Schwarz Kaiser back down in trip for G3 Hankyu Hai

Multiple Stakes winner Schwarz Kaiser drops back to seven furlongs for the G3 Hankyu Hai at Kyoto, Japan, on Saturday, 22 February.

The Dark Angel seven-year-old makes his second appearance of 2025 for Masahiro Otake after going down by just under three lengths in seventh in the mile G3 Kyoto Kimpai at Chukyo in early January.

Having started his career over a mile, Schwarz Kaiser has shown his best form over shorter, with four Stakes wins including lowering the six-furlong course record at Sapporo in June, 2023 and taking fourth in the same season’s G3 Keeneland Cup.

Schwarz Kaiser also ran well over seven furlongs in October’s Listed Shinetsu Stakes at Niigata, in which he stayed on to take second behind the G1-placed Labeling.