Aerolithe flies home to land Mile Cup at Tokyo

Report: Japan, Sunday
Tokyo: NHK Mile Cup (Grade 1) 1m | turf | 3yo colts & fillies

Aerolithe (Takanori Kikuzawa/Norihiro Yokoyama) improved on her fifth-placed finish in the Oka Sho (Japanese 1,000 Guineas) with a dominant performance at Tokyo.

The decision to take in the NHK Mile Cup rather than head down the traditional path to the Yushun Himba (Japanese Oaks) paid off handsomely in a contest worth ¥205,200,000 (£1.4m/€1.65m).

Into her stride early, Aerolithe was settled just off the pace and after being switched inside she accelerated impressively to take the lead before holding off the fast-finishing Rieno Tesoro by a length and a half.

"I felt she had great potential when I first sat on her in training as a two-year-old," said Yokoyama, whose last top-flight victory came in the race on Clarity Sky two years ago.

"She was in great condition coming into this race and strong. She was a bit too quick out of the gate but settled nicely without me actually hitting the brakes.

"She still appears to have a lot more in her and I expect her to be even more powerful in the autumn season."

NHK Mile Cup result