Kitasan Black holds off Satono Crown in Tenno Sho thriller

Report: Japan, Sunday

Tokyo: Tenno Sho (Autumn) (Grade 1) 1m2f | turf | 3yo+

Kitasan Black (Hisashi Shimizu/Yutaka Take) won his first Tenno Sho (autumn) at Tokyo on Sunday, holding off the late thrust of Satono Crown on rain-softened ground to claim the 291 million yen (£1.95m) event.

Kitasan Black and Satono Crown's respective jockeys, Yutaka Take and Mirco Demuro, had their mounts on the inside and made their move on the final bend.

Take seized the advantage, pressing on with Kitasan Black to take a clear lead. Satono Crown hung in behind briefly inside the final furlong, but stayed on strongly at the death before failing by a neck.

"He was a bit too eager today and missed his break," said Take. "The going didn't seem to bother him so I decided to take the path near the rails at the last corner. He responded beautifully in the stretch and before we knew it we were at the front."

Five-year-old Kitasan Black, who has won the last two runnings of the longer Tenno Sho (Spring) over 2m on firmer ground, was Japan's horse of the year in 2016. He will reportedly race only twice more before retirement beckons, including his defence of the Japan Cup on November 26.

Full result