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The 76th running of the Asahi Hai Futurity Stakes will be held on Sunday, 15th December and it is a 1,600m outer turf event at Kyoto Racecourse.

This Sunday (December 15) sees the Grade 1 Asahi Hai Futurity Stakes next up on the JRA calendar, and after the 2-year-old fillies race last week, it's the turn of the colts this week. The race is run at Kyoto this year, with renovation work continuing at the Hanshin Racecourse, and racing doesn't return there until next spring.

The Grade 1 Asahi Hai Futurity Stakes was first run back in 1949, when it was known as the Asahi Hai Sansai Stakes. It was originally run over just 1,100 meters, but became a 1,200- meter race in 1959, and three years after that, the distance was set at a mile. It was elevated to a Grade 1 race in 1984, and got its current name in 2001. In 2010 it was opened to runners from overseas. Previously the race was run at Nakayama, but since 2014 it's been held at Hanshin.

This year sees 19 nominations for a maximum 18 runner field, and the race is run over a mile on the outer turf course at Kyoto. No geldings are permitted to run, but there is one filly amongst the nominated horses. Colts carry 56kg, and there's a 1kg allowance for fillies.

While some of the runners go into the race having just won a maiden, a couple of graded races leading into Sunday's race have been the Grade 3 Saudi Arabia Royal Cup, run over a mile at Tokyo in October, and the Grade 2 Keio Hai Nisai Stakes, also run at Tokyo, but in November and over 1,400 meters.

Over the last ten years, four first favorites have won the race, with Jantar Mantar being the last one to win in 2023. Seven of the last ten winners have been trained at the Ritto Training Center in the west of Japan, and in the past decade jockey Yuga Kawada has won the race three times. Record time for the race (at Hanshin) is held by Grenadier Guards, who won in a time of 1 minute 32.3 seconds in 2020. This year's winner's check is JPY 70 million (in the region of USD 500,000).

The 76th running of the Grade 1 Asahi Hai Futurity Stakes will be Race 11 on the Sunday card at Kyoto, with a post time locally of 15.40. Final declarations and the barrier draw will come out later in the week.

Here's a look at some of the runners expected to play a part in the race:

Museum Mile: The colt by Leontes has won his last two races, and looked particularly impressive last time, when running out an easy winner of the Kigiku Sho over 2,000 meters at Kyoto in November. He's had a short break at Northern Farm Shigaraki, and returned to the stable of Daisuke Takayanagi on November 26. "He looked a little heavy in his first piece of work since returning, but that was the same last time, and as he picks up in training, he doesn't seem heavy after being back for a while now," the trainer said. Jockey Cristian Demuro rode the horse in the Kigiku Sho, and will ride him again this time.

Arlecchino: Another colt returning to the Miho Training Center and the stable of Sakae Kunieda, Arlecchino is a half-brother to this year's Grade 1 Yushun Himba (Japanese Oaks) winner, Cervinia. Working solo on the woodchip course recently at Miho, Arlecchino posted a six-furlong time of 84.4 seconds, closing out the final furlong in 12.4 seconds. Comments from the trainer were: "There doesn't seem to be any change with him, and he looks sharp, so all's well with him." The colt by Bricks and Mortar was last seen finishing fifth in the Grade 3 Saudi Arabia Royal Cup over a mile at Tokyo in October, and Christophe Lemaire is set for the ride once again.

Panja Tower: Jockey Kohei Matsuyama has struck up a good partnership already with the colt by Tower of London, and the horse is unbeaten in his two starts to date. His latest win came in the Grade 2 Keio Hai Nisai Stakes over 1,400 meters at Tokyo in November, and trainer Shinsuke Hashiguchi is pleased with him going into this next race. "He's been as expected in his recent work," the trainer said. "He's chased down his training partners well, and there's no change with the way he's moving. The jockey thinks a mile will suit him, and that he could have done even better in his last race if the ground had been better."

Arte Veloce: The colt by Maurice is another who's unbeaten in his two starts, and won on his debut at Sapporo in July over 1,500 meters, before following that up with his next win in the Grade 3 Saudi Arabia Royal Cup over a mile at Tokyo in October. The form of that race invariably works out well. Jockey Yutaka Take commented on the horse after riding him in training: "He's moving well and seems stronger than before. The distance of a mile really seems to suit him." Arte Veloce is trained by Naosuke Sugai, who has fifteen JRA Grade 1 wins to his name, and his most recent one was in this race in 2022 with Dolce More.

Total Clarity: Trainer Manabu Ikezoe and jockey Yuichi Kitamura have combined well to produce two wins from the colt by Bago, and there could still be a lot more to come. Winning a maiden on his debut at Kyoto over a mile in June, he then won the Grade 3 Niigata Nisai Stakes over a mile in August. The jockey reports that the horse is "sharp and improving with his work," and the rider's looking for his first Grade 1 win since 2020, when he won the Arima Kinen on Chrono Genesis. Total Clarity was bred at Northern Farm, and runs in the Carrot Farm Co. Ltd colors.

Nitamonodoshi: Winning his last race, the Clover Sho at Sapporo in August, in a record time of 1 minute 28.6 seconds over 1,500 meters, the son of Dee Majesty is another to look out for, as he also goes to this next race with a perfect record in place. He's managed to find an extra gear at the finish in both his starts, including his debut run over 1,200 meters at Fukushima in June. Trainer Noboru Takagi thinks the colt is in good shape, and the booking of jockey Ryan Moore looks significant.

Trainers Yasuo Tomomichi and Yoshito Yahagi are both high in the rankings this year, and they will also be represented in the race with Admire Zoom and Taisei Current, respectively.

Admire Zoom is a colt by Maurice, who will just be having his third start, but is coming off an impressive win in a maiden over a mile at Kyoto in November. The colt will be ridden by Yuga Kawada.

Jockey Ryusei Sakai and trainer Yoshito Yahagi team up again with Taisei Current, another colt by Maurice, who was just beaten into second last time by Arte Veloce in the Grade 3 Saudi Arabia Royal Cup over a mile at Tokyo in October. In both his races so far, Taisei Current recorded the fastest final three-furlong times.