The G1 Takamatsunomiya Kinen (1200m), Japan’s first big sprint of the year, highlights Chukyo’s second meeting of 2022 on Sunday (27 March). Short on Group 1 winners, the field is dominated by five-year-old Resistencia, who towers above the other expected 17 contenders as she continues to capture headlines leading into the weekend’s race.

Resistencia is gunning for her second top-level victory, with the first, a five-length wire-to-wire win of the G1 Hanshin Juvenile Fillies (1600m) in record time already more than two years in the past. But the daughter of Daiwa Major has been well within reach of the winner’s circle since. She’s been highly consistent, with finishes in the top three in all but two of her 10 starts since, seven of those in G1s.

The Takamatsunomiya Kinen will be the first start for the mare since her G1 LONGINES Hong Kong Sprint (1200m) run at Sha Tin in December under Christophe Soumillon, where despite lost ground, she battled bravely to within a short length of the winner.

The striking bay solidified her expected race-favourite billing with a flawless, powerful workout up the Ritto hill under an assistant to trainer Takeshi Matsushita this week. Though short of her personal best 49.7s, her race-week 52.7s over 800m on slightly heavy ground left no room for complaint and required no more than a bit of encouragement in the final strides.

According to the assistant, Resistencia, tipping the scales at over 500kg (approx. 1102lb), is “more powerful now” and expected poor weather was “no concern” as she has proven herself on a number of occasions to be more than a “fair-weather filly.”

Watching her final workout yesterday was new partner Takeshi Yokoyama, the 23-year-old ace who landed an incredible five G1s last year and already has a G2 to his name this year.

Yokoyama was up last week for a 50.1s gallop over the same 800m and had been very impressed. “She uses her body in a much bigger, more dynamic way than I had imagined. Her speed is absolutely first-class,” he said.

Grenadier Guards, a Frankel four-year-old, is seen as Resistencia’s biggest rival. Also a G1 champion, the colt captured the 2020 G1 Asahi Hai Futurity Stakes, the two-year-old pinnacle race over the Hanshin mile. He, too, is returning without a sharpener following a win of the G2 Hanshin Cup (1400m) on Christmas Day.

Third in the G1 NHK Mile Cup (1600m) last year, this will be Grenadier Guards’ fourth top bid, but his first time over 1200m. His new partner will be Yuichi Fukunaga.

Fukunaga, who has a career three wins of the Takamatsunomiya Kinen, gave the colt a hard 1000m workout over the flat with a partner last week and wrapped it up with a sharp 10.8s sectional over the final 200m.

This week Grenadier Guards worked under trainer Mitsumasa Nakauchida and met with his approval. The colt looked good, his movement was good and though still young and mentally a bit immature, if things come together right, he is capable of giving a strong performance.

Meikei Yell is also shaping as a popular pick. A four-year-old by Mikki Isle, Meikei Yell returned from her G1 Sprinters Stakes (1200m) fourth to win the G3 Silk Road Stakes (1200m) at Chukyo on 30 January. She, like Resistencia and other females in the Takamatsunomiya Kinen field, will enjoy a 4.4-lb allowance and run under 121lb. She will be partnered by Kenichi Ikezoe, hoping for his second Takamatsunomiya Kinen win.

The Noriyuki Hori-trained Salios, a son of Heart’s Cry and winner of the 2019 Asahi Hai Futurity Stakes, is making an unusual move to the shorter distance. Runner-up in both the G1 Satsuki Sho (2000m) and G1 Japanese Derby (2400m) in 2020, he has been raced largely at the mile and was third in last year’s G1 LONGINES Hong Kong Mile (1600m).

Hori, two-time winner of the Takamatsunomiya Kinen, believes Salios has the speed and now, with the cooler temperatures and hoof trouble under control, his best chance at bagging a sprint.