Date: 25th Sep 2022
Race Type: Grade 2
Track: Chukyo Racecourse
Distance: 2200s (Turf)
Prize Money: ¥117,540,000 (US$1,023,000)
Kobe Shimbun Hai Preview
The Kobe Shimbun Hai is a Grade 2 Race open to thoroughbred runners age three and above. The race has a distance of 2.2kms and takes place at Chukyo Racecourse. This time the race is being held on 25th September and has total prize money of US$1,023,000, while the race winner will be awarded US$470,000 from the total reward. In 2021, Stella Veloce won the race.
The Kobe Shimbun Hai was run for the first time in 1953. In 1984, the race was promoted to a Grade 2 status. Until 2006, the race was held at Chukyo Racecourse and ran a distance of 2000m. In 2019, the race was shifted to Hanshin Racecourse and ran over at a distance of 2400m. In 2020, the race was again shifted to Chukyo Racecourse, and the distance was also changed to 2200m.
The Kobe Shimbun Hai serves as a good lead-up race for Japanese St. Leger, commonly known as Kikuka Sho. It is a Grade 1 race reserved for colts and fillies ages three and more. The Japanese St. Leger race is held at the Kyoto Racecourse in October every year and has a distance of 3000m. Due to ongoing renovation work in Kyoto Racecourse, the race will be held at Hanshin Racecourse.
The winner of the Kobe Shimbun Hai will later go on to compete in the St. Leger in October. In the past, Kobe Shimbun Hai has produced many winners of the Kikuka Sho. The latest horse to have completed the double for the Kobe Shimbun Hai and Kikuka Sho was Contrail in 2020. The champion also won the Group 1 Japan Cup in November 2021.
Betting on the favourites at the Kobe Shimbun Hai has been quite favourable for the punters in the past.
In the last ten years, favourites have saluted for the punters at least seven times. Even last year’s winner Stella Veloce was the second favourite at the odds table and improved one position to lead the race. The other two exceptions were in 2015 and 2018, when the third and second favourites led the race, respectively. Hence a good tip for the race would be to consider the latest form of the line-up, particularly over long-distance races.