Kikuka Sho 2026 Results: Going to Sky Ends Lovcen's Triple Crown Bid

Kikuka Sho 2026 results: Going to Sky ends Lovcen's Triple Crown bid

Update (2026-11-05): Going to Sky won the Kikuka Sho 2026 at Kyoto on Sunday, Oct. 25, beating Basse Terre by a nose under Yutaka Take, with Danon History third. Lovcen, the heavy favourite, finished 14th of 18, so Japan still has no Triple Crown winner since Contrail in 2020.

This page previewed the race before Oct. 25. It now has the official result, how the race was run and what it means for Lovcen.

The key facts:

• Race: 87th Kikuka Sho (Japanese St. Leger), Grade 1
• When: Sunday, Oct. 25, 2026, post time 15:40 Japan time
• Where: Kyoto Racecourse, 3,000m on turf, right-handed, 18 runners
• Going: Good to firm, cloudy
• Winning time: 3:04.5, well outside the 3:01.0 race and course record
• Winner's connections: trainer Yuki Uehara, owner Field Racing, bred by Chiyoda Farm Shizunai

How the race was run

The stamina question this page raised before the race turned out to be the right one, but it was answered by the start. The JRA's race report says Lovcen broke poorly and settled fourth or fifth from the rear.

He made ground on the outside before the third corner, the start of the final downhill run. In the straight he had nothing left and faded to 14th.

Going to Sky had the opposite trip. Take told BloodHorse the colt settled nicely in a good spot along the rail, so he waited and saved his move for the stretch. He held off Basse Terre by the smallest margin in racing.

That is the 3,000m lesson in one race: the horse that relaxed and saved ground won, and the favourite who had to use energy to make up ground ran out of it.

Going to Sky: a son of Contrail

Going to Sky is a bay colt by Contrail, the last Japanese Triple Crown winner, out of the Tapit mare Goin to the Window. So the colt who stopped the next Triple Crown is the son of the last one.

His record before Kyoto was solid but not spectacular:

• Debut: won over 2,000m at Tokyo as a 2-year-old.
• Kyoto Nisai Stakes (G3): third.
• Kisaragi Sho (G3), February: sixth.
• Aoba Sho (G2, 2,400m), April: won.
• Tokyo Yushun (Derby): fourth, behind Lovcen.
• St. Lite Kinen (G2), Sept. 13: sixth.

The Kikuka Sho was his third win in seven starts. It also set several firsts:

• Yutaka Take won his sixth Kikuka Sho, the most by any jockey, nearly four decades after his first in 1988. It was his 87th JRA Grade 1.
• Yuki Uehara, who opened his stable in 2023, won his first Grade 1 as a trainer.
• Contrail got his first Grade 1 winner as a sire.

Take said he had felt after the Derby that the colt had a good chance in the final leg of the Triple Crown.

What it means for Lovcen

Lovcen's record is now 5 wins from 7 starts. He still holds two classics, the Satsuki Sho in a record 1:56.5 and the Derby, plus the Hopeful Stakes at two.

The JRA had noted before the race that he was the 25th colt to win both spring classics, and only eight of those went on to win the Kikuka Sho. He joins the long list who couldn't finish the job, which shows how hard the sweep is.

His struggles at the start were not new. Before the race, Matsuyama told Idol Horse the colt almost reared in the gate before his Kobe Shimbun Hai win in September.

The sources we checked had no official word on his next start. If he takes on older horses, our Japan Cup 2026 guide covers that race.

What is the Japanese Triple Crown?

Japan's colts' Triple Crown is three Grade 1 races for 3-year-olds, modeled on England's classics. Each leg gets longer, so a winner has to show speed in spring and stamina in autumn.

1. Satsuki Sho (April, Nakayama, 2,000m): the speed test, like the 2000 Guineas.
2. Tokyo Yushun (late May or early June, Tokyo, 2,400m): the Japanese Derby.
3. Kikuka Sho (late October, Kyoto, 3,000m): the stamina test, like the St Leger.

Here is how it compares with the two crowns most fans know:

The big difference is timing. The US races are packed into about five weeks, and Britain's run from early May to September, about four months. Japan spreads them over six months, so a colt has to stay sound and in form from April to October.

If you're new to race classes, our guide to what a Grade 1 race is explains the grading system. Canada has its own version too: see the Canadian Triple Crown.

Japan Triple Crown winners list

• St Lite (1941)
• Shinzan (1964)
• Mr. C.B. (1983)
• Symboli Rudolf (1984)
• Narita Brian (1994)
• Deep Impact (2005)
• Orfevre (2011)
• Contrail (2020)

Symboli Rudolf, Deep Impact and Contrail did it unbeaten. After the 2026 Kikuka Sho, the list still stands at eight.

Why 3,000 meters is such a stamina test

The Kikuka Sho is about 1 mile 7 furlongs. That's 600 meters longer than the Derby, and for most of the field it is the longest race of their lives so far.

Three things make it hard for a 3-year-old:

• They're still growing. In late October these colts are only about three and a half years old, and few have raced beyond 2,400m.
• The course works them twice. The trip takes nearly a lap and a half of Kyoto, so runners climb and come down the hill on the far turn twice, and pass the grandstand twice.
• Settling matters more than speed. A horse that uses energy early has less for the final 400m. Jockeys spend the first half trying to get their horse to relax.

For anyone who rides, it's the same principle as pacing a long trail ride or an endurance course: rhythm first, speed last. Our disciplines guide covers how different sports test fitness.

The pedigree angle: two grandsons of Deep Impact

Before the race, pedigree looked like Lovcen's strength. His sire, World Premiere, won the Kikuka Sho in 2019 and later the 3,200m Tenno Sho (Spring).

The winner's pedigree was just as strong. Both World Premiere and Contrail are sons of Deep Impact, the 2005 Triple Crown winner, so the race stayed in the same family line, just not with the horse fans expected.

It's a good reminder that pedigree hints at what a horse can do, but it never guarantees it. On the day, the start, the trip and how a horse settles can matter more.

Where to find the replay and full results

• The JRA's English site (japanracing.jp) has the full result and race report.
• The JRA's official YouTube channel posts race footage, although what you can see may depend on your region.
• netkeiba's English site has the result page and news.
• Your local racing channel or licensed racing app may carry replays; coverage varies by country.

Horse Academy doesn't give picks or betting advice. For how Japanese stars do abroad, read about Forever Young, and for more racing explainers, browse Horse Academy trends.