses.

When Speed Symboli arrived in Europe in 1969, international campaigns for Japanese racehorses were extraordinary undertakings. More than half a century later, Japanese horses regularly travel the world and have demonstrated that they belong among international racing’s elite.

The Arc, however, has resisted them.

The near-misses have only added to the race’s importance: El Condor Pasa in 1999. Nakayama Festa in 2010. Orfevre in 2012. Orfevre again in 2013.

And countless journeys home wondering what might have been.

Tomomichi understands exactly what victory would represent.

“The Qatar Prix de l’Arc de Triomphe is a race I dream about,” he said. “No Japanese horse has ever won it. It is a very special race for all Japanese people.”

“If I could become the first Japanese trainer to win it — with a Japanese horse — it would be a dream come true.”

On Sunday at ParisLongchamp, Admire Terra and Meisho Tabaru will attempt to turn that dream into history.

Fifty-seven years after Speed Symboli began Japan’s pursuit of the Arc, the search for that elusive first victory continues.

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