THE pinnacle of Group 1 racing in the land of the rising sun, the Japan Cup, was run for the 40th time over 2,400 metres at Tokyo Racecourse last Sunday.

Fifteen participants lined up in front of just over 4,500 socially distanced spectators, with €4,500,000 on offer in the prize pool. (Typically, the Japan Cup draws crowds of about 100,000 in any ‘normal’ year.)