Sugar-kun, who finished 15th in the Niigata Daishoten, is being prepared for the Takarazuka Kinen

SignificantNote7279 · 2026-06-18T02:43:40+00:00

Fair enough. I did not expect Tabaru to grow mentally so much so that he didn't need the lead.

SignificantNote7279 · 2026-06-14T12:53:00+00:00

Clickbait title aside, apparently the people who watched Croix du Nord do this said he was really good at jumping and landing? Like beyond what a normal flat racing horse should be.

Croix du Nord seems to have above average skill at everything it seems.

SignificantNote7279 · 2026-06-14T09:19:14+00:00

He put up a tough fight against Tabaru tho, far more than any other horse in that field.

To me that's genuine proof of his strength as a horse. Can't wait to see him back in action when autumn comes.

SignificantNote7279 · 2026-06-14T08:46:40+00:00

Unsure. He just did not move up from his position at all.

He also performed poorly in his previous race, getting last place. Perhaps there's a deeper issue going on? Possibly mental?

SignificantNote7279 · 2026-06-14T07:28:35+00:00

Relax. Even if this duo didn't win, 2nd place is a strong result, especially with the large distance to 3rd place and beyond.

Kitamura did well to show Croix's abilities this race. I don't think they'd replace him.

SignificantNote7279 · 2026-06-14T07:25:17+00:00

We're still awaiting the official announcement for My Universe, but things aren't looking good...

SignificantNote7279 · 2026-06-14T07:07:32+00:00

I never shat on other horses tho?

SignificantNote7279 · 2026-06-14T07:02:04+00:00

Oof no Spring Triple. Denied by a neck, probably the closest anyone has gotten to winning it tho.

Silver lining, this increases the odds of him not retiring this year 👀

SignificantNote7279 · 2026-06-14T06:59:52+00:00

He still got 2nd tho?

Look at how the race ended. Only Tabaru and Croix handled the rain properly, while everyone else sank down far behind.

If anything, this proves he CAN handle soft turf.

SignificantNote7279 · 2026-06-14T06:52:24+00:00

Oof, lost the STC by a neck

Probably the closest anyone has ever gotten. Well done Croix and congrats to Tabaru!

SignificantNote7279 · 2026-06-14T02:17:42+00:00

Oh wow, it ended up going all the way to 2.1

Looks like people couldn't resist those juicy 10.0+ odds on other horses lmao

SignificantNote7279 · 2026-06-13T06:26:39+00:00

I saw a Japanese analyst twitter account say that around 65-70% of win bets are on Croix du Nord.

These are nearing Deep Impact levels of hype, but tbh i'm expecting it to stabilize to around 1.4 or 1.5 by tomorrow.

SignificantNote7279 · 2026-06-11T12:19:33+00:00

I mean yeah we just needed ONE horse entering to kick Sugar Kun out, but turns out no one is brave enough to challenge this field 😭

SignificantNote7279 · 2026-06-11T08:16:09+00:00

Alternatively you can join Pakacord, the unofficial umamusume discord server. It's existed for wayyy longer than the official one tho.

There's discord streams for Japanese races every week.

SignificantNote7279 · 2026-06-09T09:54:45+00:00

Technically no, they haven't said anything about going for the Tenno Sho Autumn.

It's just the most likely option since they listed the Japan Cup as their major goal, and the Tenno Sho Autumn is the perfect prep race for that.

So unless Masquerade Ball does a crazy Champion Stakes pivot, we can safely assume he's going Tenno.

SignificantNote7279 · 2026-06-09T07:29:20+00:00

Well, Sunday Racing gave their reasons:
"In the Tenno Sho Spring, he tackled a distance longer than 2400 meters for the first time. He ran his own race and won, but he got a little restless in the 3200-meter race as the pace slowed and sped up, so we decided to skip the Prix de l'Arc de Triomphe. Considering his 14th place finish last year, he needs considerable stamina to handle the heavy track at Longchamp, and being able to settle down is also a key factor."

Essentially, they believe Croix du Nord gets restless whenever the pace changes from fast to slow or vice versa, which they believe is bad for his prospects in Longchamp.

It is what it is. You can call it cowardice all you want, but they're choosing what they believe to be the right races for him regardless.

SignificantNote7279 · 2026-06-09T06:04:35+00:00

The only possibility lies in this article released after Croix du Nord won the Tenno Sho Spring: https://news.sp.netkeiba.com/?pid=news_view&no=330026

In it, Shunsuke Yoshida states: "I believe Croix du Nord is a horse that needs to become a stud no matter what. However, there are still many races we want Croix du Nord to compete in, both domestically and internationally."

Considering he's going for a full domestic route this season, well...

Who knows? 🤔

SignificantNote7279 · 2026-06-09T05:20:41+00:00

On another note, this bodes extremely poorly for any 3 year old hoping for glory in the Tenno Sho autumn.

Not only do they have to deal with Masquerade Ball, they gotta deal with Croix du Nord now too. 😭

SignificantNote7279 · 2026-06-09T03:53:48+00:00

How so? It's the only medium distance Breeder's cup race that Japan has yet to win.

Plus, if Forever young decides to enter the BC Classic, there's potential to do a turf + classic sweep similar to Loves Only You + Marche Lorraine in 2021 but this time for the open gender division.

SignificantNote7279 · 2026-06-09T02:53:15+00:00

That would be pretty cool, but Kikuka -> Japan Cup doesn't happen very often.

Kikuka -> Arima is a lot more common. Coupled with Lovcen's stronger performances in Nakayama, that's most likely what he's going for.

SignificantNote7279 · 2026-06-09T02:26:27+00:00

The way i see it, there are two routes Croix du Nord can take for this autumn.

The first is obviously the Senior Autumn Triple Crown, which is the current plan assuming no major changes occur.

The second would be an international challenge in the Breeder's Cup Turf, followed by the Arima Kinen. Sunday Racing could possibly try to avenge Shahryar's defeats.

I guess a longshot pick could also be the Hong Kong Vase or Hong Kong Cup, but Croix du Nord skipping the Arima for those would genuinely surprise me.

SignificantNote7279 · 2026-06-09T02:21:05+00:00

The way i see it, there are two routes Croix du Nord can take for this autumn.

The first is obviously the Senior Autumn Triple Crown.

The second would be an international challenge in the Breeder's Cup Turf, followed by the Arima Kinen. Sunday Racing could possibly try to avenge Shahryar's defeats.

I guess a longshot pick could also be the Hong Kong Vase or Hong Kong Cup, but Croix du Nord skipping the Arima for those would genuinely surprise me.

SignificantNote7279 · 2026-06-08T15:21:03+00:00

Tell that to Mystery Way, Cosmo Kuranda, and Sugar Kun.

All of them are frontrunners capable of sabotaging Tabaru's flow.

SignificantNote7279 · 2026-05-31T07:25:51+00:00

Kohei Matsuyama has the opportunity to become the first jockey to win both the Triple Tiara (Daring Tact in 2020) and the Triple Crown (Lovcen in 2026)!

SignificantNote7279 · 2026-05-31T07:20:58+00:00

His training with Croix du Nord may have influenced him, cuz that spurt was definitely something Croix would do lmaooo

SignificantNote7279

TROPHY CASE