Hong Kong next for Indy Champ after Mile Championship success

Indy Champ pulled off the rare feat of landing two of Japan's major mile contests when putting a quality field to bed in the Mile Championship.

The son of Stay Gold, who had narrowly landed the Yasuda Kinen in June before finishing third in a Grade 2 at Tokyo last month, broke smoothly on the rails in fifth before battling with favourite Danon Premium up the home straight.

Winning rider Kenichi Ikezoe said: "I was asked to ride at short notice but wanted to deliver a good result since the colt was a Yasuda Kinen champion. I was told he is a bit unstable at the start but he broke well and we were able to race in good position while eyeing Danon Premium. He responded really well when asked."

It was Hidetaka Otonashi’s third success in the race following Company's win in 2009 and Mikki Isle in 2016. The four-year-old colt will now head to Hong Kong for the Hong Kong Mile at Sha Tin next month.

Newly crowned British champion jockey Oisin Murphy finished third on Persian Knight, while William Buick and Ryan Moore finished down the 17-strong field.

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