GROUP 1 racing returned to the JRA after a three-month summer hiatus with the 54th running of the Sprinter Stakes at Nakayama Racecourse. The Sprinters Stakes in company with March’s Takamatsunomiya Kinen are the only two Group 1 events run over a trip of less than a mile on the JRA fixture list.

A total of 16 runners went to post for the 1,200-metre contest with a €2,000,000 purse on offer, with the 2019 winner, Tower Of London, a notable absentee.