August 16, 2024

After his ride in Niigata this weekend, Christophe will fly to the UK to ride Durezza in the British International Stakes. The race is a 2050m turf race at York Racecourse. In the past, Zenno Rob Roy and Schwarz Grana have travelled to this race from Japan. "Durezza is a horse that gradually steps up his game, and his strength is his stamina. York Racecourse is relatively flat, with a long straightaway, so I think he will be able to fully demonstrate his abilities."

Christophe has experience riding at York Racecourse when he was mainly based in Europe, so it will be very reassuring that he knows the characteristics of the course. Durezza is currently training at Newmarket. "I've been checking out the footage of his training since moving to the UK. I saw him being trained on Warren Hill, a famous slope course. I'm also keeping an eye on the weather forecast, but fortunately there's no rain in the forecast, so the ideal situation would be to race on a good track."

"The strongest horses from Europe will be competing, and we are preparing for the race by studying the opposing horses using replays and other methods. Several horses from O'Brien Stables are also scheduled to run, so I hope you will pay attention to the tactics of the race, which will be different to those in Japan," he said, appearing to be fully prepared for the race. JRA also sells betting tickets for overseas customers, so fans can enjoy purchasing tickets.

Christophe was deeply shocked by the news of jockey Taiga Tsunoda's sudden passing. He had previously ridden in races with Tsunoda's father, trainer Koichi Tsunoda. "The news of Tsunoda Taiga's passing was deeply upsetting to me. He was still young and had a bright future ahead of him, so I feel very sad when I think about how his family must be feeling."

May you rest in peace, Taiga Tsunoda.