Energico maintains Classic standard for late Duramente with Japanese St Leger triumph

Energico provided his late sire Duramente with a major winner from his final crop by landing Sunday's Kikuka Sho, the Japanese St Leger, at Kyoto.

Christophe Lemaire's mount made ground from midfield and chased the leader four wide on the home turn, going on to take the final leg of the Japanese Triple Crown by two lengths from Eri King.

The Mizuki Takayanagi-trained favourite is out of the 2010 German Oaks winner Enora (by Noverre) and marked a fourth win from five career starts, including the Grade 2 Japanese Derby trial the Aoba Sho, for owner Silk Racing and breeder Northern Farm. 

Energico, who did not run in the Japanese Derby because of a small setback after the trial win in May, returned to the turf with a narrow defeat in the Grade 3 Niigata Kinen in August.

He is one of the final generation of Duramente, who died in 2021 at the young age of nine. The stallion missed this race and his Triple Crown attempt through injury in 2015 but has now fathered three Kikuka Sho winners, as he was also the sire of Titleholder in 2021 and Durezza in 2023.

For Lemaire it was a race he has an excellent record in. He said: "It's incredible that I have won the Kikuka Sho three times in a row [following Durezza and Urban Chic]. It's a very long distance race and a Grade 1, it's difficult to win, but every year I've been riding strong horses with stamina.

"I was able to win with a smooth race. He isn't good at starting, so I thought I'd be riding him from the back. I stayed at the back on the first lap, and then I found a position on the outside on the far straight, so I quickly took it. I was able to get a good position and he stretched out with a long, strong turn of foot at the end.

'Winning a Grade 1 in Kyoto is special to me. I live in Kyoto, so Grade 1 races there are important. I'm really happy to have won two Grade 1 races in a row [after Embroidery in the Shuka Sho]."

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