Second favorite Embroidery claimed this year’s Grade 1 Shuka Sho (2000m) at Kyoto on Sunday , the last jewel of the Triple Crown to become the first filly since Daiwa Scarlet in 2007 and fourth overall to win the Oka Sho-Shuka Sho double.
After marking two wins and a second in her four starts as a two-year-old last season, the Admire Mars filly went on to register two more wins in the Queen Cup (G3, 1,600m) and the Oka Sho (Japanese 1000 Guineas, G1, 1,600m) but disappointed to ninth in her previous Yushun Himba (Japanese Oaks, G1, 2,400m) start this May.
Trainer Kazutomo Mori celebrates his second JRA-G1 title following this year’s Oka Sho with the filly while jockey Christophe Lemaire registered his 55th JRA-G1 title, his latest being this year’s Victoria Mile with Ascoli Piceno. This also marks his fourth Shuka Sho triumph—the most in JRA history—after Deirdre (2017), Almond Eye (2018) and Cervinia (2024).
Embroidery took a wide trip in mid-division briefly stalking the race favorite before picking up speed to sit behind Erika Express in second with 1,000 meters to go. Chasing the pace into the straight still two lengths behind, the Oka Sho victor showed a late change of gear in the last 100 meters, powering past the pacesetter in the final strides to clinch the title by half a length.
“I had every faith in the filly that she would deliver today since the Oaks didn’t suit her distance-wise. She was calm and relaxed in the first half of the race and while the pace slowed down in the backstretch, we were able to advance to a better position. It took a while for her engine to get started but she showed an incredible turn of foot in the last 200 meters and I’m very happy we were able to notch the G1 title today,” commented Christophe Lemaire after the race.
Fifth pick and this year’s Fairy Stakes (G3, 1,600m) winner Erika Express was sent up to set the pace by the first turn and stubbornly sustained her lead down the stretch but was caught by the fast-closing eventual winner in the final strides and was second.
Sent off sixth choice, Paradis Reine settled wide near the rear and after gradually making headway in the backstretch, angled out and entered the lane in tenth. With the fastest speed in the last 600 meters, the Yushun Himba fourth-place filly strongly closed in to finish 1/2-and-3/4-length behind the two in front in third.
Although a bit fractious in the second widest gate, race favorite Kamunyak broke well to glide up and sit in fourth from the front before hitting the backstretch. Advancing to third after the third corner, the Yushun Himba winner entered the lane in good striking position but came up empty and faded early to finish 16th.
THE 30TH SHUKA SHO (G1)
3-year-olds, Fillies, 2,000 meters (about 10 furlongs), turf, right-handed
Sunday, October 19, 2025 Kyoto Racecourse 11th Race Post Time: 15:40
Total prize money: ¥ 239,700,000 (about US$ 1,527,000 <US$1=¥157>)
3-y-o: 55 kg (about 121 lbs), 2 kg allowance for Southern Hemisphere-bred born in 2022
Course Record: 1:56.8 Race Record: 1:56.9 [Mikki Queen (JPN, by Deep Impact), 2015]
Safety factor: 18 runners Going: Good to Firm Weather: Cloudy
FP BK PP Horse Jockey S&AColor Wgt Odds (Fav) Margin (L3F) Sire Dam (Dam’s Sire) Owner Breeder Trainer
1 6 11 Embroidery (JPN) Christophe Lemaire F3 b. 55.0 5.5 (2) 1:58.3 (35.2) Admire Mars Rottenmeier (Kurofune) Silk Racing Co., Ltd. Tenei Horse Park Ltd Kazutomo Mori
2 5 10 Erika Express (JPN) Yutaka Take F3 d.b. 55.0 15.1 (5) 1/2 (35.4) Epiphaneia Enticed (Galileo) Masahiro Miki Mishima Bokujo
Haruki Sugiyama
3 8 18 Paradis Reine (JPN) Yuji Tannai F3 b. 55.0 16.9 (6) 3/4 (34.4) Kizuna Paradise Garden (Closing Argument) Makio Okada
Okada Stud Teruhiko Chida
Other Horses:
4th: (3) Jocelyn—took economic trip around 9th, blocked behind horses, switched to outside 200m out
then quickened
5th: (13) Sena Style—raced around 14th, launched 2nd fastest late kick but had too much to make up
6th: (14) Vip Daisy—ran wide around 10th, advanced to enter lane in 6th, needed more
7th: (7) Kurino Mei—settled around 14th, angled out, showed belated charge
8th: (2) Rouge Solitaire—saved ground around 6th, ran gamely until 100m out
9th: (15) In Vogue—stalked leader in 2nd, sustained bid until 200m pole
10th: (9) Ma Puce—positioned wide around 10th, found little room at early stretch, even paced
11th: (6) Kelly Fled Ask—tracked leaders around 4th early, showed effort until 200m pole
12th: (12) Voulezvous—sat wide around 11th, met traffic passing 200m pole
13th: (16) Run for Vow—raced near rear, failed to respond
14th: (8) Theresa—traveled around 6th, showed little at stretch
15th: (1) Danon Fair Lady—chased leaders on rails around 3rd, faded after 200m pole
17th: (4) Lesedrama—unhurried and trailed in rear, no factor
18th: (5) Brown Ratchet—ran around 6th early, gradually dropped back
Fractional time (sec./furlong): 12.5 – 11.1 – 12.0 – 12.1 – 11.7 – 11.9 – 11.7 – 11.7 – 11.6 – 12.0
Last 4 furlongs: 47.0 Last 3 furlongs: 35.3