Horse Racing stats man, Andy has contributed to OLBG for 18 years - An Ipswich fan and F1 fanatic, he also contributes EFL football and Motor Sport opinion.
2026 NHK Mile Cup Preview
Established in 1996, the NHK Mile Cup is a valuable Grade I race for three-year-old colts and fillies run at the Tokyo racecourse in May of each year where the runners compete over a distance of 1,600 metres or, as the name suggests, a mile.
The New Zealand Trophy, a Grade II race held at Nakayama racecourse in the month before this race serves as a trial with the top three finishing runners getting an automatic entry into this race.
Craig Williams (2011) and Christophe Lemaire (2016 & 2021) are the only non-Japanese jockeys to win this race.
NHK Mile Cup Information:
You may also be interested in other preview blogs that we have packed full of information. Head down to the Other Principal Races in Japan section for links to these.
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How competitive is the NHK Mile Cup market? When looking at the over-rounds for the last 10 renewals, the most competitive market was in 2017 when the race had an over-round of 126%. The race in 2019 was a race that was most in the bookie's favour with an over-round of 129%, whilst on average over the last 10 renewals of the NHK Mile Cup, the over-round has been 127%, which means the bookie expects to pay out £100 for every £127 which is bet.
Below you will find the 2026 NHK Mile Cup Trends. See which patterns have occurred over the recent renewals that you may be able to use for the next renewal. We also have a section that looks at the NHK Mile Cup Trend Analysis.
These are the top three quickest-run NHK Mile Cup races over the last 10 renewals:
- Schnell Meister (1:31.60) in 2021
- Panja Tower (1:31.70) in 2025
- Aerolithe (1:32.30) in 2017
Looking at the future form, is the winner worth following next time out? Over the past 10 renewals, if you had followed the winner of the NHK Mile Cup next time out, then you would have backed a total of 1 winner. Backing all 8 runners who have been out since their win at SP next time out would have returned an LSP of -4.80.
Over the last 10 renewals, it was Schnell Meister, trained by Takahisa Tezuka and ridden by Christophe-Patrice Lemaire, who set the fastest winning time in the NHK Mile Cup. That runner won the race in a time of 1:31.60 in 2021. At the other end of the scale, it was the combination of trainer Tsuyoshi Tanaka and jockey Hiroyuki Uchida with Champagne Color who set the slowest winning time; the race-winning time was 1:33.80 in the 2023 renewal.
NHK Mile Cup Past Winners
Here are the NHK Mile Cup past winners for the last 10 renewals. Each row details the year of the race, the horse which won, along with the age & weight of the horse. Also detailed is the stall where the horse came from and the total number of runners in the race. The horse's trainer and the jockey at the time of winning the NHK Mile Cup are also displayed, along with the starting price at which the horse was sent off.
| Year | Horse (Drawn) | Info |
|---|---|---|
| 2025 (1.29m) 1:31.70 | Panja Tower (JPN) 3yo 9-0 (11 of 18) 25/1 | Kohei Matsuyama Shinsuke Hashiguchi (JPN) |
| 2024 (1.41m) 1:32.40 | Jantar Mantar (JPN) 3yo 9-0 (16 of 18) 19/10F | Yuga Kawada Tomokazu Takano (JPN) |
| 2023 (1.6m) 1:33.80 | Champagne Color (JPN) 3yo 9-0 (11 of 17) 212/10 | Hiroyuki Uchida Tsuyoshi Tanaka (JPN) |
| 2022 (1.63m) 1:32.30 | Danon Scorpion (JPN) 3yo 9-0 (18 of 18) 61/10 | Yuga Kawada Takayuki Yasuda (JPN) |
| 2021 (1.45m) 1:31.60 | Schnell Meister (GER) 3yo 9-0 (15 of 18) 27/10 | Christophe-Patrice Lemaire Takahisa Tezuka (JPN) |
| 2020 (1.43m) 1:32.50 | Lauda Sion (JPN) 3yo 9-0 (11 of 18) 29/1 | Mirco Demuro Takashi Saito (JPN) |
| 2019 (1.47m) 1:32.40 | Admire Mars (JPN) 3yo 9-0 (17 of 18) 33/10 | Mirco Demuro Yasuo Tomomichi (JPN) |
| 2018 (1.35m) 1:32.80 | Keiai Nautique (JPN) 3yo 9-0 (11 of 18) 118/10 | Yusuke Fujioka Osamu Hirata (JPN) |
| 2017 (1.29m) 1:32.30 | Aerolithe (JPN) 3yo 8-9 (16 of 18) 48/10 | Norihiro Yokoyama Takanori Kikuzawa (JPN) |
| 2016 (1.05m) 1:32.80 | Major Emblem (JPN) 3yo 8-9 (4 of 18) 13/10F | Christophe-Patrice Lemaire Yasuhito Tamura (JPN) |
NHK Mile Cup Trainer Statistics
Here are some of the top NHK Mile Cup trainer statistics over the last 10 renewals (R = Runners, W = Winners, P = Places including winners, Win LSP is based on 1pt Win and EW LSP is based on 0.5pt Win & 0.5pt Place):
| Trainer | R-W-P | Win | EW |
|---|---|---|---|
| Takayuki Yasuda | 6-1-2 | +1.10 | -1.45 |
| Yasuo Tomomichi | 5-1-1 | -0.70 | -2.35 |
| Tomokazu Takano | 4-1-2 | -1.10 | -1.55 |
| Takahisa Tezuka | 3-1-1 | +0.70 | -0.65 |
| Takashi Saito | 2-1-1 | +28.00 | +13.50 |
| Shinsuke Hashiguchi | 2-1-1 | +24.00 | +11.50 |
| Tsuyoshi Tanaka | 1-1-1 | +21.20 | +10.60 |
| Osamu Hirata | 1-1-1 | +11.80 | +5.90 |
| Takanori Kikuzawa | 1-1-1 | +4.80 | +2.40 |
| Yasuhito Tamura | 1-1-1 | +1.30 | +0.65 |
NHK Mile Cup Jockey Statistics
There are multiple leading jockeys in the NHK Mile Cup over the last 10 renewals, with Mirco Demuro, Yuga Kawada, and Christophe-Patrice Lemaire having all won the race two times. Mirco Demuro winners have been with Admire Mars (2019) and Lauda Sion (2020). Yuga Kawada winners have been with Danon Scorpion (2022) and Jantar Mantar (2024). Christophe-Patrice Lemaire winners have been with Major Emblem (2016) and Schnell Meister (2021).
Here are some of the top NHK Mile Cup jockey statistics over the last 10 renewals (R = Runners, W = Winners, P = Places including winners, Win LSP is based on 1pt Win and EW LSP is based on 0.5pt Win & 0.5pt Place):
| Jockey | R-W-P | Win | EW |
|---|---|---|---|
| Mirco Demuro | 8-2-3 | +26.30 | +10.65 |
| Yuga Kawada | 8-2-3 | +2.00 | -1.50 |
| Christophe-Patrice Lemaire | 8-2-4 | -2.00 | -3.00 |
| Kohei Matsuyama | 5-1-2 | +21.00 | +9.00 |
| Hiroyuki Uchida | 5-1-1 | +17.20 | +6.60 |
| Yusuke Fujioka | 5-1-1 | +7.80 | +1.90 |
| Norihiro Yokoyama | 5-1-2 | +0.80 | -1.10 |
| Keita Tosaki | 9-0-1 | -9.00 | -8.50 |
| Yutaka Take | 8-0-2 | -8.00 | -7.00 |
| Yuichi Fukunaga | 7-0-2 | -7.00 | -6.00 |
2026 NHK Mile Cup Trends
Favourites finishing positions (oldest to latest): 1, 17, 12, 5, 2, 3, 4, 5, (1, 2), 14
The percentage shown is the percentage of the total number of runners who fell under that factor. High percentages are less appealing than lower ones, as you would expect them to do well. The trend information is based on the available information on the Racing Oost in terms of previous runs, etc.
- 10 / 10 (50%) - Within the first 9 of the market
- 10 / 10 (53%) - No bigger than 29/1
- 10 / 10 (54%) - Beaten no more -2¼l (LTO)
- 10 / 10 (58%) - Achieved an RPR of 101+ (Going)
- 10 / 10 (64%) - No bigger than 25/1 (Career)
- 10 / 10 (66%) - Achieved an RPR of 102+ (Career)
- 10 / 10 (71%) - No bigger than 108/5 (Career Place)
- 10 / 10 (73%) - In a field of 9 - 16 (Debut)
- 10 / 10 (74%) - Beaten no more -3¾l (Debut)
- 10 / 10 (75%) - No bigger than 113/5 (LTO)
- 10 / 10 (76%) - Highest Run is not G3/LST/Cl2
- 10 / 10 (82%) - Break of 21 - 189 days (Last Place)
- 10 / 10 (82%) - No bigger than 20/1 (Debut)
- 10 / 10 (82%) - Highest Placed is not LST/Cl2
- 10 / 10 (87%) - Off a break of 21 - 62 days
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NHK Mile Cup Trend Analysis
✅ The trend factor, which has produced 5+ winners and shows the best LSP, an LSP of +48.20, is when runners had 1 career place at the track.
❌ The worst performing factor that has failed to produce a single winner is when runners had 1 career place over the trip, when backing these, the trend shows a record of 0-68.
Here are the most recent winning draws, along with the further placings in brackets:
- 2025: Winner in 11 (10,3) [18 Runners]
- 2024: Winner in 16 (14,6) [18 Runners]
- 2023: Winner in 11 (3,10) [17 Runners]
- 2022: Winner in 18 (1,10) [18 Runners]
- 2021: Winner in 15 (10,8) [18 Runners]
The course which has produced the most winners of the NHK Mile Cup is Nakayama; there have been a total of 5 winners of this race who ran at Nakayama last time out. The next best course, which has produced the second most winners, is Hanshin; there have been a total of 3 winners of this race who ran at Hanshin last time out.
The race is open to both sexes, with the Male runners having produced a total of 8 winners from a total of 136 runners, whilst the Female runners have produced 2 winners from a total of 43 runners.
Looking over the past renewals, there is only one stallion whose offspring have produced multiple winners of the NHK Mile Cup; that stallion Daiwa Major, has produced 2 winners (2019,2016).
These are the stallions whose offspring have not produced a winner of the NHK Mile Cup despite multiple attempts:
- Epiphaneia (0 Wins from 8 runners)
- Maurice (0 Wins from 8 runners)
- King Kamehameha (0 Wins from 5 runners)
- Rulership (0 Wins from 5 runners)
Looking at the winning odds over the last 10 renewals, the biggest-priced winner was Lauda Sion in 2020, winning for Takashi Saito at odds of 29/1 under the guidance of Mirco Demuro. Looking at the runners at the head of the market over the last 10 renewals, there have been 2 winning favourites in the race. All figures and trends above, such as the horse's previous runs, are based on the information that is available on the Racing Post.
Route to the NHK Mile Cup
Many trainers will target races to use as prep races before coming to the NHK Mile Cup, these are the races which the recent winners ran in before coming here:
| Info | Last Race |
|---|---|
| 2025 - Panja Tower Chukyo - 4th of 18 (7/2) | Chunichi Sports Sho Falcon Stakes |
| 2024 - Jantar Mantar Nakayama - 3rd of 17 (61/10) | Satsuki Sho |
| 2023 - Champagne Color Nakayama - 3rd of 16 (113/5) | New Zealand Trophy |
| 2022 - Danon Scorpion Hanshin - 1st of 18 (6/4) | Arlington Cup |
| 2021 - Schnell Meister Nakayama - 2nd of 10 (49/10) | Hochi Hai Yayoi Sho Deep Impact Kinen |
| 2020 - Lauda Sion Chukyo - 2nd of 18 (27/10) | Chunichi Sports Sho Falcon Stakes |
| 2019 - Admire Mars Nakayama - 4th of 18 (57/10) | Satsuki Sho |
| 2018 - Keiai Nautique Nakayama - 2nd of 15 (11/5) | New Zealand Trophy |
| 2017 - Aerolithe Hanshin - 5th of 17 (118/5) | Oka Sho |
| 2016 - Major Emblem Hanshin - 4th of 18 (1/2) | Oka Sho |
Article Contributor Information
We are blessed with an excellent team of specialists and experts at OLBG. Contributing to creating and maintaining this NHK Mile Cup Preview are at hand, Andy and Darren. They both work on the Horse racing tips team team looking after the tipsters and managing the tips settlement, whilst also creating and managing all of the horse racing event previews for International racing.
Darren Brett
Tipster Competition Manager
Andy Powell
Content Editor
