Now carrying four stars on his saddle cloth for each lifetime Group 1 victory, Croix Du Nord accumulated the most votes for Sunday's 2200-metre G1 Takarazuka Kinen at Hanshin.The 2024 Tokyo Yushun (Japanese Derby) victor is riding a two-race winning streak, having defeated the re-opposing Meisho Tabaru (Gold Ship) in the 2000-metre Osaka Hai in April. Upped to 3200-metres for the first time on May 3, he won the G1 Tenno Sho (Spring) as well. The son of Kitasan Black will earn a berth in the GI Breeders' Cup Turf at Keeneland this October if he prevails.“He got a win last time in the Tenno Sho, even if it was just by a nose,” said trainer Takashi Saito. “He went to the farm after that, and came back to the stable on May 20. More than being tired, he was just a bit loose, but he's coming on for his work and should be in good condition just before the race.”Meisho Tabaru is no stranger to top-tier company, as he won this race last year and bounced back after two troubling efforts to be second in the Osaka Hai. Booked in stall 16 versus Croix Du Nord's five, the five-year-old will be ridden by veteran Yutaka Take, who has won five of these (1989, 1993, 1997, 2006, 2025). Only two other horses have delivered two editions of the Takarazuka Kinen: Chrono Genesis (2020/2021) and Gold Ship (2013/2014).Trainer Mamoru Ishibashi said, “The first half of the Osaka Hai was run in :58.1 seconds. The start of the 2000-metre race at Hanshin is near the first corner, so I think instinctively the jockey went to the front, and he did so quickly. Despite it being a bit of a frantic pace, the horse still did well. There's an furlong extra this time, but it's back to the distance he won over last year.”To give a snapshot of this edition's quality field, Croix Du Nord isn't the only Japanese Derby hero lining up, as Danon Decile (Epiphaneia), the 2024 winner, is booked in stall one. Besides a victory in the 2025 G1 Dubai Sheema Classic, he has been very consistent when third in his last three starts: the G1 Japan Cup to Calandagan (Gleneagles), Museum Mile's G1 Arima Kinen in December and in the aforementioned Osaka Hai.By Leontes and set to exit stall two, Museum Mile has yet to grace the racecourse in 2026, his last appearance being a victory in the Arima Kinen, 300 metres longer than Sunday's contest.“The Arima Kinen was a good race for him,” assistant trainer Yuichi Tomomichi said. “He was supposed to go to Dubai, but with the situation in the Middle East we cancelled. We then thought about Hong Kong, but it might have been that he wouldn't have passed the vet inspection. He's therefore had a spell at the farm, with the Takarazuka Kinen in mind for him next. Just recently he hasn't had his engine working full throttle, but that's always the pattern with him.”Three-time Group 1 scorer Regaleira (Suave Richard) lines up next to Meisho Tabaru in stall 17 with Christophe Lemaire in the irons. The 2025 G1 Queen Elizabeth II Cup heroine hasn't made her 2026 bow either, as she ran fourth in the Arima Kinen.Aassistant trainer Yu Ota said, “She's sometimes not so good at the gate, and her condition last time meant she couldn't do so well in the Arima Kinen, which was a bit regretful. She was pretty tired after that race, but now after time, things have been good with her back at the stable. She's worked well over a distance and clocked a good time.”The post Croix Du Nord Aiming For Fifth Group 1 In Takarazuka Kinen appeared first on TDN | Thoroughbred Daily News | Horse Racing News, Results and Video | Thoroughbred Breeding and Auctions.