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The dirt racing event will be hosted by the JRA for the first time and held at Kyoto Racecourse on November 4.
While the majority of grade races held by the JRA is on turf, racing on National Association of Racing (NAR; local public racing) tracks is mainly on dirt. Many of the big dirt events are held at regional tracks, including the JBC, which is a championship festival with three G1 events – the JBC Classic (dirt, 1,900m), JBC Sprint (dirt, 1,200m) and JBC Ladies' Classic (dirt, 1,800m) – which are held on a single day and hosted by different tracks year to year. This year, to help popularize JBC and dirt racing among a broader range of fans, the event will be hosted by the JRA for the first time and held at Kyoto Racecourse on November 4.
Dirt racing continues to center around Gold Dream (JPN, H5, by Gold Allure), winner of last year's February Stakes (G1, dirt, 1,600m) and Champions Cup (G1, dirt, 1,800m). The 2017 Best Dirt Horse was just a neck short of a consecutive victory in this year's February Stakes but went on to back-to-back wins in the Kashiwa Kinen (dirt, 1,600m) and the Teio Sho (dirt, 2,000m). The son of Gold Allure (JPN, by Sunday Silence) has improved in rounding turns more tightly, which has enhanced his ability to win on various tracks. Nonkono Yume (JPN, G6, by Twining), who beat Gold Dream in this year's February Stakes, was fourth to the same foe in the Kashiwa Kinen. Both horses will meet again in the Mile Championship Nambu Hai (dirt, 1,600m) on October 8. Meanwhile, Champions Cup runner-up T M Jinsoku (JPN, H6, by Kurofune) kicked off this season with a wire-to-wire victory in the Tokai Stakes (G2, dirt, 1,800m) but was heavily beaten to 12th in the February Stakes, and then struggled to sixth in his following two starts. The son of Kurofune (USA, by French Deputy) is hoped to bounce back to form in his fall debut, the Nippon TV Hai (dirt, 1,800m) on October 3.
Among other top finishers in the 2017 Champions Cup, third-place finisher Copano Rickey (JPN, by Gold Allure) concluded his stellar career with a victory in the Tokyo Daishoten (G1, dirt, 2,000m). Fourth place K T Brave (JPN, H5, by Admire Max) was third in the Tokyo Daishoten and kicked off his five-year-old campaign with a victory in the Kawasaki Kinen (dirt, 2,100m) but found the mile distance in the February Stakes too short for his liking and disappointed to 11th. He bounced back to win his next Diolite Kinen (dirt, 2,400m), and then followed up with a runner-up effort in the Teio Sho. He will make his fall comeback in the Nippon TV Hai. Fifth-place Awardee (USA, by Jungle Pocket) died from an accident after being turned out to pasture in August. The 2016 Champions Cup winner Sound True (JPN, G8, by French Deputy), who disappointed to 11th in the 2017 edition of the race, regained form to finish runner-up in his next race, the Tokyo Daishoten, and has been strong this season, finishing third in the Teio Sho in June.
Le Vent Se Leve (JPN, C3, by Symboli Kris S), the standout among the three-year-olds on dirt, has registered five wins – including the Zen-Nippon Nisai Yushun (dirt, 1,600m), the Unicorn Stakes (G3, dirt, 1,600m) and the Japan Dirt Derby (dirt, 2,000m) – and a second out of six career starts. He will be facing his seniors for the first time in the Mile Championship Nambu Hai.