# Champions Cup (horse race)

The Champions Cup (JPN G-1, formerly the Japan Cup Dirt until 2013) is a thoroughbred horse race contested in Japan in early December. It is run for three-year-olds and older at a distance of 1,800 meters. In recent years, the race has followed the Japan Cup on the Japanese racing calendar.

## Race information

* Racecourse: Chukyo Racecourse
* Distance: 1,800 meters (About 9. furlongs), Dirt, Right-handed
* Qualification to run: 3-y-o & Up
* Weight: 3-y-o colts & geldings 56 kg
* 3-y-o fillies 54 kg
* 4-y-o & up horses & geldings 58 kg
* 4-y-o & up mares 56 kg
* Safety Factor: 16 (There will be a maximum of 8 foreign-trained starters)

## 2008 changes

The race was moved from Tokyo Racecourse to Hanshin Racecourse in 2008. The Japan Cup Dirt had been overshadowed by its turf counterpart (the Japan 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.
With the move to Hanshin, the Japan Cup Dirt was shortened from its original distance of 2,100 meters (about 10+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.

## 2014 changes

The Japan Cup Dirt was moved to Chukyo Racecourse in 2014 and renamed the Champions Cup. According to the Japan Racing Association, the decision to make changes to the race was because of a lack of international participation. 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.

## Purse

(For the 2007 running)
Total JPN ¥277,900,000 (U.S$. 2,416,000)
* 1st JPN ¥130,000,000 (U.S$. 1,103,000)
* 2nd JPN ¥52,000,000 (U.S$. 452,000)
* 3rd JPN ¥33,000,000 (U.S$. 286,000)
* 4th JPN ¥20,000,000 (U.S$. 173,000)
* 5th JPN ¥13,000,000 (U.S$. 113,000)
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 |
| Dubai World Cup Breeders' Cup Classic Kentucky Derby | 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 |

## Winners

| 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 |
* 2000, 2001, 2003–2007: Tokyo Racecourse, 2,100 meters, counter-clockwise (left-handed)
* 2002: Nakayama Racecourse, 1,800 meters, clockwise (right-handed)
* 2008–2013: Hanshin Racecourse, 1,800 meters, clockwise
* 2014–present (scheduled): Chukyo Racecourse, 1,800 meters, counter-clockwise