Japan first and second in 1351 Turf Sprint as Christophe Lemaire times it right

Ascoli Piceno deprives front-running Win Marvel in a thriller

Image:Ascoli Piceno (JPN) with Christophe Lemaire in the black, red and yellow colours, gains a narrow victory in the US$2m 1351 Turf Sprint presented by Boutique Group.

Credit: Jockey Club of Saudi Arabia //Mathea Kelley

Saturday 22 February, 2025 – There was a famous one-two for Japan in the US$2m 1351 Turf Sprint presented by Boutique Group as Ascoli Piceno stuck her head past Win Marvel (JPN) in a dramatic finish to the Group 2 contest.

Christophe Lemaire, the Frenchman based in Japan who has a wealth of experience riding in the world’s premier races, kept Win Marvel and Kohei Matsuyama in his sights as they made a bold bid for the front.

The Yoichi Kuroiwa-trained Ascoli Piceno, a filly who was a top-level winner over 1600m as a juvenile and was second in the Oka Sho (Japanese 1000 Guineas), used a combination of speed and stamina to chase down her compatriot to finish a head up, with Goemon (GB) closing to a length in third, with the winning time 1:17.879.

Quotes

Christophe Lemaire, jockey, Ascoli Piceno, 1st: "We had a great race behind Win Marvel, who I know really well and I knew that he could string me along a long way. I was behind until the last possible moment and then she produced that really good turn of foot that we know she has.

"She confirms that she is a very good filly. Today the track is very, very fast, so the horse in front was difficult to catch up with, but she battled bravely. It was a shorter distance than she usually runs over, but she follows easily in a race and today, being fresh, she was straight into a good rhythm and I knew that she was going to produce a great performance.

"I ride good horses here in Riyadh and she is a Group 1 filly. I was really confident today. Looking at the field, I thought she could win."

Yoichi Kuroiwa, trainer, Ascoli Piceno: "I am so excited. Her final stride, I knew she got that. She races over the mile [1600m] and this is a bit shorter distance, but she broke well and everything went smooth.

"I thought everything went smooth and she had good position on the rail but Win Marvel stayed on and I was like... A win is a win, even if it is tight. I'm too excited right now to think about the future. I will think about it when I am calm, but this expands her options a lot."

Kohei Matsuyama, jockey, Win Marvel, 2nd: "First of all, thank you to everybody who gave me this great opportunity to come over to this stage. I wanted to give it back to them with a victory. I am just really disappointed for the result."

Alberto Sanna, jockey, Goemon, 3rd: "I was drawn 1 and the winner squeezed me on the rail. Actually, I couldn’t run my own race, because I was a bit squeezed into the rail by the winner. I wanted to have a clear run in the stretch, that’s why I came outside and he ran an enormous race. It was too short for him. Over a mile, I would be the winner."