The G1 Satsuki Sho (2000m), the equivalent of the 2000 Guineas as the first race in Japan’s Triple Crown, will be held this coming Sunday 18 April at Nakayama Racecourse, east of Tokyo, with 16 colts nominated.

The 81st running of the Satsuki Sho has no standout. The race is considered wide open, with any of a half dozen or more runners given high chances of taking home the winner’s bounty of JPY 110 million, or at least a share of the JPY 238.6 million in prize money.

For two years in a row now, the Satsuki Sho winner has been unbeaten – Saturnalia in 2019, Contrail in 2020 – and Contrail went on to capture the Triple Crown. This year, two hopefuls will go to the gate unbeaten – Efforia at three for three and Gratias with only two starts behind him. Both colts have captured G3 events, Gratias over the Nakayama 2000m, Efforia over the Tokyo 1800m.

Gratias heads into the Satsuki Sho not having raced since mid-January, Efforia notched the G3 Kyodo News Hai (1800m) a month later. Though it will be Efforia’s first time at Nakayama, he has handled a tighter, right-handed track before, when winning his debut over 2000m at Sapporo. “He has excellent racing sense and he did well at Sapporo, which is also one of the smaller tracks,” trainer Yuichi Shikato said. “He can handle Nakayama more than well enough. I am very, very much looking forward to this race.”

Efforia’s greatest challenge is not expected to come from Gratias, but from others with more experience. The most-often mentioned are Danon The Kid and Titleholder (both with G1 experience), Victipharus, and Deep Monster.

The only G1 winner in the mix is Danon The Kid. He captured the top-level Hopeful Stakes (2000m) at Nakayama last December, but he suffered his first loss in the G2 Yayoi Sho over the same distance at the same venue on 7 March when he finished a length and a half third behind winner Titleholder, who ran fourth in the G1 Hopeful Stakes.

Victipharus, second to Efforia in the Kyodo News Hai, topped the G2 Spring Stakes (1800m) at Nakayama on 21 March, beating runner-up Asamano Itazura by a head. In third place was Boden, who has made the money in all his three starts but is taking on his first 2000m. It will also be the first time at 2000m for Victipharus, but trainer Manabu Ikezoe says of his colt: “He’s by Heart’s Cry, so you can expect success even with the extra furlong.”

Deep Monster has yet to emerge into graded stakes competition, but has a solid record of three wins and one second in four career starts, all at 2000-2200m. In his last race, the Listed Sumire Stakes (2200m) at Hanshin, he easily topped the field by two and a half lengths.

Another to watch is G3 Kisaragi Sho (2000m) winner Lagom, who has two wins over 2000m, but will be taking on his first G1 and his first start at Nakayama. Kisaragi Sho runner-up Yoho Lake, who finished third in the Hopeful Stakes behind winner Danon The Kid, is also another one to watch.

Other Satsuki Sho hopefuls with G1 experience is Hopeful Stakes fifth Chevalier Rose, and from the other two-year-old top-level event last year, the Asahi Hai Futurity Stakes (1600m) runner-up Stella Veloce and third-place Red Belle Aube.