Japan
Satono Reve Defends His Title in This Year’s Takamatsunomiya Kinen
Satono Reve wins this year’s Takamatsunomiya Kinen at Chukyo.
Race favorite Satono Reve successfully defended his Takamatsunomiya Kinen title, renewing the race record by 0.4 seconds to 1:06.3 and becoming the second horse to win the race in consecutive years since Kinshasa no Kiseki in 2010 and 2011. Following last year's victory, the son of Lord Kanaloa recorded two runner-up efforts overseas—the Chairman's Sprint Prize (G1, 1,200m) in Hong Kong and the Queen Elizabeth II Jubilee Stakes (G1, 1,200m) in Great Britain—and while finishing fourth in the Sprinters Stakes (G1, 1,200m) back home, concluded the season with a ninth in another overseas outing, the Hong Kong Sprint (G1, 1,200m). This year, he was initially scheduled to race in the Al Quoz Sprint but canceled his trip to Dubai and instead began his seven-year-old season with this race. Trainer Noriyuki Hori scored his fourth Takamatsunomiya Kinen title, including two with Kinshasa no Kiseki, and his 17th JRA-G1 win. Jockey Christophe Lemaire, who partnered with this horse for the first time, claimed his 59th JRA-G1 victory, his first since this year's February Stakes with Costa Nova.
Satono Reve broke sharply from stall 9 and settled in mid-division, traveling around tenth as the field rounded the corners. Angling slightly to the outside entering the stretch, the defending champion unleashed a powerful late charge with the fastest closing speed to collar the leaders 100 meters out before pulling away for a comfortable two-length victory.
"I'm glad Satono Reve was able to win the race for two consecutive years. He's a very strong horse. The pace was fast from the start, but he knows what he's supposed to do, so I just let him run in his own rhythm. Once we entered the stretch, he really accelerated—it felt great. It was my first time riding him, but having raced alongside him many times, I knew him well. He's an easy horse to ride, so it wasn't difficult at all," commented jockey Christophe Lemaire.
Fifteenth choice Red Mon Reve broke smoothly and traveled just behind Satono Reve about 11th to 13th from the front. Turning the corners wide, the seven-year-old bay by Lord Kanaloa continued to chase the race favorite to the wire, producing the second fastest late kick to overtake the dueling Win Carnelian and Panja Tower just before the wire, securing second place.
Seventh pick and 2025 Sprinters Stakes champion Win Carnelian settled wide in fourth after a sharp break and responded well to inherit the lead passing the 200-meter pole. While soon overtaken by the winner, the nine-year-old dueled with Panja Tower to hold that foe by a head but was denied by fast-closing Red Mon Reve just before the wire, narrowly missing the runner-up seat by a neck.
Other Horses:
4th: (1) Panja Tower—settled around 4th, joined rally for lead, weakened in final strides
5th: (14) Rapier—raced wide around 7th, ran gamely while no match for top 4 finishers
6th: (13) Namura Clair—positioned around 14th, struggled to find clear path, quickened in last
200m
7th: (4) Danon McKinley—settled around 14th, angled out, improved position
8th: (3) A T Makfi—sat around 8th, found little room at early stretch, accelerated in last 200m
9th: (10) Mama Cocha—broke poorly, sat around 16th, circled wide, passed tired rivals
10th: (17) Pair Pollux—ran around 12th, checked rounding final corner, had too much ground to
cover
11th: (2) Big Caesar—saved ground around 10th, boxed in at early stretch, showed brief effort
12th: (7) Yoshino Easter—traveled around 4th, lacked needed kick
13th: (12) Puro Magic—took front then eased back to 2nd, outrun in last 200m
14th: (5) Yamanin al Rihla—was off slowly, hugged rails around 16th, showed little
15th: (15) Invincible Papa—rushed to front to set pace, tired in last 200m
16th: (11) La La Maceration—trailed in rear, checked at final corner, no factor
17th: (18) June Blair—chased leader around 2nd, checked 300m out, dropped back
18th: (16) Fioraia—raced around 8th, checked at final corner, never fired
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