Shin Emperor (Picture: Ryusei Sakai)
By Andy Newton
Sports Editor (sportscasting.com)
Published on October 02, 2024
Top Japanese racehorse Shin Emperor will head to Longchamp racecourse trying to make history and become the first runner from the country to win the Prix de l’Arc de Triomphe.
If the Prix de l’Arc de Triomphe market is anything to go by with the best horse racing betting sites in the UK, then the Japanese-trained Shin Emperor will have a massive chance of creating history in Sunday’s big Longchamp race.
The 3 year-old colt is generally third best in the market – with only the French Derby winner Look De Vega and recent Prix Niel hero and current Arc favourite Sosie ahead of him.
Sunday’s Prix de l’Arc de Triomphe is a race that Japan likes to target each season, and with one of their best chances for a long time, you can expect millions of Far East horse racing fans to be glued to their TV’s on Sunday night.
The position of Shin Emperor in the Prix de l’Arc de Triomphe betting is largely down to two things.
Firstly a staying on third in the Japan Derby at the end of May (watch below), which came over 1m4f.
While having returned from a 111-day break Shin Emperor returned better than ever to run third behind two of the best middle distance racehorses around at the moment – Auguste Rodin and Economics – in the Irish Champion Stakes.
He was beaten only a length at the line and was again doing his best work at the finish over that 1m2f trip to suggest the step back up to 1m4f (Arc trip) will be right up his street.
Having taken in that Irish Champion Stakes off a 111-day lay-off then he’s also expected to have improved for the run. This should make him spot-on for Sunday’s Arc.
The Softer Ground Is A BIG Unknown For Shin Emperor, so despite everything pointing to a big run from Shin Emperor – those looking to take on the Japanese runner will certainly look at the ground.
It’s expected to be soft, or even heavy conditions, at Longchamp on Sunday and this is where a lot of trust has to be taken into account.
Shin Emperor is yet to race on anything softer than ‘good’. All his runs to date have come on either ‘good-to-firm’ or ‘good’.
There is some hope though when looking at Shin Emperor’s breeding. His sire, Siyouni won on heavy ground, while his Dam’s sire – Galileo – also won on heavy and soft.
Shin Emperor Career In Numbers
Runs: 7
Wins: 2
Trainer: Yoshito Yahagi
Jockey: Ryusei Sakai
Career Prize Money: £1,208,282
Last Race: 3rd Leopardstown (Irish Champion Stakes)
Prix de l’Arc de Triomphe 2024 Race Details
📅Date: Sunday 6th October 2024
⌚Time: 3:20pm
🏇Racecourse: Longchamp
💰Winning Purse: £2,484,348
📺 TV: ITV / Sky Racing
Past Japan Prix de l’Arc de Triomphe Runners That Have Gone Close To Winning:
12 months ago, in the Arc we saw a runner for Japan – Through Seven Seas – run a cracking fourth and beaten only 1 1/4 lengths.
While prior to that in 2022, their army of runners Titleholder (11th), Stay Foolish (14th), Deep Bond (18th) and Do Deuce (19th) finished downfield.
Japan have come close to winning though, when El Condor Pasa ran second in 1999 – only getting mowed down late on by the classy Montjeu.
In 2012 Orfevre was a neck runner-up to Solemia and before that in 2006 Deep Impact was a red-hot favourite but could only manage third behind Rail Link. But the Japanese horse was later disqualified after a banned substance was found in his sample.
As well as having Shin Emperor in the 2024 Prix de l’Arc de Triomphe, Japan will also be cheering on the Joseph O’Brien runner Al Riffa as he’s set to be ridden by legendary Japanese jockey Yutaka Take.
55 year-old Take is the biggest rider in Japan with a monster following, plus is said to be one of the richest jockeys in the world with a staggering £700m worth.
Take, who has jocked-off regular Al Riffa rider Dylan Browne McMonagle, has ridden in the Arc ten times in the past – but, like his country, is still to win the race. His last ride in the race was on Do Deuce (19th) in the 2022 renewal.
Al Riffa was also seen winning the Grosser Preis von Berlin in Germany by 5 lengths (watch below) – which was a race recent Arc winners Alpinista and Torquator Tasso both won too.
Japan Had The Highest-Rated Flat Horse In The World In 2023.
The racehorse Equinox, who retired at the end of 2023, was a big name that flew the flag for Japan.
Despite not running in the Arc or Europe, Equinox was the winner of the 2023 Longines World’s Best Racehorse award last season, having won the Japan Cup and Sheema Classic during his career.
In total, he raced 10 times and won eight of those – winning a massive $15,930,077 in total prize money along the way.
Equinox now stands at the Shadai Stallion Station stud in Japan.
