June 7, 2024

Last Sunday, I drove from Shiga to Tokyo Racecourse to watch the Yasuda Kinen, a race of high-caliber international horses, including Romantic Warrior and Voyage Bubble from Hong Kong.

In the end, Romantic Warrior lived up to its reputation as the favorite and won the race. Meanwhile, Christophe, riding Parallel Vision, was in a good position to mark the winner after the start, but he lacked the stretch in the straight and finished 13th. After the race, he reflected, "Romantic Warrior is a horse that has won the Hong Kong Cup and Cox Plate, so I had my eye on him. I started right behind him, but my horse couldn't keep up."

In response to the question, "Aren't you frustrated that you were beaten by horses from overseas?", he replied, "It's a good thing that the level of horse racing rises when strong horses come to Japan from overseas. The two horses that came this time have won G1 races in Hong Kong, and the jockeys are top-notch. I get excited when I have to compete in these types of battles," showing that he always enjoys competing in high-level horse racing.

Winning jockey James MacDonald had previously come to Japan for the World Super Jockey Series 10 years ago, but this Yasuda Kinen was his first victory in Japan. In an interview, he could not hide his excitement, saying, "I was moved by the cheers of the Japanese fans and their love for horse racing."

Christophe's first G1 ride in Japan was the Japan Cup in 2003, and he described it as follows: "The first time I rode in a Japanese G1 race was on Annamarie. The French trainer chose me because he knew Japanese horse racing. I was still in my early twenties at the time, and I remember being amazed by the cheers of the fans and the size of the stands at Tokyo Racecourse. The moment when everyone claps and gets excited at the fanfare is something you can only experience in Japan." For jockeys based overseas, the atmosphere at Japanese racecourses seems to be special.
He also commented on Regaleira in the Derby, saying, "The pace was slow from the inside start and he was unable to move along the way, which was a disappointing result. If he had run smoothly, I think he could have finished in the top three. He showed some good speed at the end, so he's a horse to look forward to in the autumn." He expressed his hopes for the future.

Furthermore, the CL by C. Lemaire brand reported that "The pop-up stores in Osaka and Tokyo were a great success thanks to all our fans," and I was delighted to be able to participate as a guest speaker. I've heard that a new color jacket will be arriving in stock soon, limited to 24 pieces, so please look forward to the announcement on their website.

On the way home after watching the Yasuda Kinen, the drive was smooth, with the excitement of having seen such a great race still in my heart.

Article written by

藤井勘一郎

こんにちは、藤井勘一郎です。このたび『CL by C.ルメール』のホームページでクリストフ・ルメール騎手のブログを担当させていただく事となりました。毎週金曜日、私からの視線でルメール騎手の魅力や競馬の話、そして『CL by C.ルメール』に対しての情熱を書いていくつもりです。文章を書くことは私にとって新しいチャレンジですが、引き受けたからには皆さんにも楽しく読んでもらえるように頑張ります。よろしくお願いします！