A year earlier, Regaleira defeated males in the Hopeful and parlayed that into grade 1 wins in both 2024 and 2025. In 2019, Contrail won the Hopeful and, in the following season, swept the Japanese Triple Crown and finished second to Almond Eye in one of the most dramatic runnings of the Japan Cup.In short, the Hopeful usually is a key race for identifying players for the coming year’s classics and beyond. And, often, some of the main contenders for Hopeful honors make their case known in preparation for the race.
This year’s renewal of the 2,000-meter (about 1 1/4 miles) race Dec. 27 at Nakayama Racecourse may well turn out again to be a springboard to glory. But the candidates for future fame remain unusually undefined.
Croix du Nord was sent off as a massive favorite a year ago on the strength of a 2-for-2 record capped by a victory in the Hai Nisai Stakes (G2T) a month before the Hopeful. This year, there are no grade 2 winners in the field.
