Japan's legendary jumper Oju Chosan brings Christmas Day cheer at Nakayama

Japan's legendary jumper Oju Chosan won his third Nakayama Daishogai on Christmas Day, though a first for four years as he showed every one of his 13 younger rivals a clean pair of heels.

The Shoichiro Wada-trained ten-year-old was settled in third in the extended two-and-a-half-mile Grade 1 before moving to the front while going down the last hill.

He rounded the home bend in front and, to the cheers of the crowd, went on to win by three lengths from longshot Blason D'Amour, with Leo Beyond five lengths back in third.

To put the winner's purse of just over £470,000 into some perspective, that is more than the combined first prizes at Kempton, Wetherby, Sedgefield, Market Rasen, Fontwell and Huntingdon on Boxing Day.

Oju Chosan, a son of Stay Gold out of the Symboli Kris S mare Shadow Silhouette, was winning his 17th race from 28 career starts, eight of those victories coming at the top level.

He won five consecutive Nakayama Grand Jumps from 2016 to 2020, along with his three Nakayama Daishogais - "Daishogai" means big steeplechase in Japanese.

His connections have pitched him into Flat races too, including the 2018 Arima Kinen, in which he finished ninth under Yutaka Take.

Earlier this year Oju Chosan contested the Nakayama Grand Jump in a bid for a sixth win in a row, but could manage only fifth.

Winning jockey Shinichi Ishigami said: "I'm so happy to win this race after such a long time since the last victory.

"I thought that I'd race from further back but no other leading fancy went to the front and the pace was not so strong, so I changed my mind and settled him near the front.

"I moved early because I didn't want other horses to come on the outside. I have nothing but 'thank you' to say to him. We worked together."

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