By Masakazu Takahashi -
Kota Fujioka made the most of his appointment as Ryan Moore’s last-minute replacement to win the Grade 1 Mile Championship at Kyoto aboard Tomokazu Takano’s Namur. The four-year-old Harbinger filly was dispatched a rank outsider by Takano, who would win at the top level for the fifth time. Namur had registered her first Grade 1 success in the Tulip Sho at three and had followed that with a third in the Yushun Himba (Japanese Oaks) and a runners-up effort in the Shuka Sho, both Grade One runs. Rebounding from a pair of below-par starts in the spring, Namur had won the Grade 2 Fuji Stakes on her last start at Tokyo, after a 139-day break. And that winning momentum was carried forward in the Mile Championship with Fujioka settling her towards the rear of the field, but ahead of Takahisa Tezuka’s race favourite Schnell Meister, the ride of Christophe Lemaire.
As Lemaire nudged Schnell Meister, Fujioka decided to give Namur a tug and the pair started to make progress up the rung. However, it was Namur’s incredible turn of foot that saw her fly to the front and reel in those ahead of her comfortably to win by a neck. The Yasutoshi Ikee-trained Soul Rush was second under Joao Moreira, while a further half length back in third was Justin Cafe for trainer Shogo Yasuda and jockey Ryusei Sakai. Namur’s win took trainer Takano’s Grade One tally to five, with jockey Fujioka absolutely delighted to have made the most of his time in the saddle when replacing Moore, an absolute legend of the saddle.
Fujioka said: “I’d seen how the filly raced before and was aware of her ability in addition to receiving advice and information from the trainer as well as Joao Moreira, who rode her on her last start when winning the Fuji Stakes. I was positive going into the race and just concentrated on keeping her relaxed. The break didn’t go very smoothly but she was in good rhythm once she settled into the race, she responded well. I knew we could get a good run as long as I did my job of getting her into a good spot at the straight. From there she really showed her strength.”
TOKYO TUNE FOR STRAUSS
Moreira missed out at Kyoto, but the Brazilian ace was on target at Tokyo when making music aboard Ryu Takei’s Strauss in the Grade 1 Tokyo Sports Hai Nisai Stakes over 1800m. Sent off the fourth favourite, the son of Maurice was keen under Moreira, who let him go freely at the top of the home straight for a length and a half success ahead of Yuichi Shikato’s Schwarze Kugel, the ride of Atsuya Nishimura. A further nose back in third was Fervent for trainer Hideaki Fujiwara and jockey Takeshi Yokoyama.
