March 28, 2025

During the talk show, in honor of the Vernal Equinox, I spoke about the strength of Equinox from a jockey's perspective. Equinox's strength is due to his versatile running style, which saw him take the lead and win in Dubai, and he also made an impressive run in Japan, where he came from behind and ran around the outside to make a spectacular comeback. I never had the experience of competing directly against Equinox during my active career, but I shared an anecdote from an interview with jockey Takeshi Yokoyama, who raced against him five times during his active career. Jockey Takeshi said, "I challenged Equinox with Killer Ability, Fforia, Ask Victor More, and Justin Palace. Of these, the Autumn Tenno Sho was the most memorable. Considering Justin Palace's running style, I wanted to run the race at the front, but the start was not good. Along the way, I watched from behind as Equinox was being marked by other horses and the pace quickened, and I thought, 'This is my chance!' However, in the straight, while the horses in front lost stamina, Equinox stretched out even further, and my horse made a strong push, but was unable to overtake. Seeing that performance, I really felt how strong Equinox is."

Various other events were held during the pop-up, and on the day of Lemaire's autograph session, former super jockey Olivier Perrier made a surprise appearance. The venue was filled with excitement. He wore the blue number 4 from the new "CL by C. Lemaire" WAKU long-sleeved T-shirt, a nod to the racing uniform he wears as a horse owner. The IBIX polo shirt also comes in a colorway inspired by the racing uniform worn by Olivier's Sagamix, the horse that won the 1998 Prix de l'Arc de Triomphe. I contacted Christophe after the autograph session and had the opportunity to speak with Olivier. "It's been about 10 years since I last came to Japan. I've only come here on short-term winter licenses, but this time I came to see the cherry blossoms. One of my most memorable races in Japan was riding Symboli Kris S. His powerful physique was impressive, and I was also happy to win with a horse trained by Kazuo Fujisawa. I'm retired from jockeying, but I still train and ride in France," he said, sharing his recent updates.

I myself never thought I'd have the chance to speak with Olivier. I was moved by this unexpected conversation with a superstar. Furthermore, the next day, Perrier also visited Ritto Training Center, where he was smiling and interacting with old acquaintances from the horse racing industry. I also went to meet him during my break from work, and to my surprise, he was having curry udon in the cafeteria (lol). Apparently, it was the same routine he had back then, eating curry udon in between training sessions (lol). It was very pleasing to see foreign jockeys like Christophe, Olivier, and Mirko settling into Japan.

Finally, we'd like to introduce a question sent to Christophe by a reader. "With the Dubai World Cup approaching, please tell us about the differences in horse racing rules and culture between Saudi Arabia and Dubai." Christophe replied, "The rules for using whips are strict. Even within the Middle East, they differ from country to country, with restrictions on the number of consecutive uses. As for food culture, alcohol is prohibited in Saudi Arabia, so toasting at victory celebrations is something we have to do after returning to Japan. One of the attractions of Dubai is that you can enjoy cuisine from many different countries."

He is scheduled to compete with Cervinia in Dubai this year, so let's support Christophe's riding, including in the spring G1 series starting in Japan!