The 44th edition of the prestigious Japan Cup takes place late Saturday/early Sunday (1:40 am ET in the US) and you can watch and wager on the action from Tokyo Racecourse with Xpressbet and 1/ST BET. It’s the 12th and final race on a program that gets underway at 7:30 pm ET.

Horseplayers at Xpressbet and 1/ST BET can take advantage of a $10 money-back special on the Japan Cup. Get up to $10 back in wagering credits if your win bet finishes second or third.

Eighteen straight Japan Cups have been won by locally trained and raced runners, but this year’s European invasion will test that streak.

Let’s meet the contenders for the 1-1/2 miles (2400 meters) Japan Cup (Race 12):

#1-GOLIATH: German-bred and French-based 4-year-old gelding has won the Group 1 King George VI and Queen Elizabeth Stakes and Group 2 Prix du Conseil de Paris at Ascot and Longchamp in his last 2 starts. Defeated Japan Cup rival Auguste Rodin in the King George when pulling 25-1 upset. Co-owned by American John Stewart. Jockey Christophe Soumillon won this race in 2014 aboard Epiphaneia. The only French-based Japan Cup winner was Le Glorieux (1987).

#2-BLOW THE HORN: 5-year-old son of 2014 Japan Cup winner Epiphaneia has had a stellar 2024 with a Group 1 Takarazuka Kinen victory and Group 1 Tenno Sho runner-up among five starts. Moved to trainer Tatsuya Yoshioka this year after his former trainer retired. He’s come a long way since losing his first 8 starts in 2021-’22, but was uncharacteristically off the mark when 11th (and last) last out in a Group 2 at Kyoto. Will be his first return to Tokyo since his debut 22 starts ago.

#3-DO DEUCE: Two-time Japanese Group 1 winner this year, including the Tenno Sho most recently. He’s won a Group 1 race an amazing 4 straight years and hasn’t lost a step at age 5. Fourth in this race last year to the great Equinox. Son of Heart’s Cry, a nose runner-up in the 2005 Japan Cup. Legendary rider Yutaka Take has won this race 4 times in his storied career. Trainer Yasuo Tomomichi earned Japan Cup glory in 2017. Expected favorite in the Japanese markets.

#4-JUSTIN PALACE: Half-brother to 2013 Belmont Stakes and 2014 Met Mile winner Palace Malice. The 2023 Group 1 Tenno Sho winner is a 5-year-old son of 2006 Japan Cup winner Deep Impact. Fourth this spring in the Dubai Sheema Classic when traveling out of the country and testing the world stage. He exits a fourth-place finish last out at Tokyo Racecourse behind Japan Cup rival Do Deuce.

#5-STRUVE: Multiple Group 2 winner has won 3 of 4 starts this year, but was soundly beaten 11th in the Group 1 Takarazuka Kinen when last seen in June. Can’t fault a 4: 3-1-0 record at Tokyo Racecourse. Sire King Kamehameha was the 2004 Japanese Derby winner. Trainer Noriyuki Hori made his Breeders’ Cup debut recently with Satono Carnaval (9th, Juvenile Turf).

#6-DANON BELUGA: Third Japan Cup appearance for 2022 fifth-place finisher and 2023 sixth-place finisher. Proven on the international stage the past 2 years with second and third-place results at Meydan in the Group 1 Dubai Turf. Disappointing 14th in the Group 1 Tenno Sho in late October in his first appearance since Dubai. 5-year-old son of Heart’s Cry, a nose runner-up in the 2005 Japan Cup. Trainer Noriyuki Hori made his Breeders’ Cup debut recently with Satono Carnaval (9th, Juvenile Turf).

#7-SHIN EMPEROR: French-bred, but locally based 3-year-old, he returns home after a third-place effort in the Group 1 Irish Champion Stakes and 12th-place follow-up in Longchamp’s Group 1 Arc de Triomphe. Group 3 winner in his homeland, he was third in May’s Grade 1 Japanese Derby at Tokyo Racecourse. Trainer Yoshito Yahagi won the 2021 Japan Cup with Contrail. Pairs with regular rider Ryusei Sakai, becoming well-known to American players for his efforts aboard Forever Young in this year’s Kentucky Derby and Breeders’ Cup Classic. He aims for his first Japan Cup.

#8-AUGUSTE RODIN: Final career start for the 2023 Breeders’ Cup Turf and Epsom Derby winner. Current campaign boasts 1 win from 5 starts, but he’s twice Group 1-placed at the UK’s highest levels during that time. Jockey Ryan Moore is a 2-time Japan Cup winner (2013, 2022), while Aidan O’Brien seeks his first as a trainer. Son of 2006 Japan Cup winner Deep Impact.

#9-CERVINIA: The 2024 Japanese Oaks winner is a multiple Group 1 winner and takes on elder males for the first time. Four-time Japan Cup-winning jockey Christophe Lemaire returns to his familiar perch while a runaway leader in the current annual standings in Japan. Trainer Tetsuya Kimura won this race a year ago with Equinox. The only 3-year-old filly to win the Japan Cup was Gentildonna in 2013 (she would also win it the following year).

#10-DUREZZA: Undefeated in 2 starts at Tokyo Racecourse, this 4-year-old showed some international credibility when fifth in City of Troy’s Group 1 Juddmonte International at York, finishing just off the heels of eventual Arc de Triomphe winner Bluestocking. Best known for winning the 2023 Japanese St. Leger over 15 furlongs (3000 meters). He’s lost 3 straight since winning 5 in a row. Partners with internationally acclaimed jockey William Buick, who seeks his first Japan Cup score.

#11-KARATE: 8-year-old veteran has been off the board in all 6 starts this year, including an 11th-place run in Group 2 company locally for his final prep. Last tasted victory in May of 2023 in Group 3 company at Niigata. Finished 8th in the 2022 Japan Cup.

#12-SOL ORIENS: Sire Kitisan Black won the 2016 Japan Cup and this 4-year-old has been consistent at the highest levels in his homeland. He won the Group 1 Japanese 2000 Guineas a year ago, followed with a runner-up in the Group 1 Japanese Derby and third in the Group 1 Japanese St. Leger. While 0-for-4 this year, his Group 1 Takarazuka Kinen runner-up was a bright spot on soft ground, which his resume indicates a preference.

#13-FANTASTIC MOON: Germany’s 2023 Horse of the Year, the same honor won by his sire Sea the Moon, exits a ninth-place finish in the Group 1 Arc de Triomphe in France. He finished 11th in the 2023 Arc as well in his other signature international appearance. Trainer Sarah Steinberg and her life partner jockey Rene Piechulek did get a Group 2 Prix Neil win with this one on the road in 2023.

#14-STARS ON EARTH: Filly finished third in last year’s Japan Cup behind Equinox and Liberty Island, but disappointed on the international stage when eighth in this spring’s Dubai Sheema Classic. That was her only start of 2024 and the 5-year-old returns from an 8-month break. The 2022 Japanese Oaks winner has never missed the top 3 in a dozen domestic starts.