Japanese runners at Royal Ascot

Royal Ascot is the jewel in the Flat-racing crown of Britain, the premier stage for equine superstars to compete for the sport's most prestigious prizes amid unmatched pageantry.

This is a sporting institution intrinsically linked to British summertime, but in modern times it has come to truly attract global interest, with major equine names from across the world targeting the meeting.

We're looking at some Japanese contenders with designs on Royal Ascot glory this week as the Asian nation bids for a first success at the meeting following the near miss of Satono Reve in the Queen Elizabeth II Jubilee Stakes last year.

There had been major talk of Japanese dirt star Forever Young lining up in the Prince of Wales's Stakes, where he would have been one of the meeting's biggest attractions, but trainer Yoshito Yahagi did not take up the early entry in the end.

The first Japanese runner at the Royal meeting came in 2005 and, since then,11 have come from the Land of the Rising Sun seeking glory.

The best position achieved was Shahryar's fourth in the 2022 Prince Of Wales's Stakes - prior to Satono Reve's effort in 2025.

Japan's admirable embrace of middle-distance racing, and the pedigrees required for it, have yielded major prizes around the world but, as yet, Royal Ascot success has remained elusive.

This year, the flag will be flown solely by Satono Reve.

Satono Reve - Queen Elizabeth II Jubilee Stakes (Saturday)

Odds: 9/2

The Noriyuki Hori-trained sprinter was sent off as 2/1 favourite in this Group 1 contest over six furlongs a year ago, only to find French ace Lazzat too strong.

The pair pulled clear with a furlong to run and had their own personal battle from there to the winning post, but Joao Moreira's partner could never quite get on terms with the Wathnan Racing-owned winner.

The son of top sire Lord Kanaloa, Satono Reve retained his Takamatsunomiya Kinen crown with a two-length success in the Grade 1 contest at Chukyo in March, claiming the ninth win of his career.

Satono Reve was last spotted finishing second to long odds-on favourite Ka Ying Rising in the Chairman's Sprint Prize at Sha Tin in April and will hope to emulate the likes of Dream Of Dreams (2021) and Khaadem (2023) in taking this Royal Ascot prize as a seven-year-old – the latter also followed up in 2024 aged eight.

Christophe Lemaire was in the saddle for that opening win of 2026 and pointed to a big season ahead, saying: "He's a top-level sprinter who's achieved good results overseas as well.

"He's got a lot of experience and I think he'll be able to achieve good results at the highest level again this year."

This article was written by a partner sports writer via Spotlight Sports Group. All odds displayed on this page were correct at the time of writing and are subject to withdrawal or change at any time.