February 28, 2025

(Fujii) Congratulations to Christophe for winning the Turf Sprint in Ascoli Piceno!

(Lemaire) Thank you, Fujii! After riding at Oi Racecourse, I didn't go back home, but flew straight to Saudi Arabia. I'm finally back home after a long time.

(Fujii) I see. Two weeks ago you also won the Daily Queen Cup with Embroidery. After Janadria's victory at Oi, you got on a plane right away.

(Lemaire) Yes. Last week, I rode in races in a variety of places. I have been to King Abdulaziz Racecourse in Saudi Arabia for five years in a row. The level of horse racing is improving every year, and the jockeys participating are becoming more international. In 2022, I won four races on Japanese horses, which gave me some very fond memories.

(Fujii) When was the first photo taken?

(Lemaire) On Friday, jockey Manami Nagashima competed in the International Jockeys' Challenge. This photo was taken when all the Japanese jockeys went to cheer her on. She was concentrating on the race, but I think our cheers reached her. On this day, I also had the opportunity to ride a local horse in preparation for Saturday's race, and it also gave me the opportunity to check out the course.

(Fujii) You rode him the day before and got a feel for the flow of the race. Did Ascoli Piceno's strategy go as planned? In Japan, he has mainly been used in 1600m races, but this time the distance was shortened to 1351m.

(Lemaire) In the end, the shorter distance was not a problem. During the warm-up, the turf was in good condition, but the ground felt hard. There was a possibility that he would not be able to catch up from the back, so I was conscious of positioning himself somewhat forward. He made a smooth start and secured a good position behind Win Marvel. Then, he accelerated well in the straight.

(Fujii) He ran very well. I remember you saying that you really wanted to ride him in the Golden Eagle in Australia, his previous race, because he has such great ability.

(Lemaire) Yes. I was very impressed with the way he won the Keisei Hai Autumn Handicap. I wanted to ride in Sydney as well, but I had a prior commitment to the Breeders' Cup in the US. I looked into the time difference and flight schedules and tried to make it in time, but the schedule was tight. Looking back at the race in Sydney, it was a tough race because the track was rainy and I was forced to run on the outside for most of the race. The team made really good arrangements, returning me to Japan from Australia and then taking me on a trip to Saudi Arabia.

(Fujii) As well as Ascoli Piceno's victory, Forever Young also won the Saudi Cup! I heard you spoke with jockey Rusei Sakai after the race.

(Lemaire) Rusei is still young, but you can see that he rides with confidence. I was also happy to see him win a fierce battle with Romantic Warrior. When he was overtaken once in the straight, he said, "The horse's finishing kick was very fast," but he still believed in his horse and continued to chase calmly until the end. As a result, he made a brilliant comeback and achieved a historic victory. I'm sure Japanese fans were also very excited that this race was available for betting overseas and broadcast live.

(Fujii) I heard that Christophe's next overseas trip will be to Dubai, but he will be riding in Japan for a while.

(Lemaire) Yes. I'm scheduled to ride Sixpence in the Nakayama Kinen this weekend, and I have other opportunities to ride good horses. There's still a little time until Dubai, so I'd like to focus on the races in Japan until then. Please continue to support me!