Watch out Auguste Rodin! Japanese Oaks winner Cervinia takes Group 1 at Kyoto and connections now keen on Japan Cup bid

Yushun Himba (Japanese Oaks) winner Cervinia made it back-to-back Group 1 wins with victory in the third leg of the fillies’ Triple Crown, the Shuka Sho, at Kyoto on Sunday.

The mount of Christophe Lemaire won the contest by a length and three-quarters from the Yutaka Take-ridden Bond Girl. 

Second favourite Stellenbosch, who had been runner-up in the Yushun Himba but had previously won the Oka Sho (Japanese 1,000 Guineas), in which Cervinia was only 13th, was a further half of a length back in third.

Cervinia, by Harbinger and out of King Kamehameha's Group 2-winning daughter Cecchino, was scoring for the fourth time on her sixth career start, her victories also including a Group 3 for owner Sunday Racing Co Ltd and trainer Tetsuya Kimura.

Lemaire said: "I am so happy to win this Group 1, it is never easy to win them. She ran great today. Many good horses were running in this race but Cervinia is incredible. 

“I was able to get a good position and the high tempo was just right for her; she could run at her own pace. She can quicken up at the end provided she can run calmly during the race.

“I didn't worry about the leader [getting away] because it is so difficult to maintain such a fierce gallop to the finish. When I found the space to go in the straight, her response was excellent. She can win more Group 1s."

The representative of Sunday Racing, Shunsuke Yoshida, said: "I feel like she has become even stronger. The jockey also said that when he rode her, he felt a difference. 

“She ran a strong race here, and I think she would be able to become even stronger, so I would like to challenge the older horses. I want her to run in the Japan Cup."

Realising that ambition would most likely mean a clash with Ballydoyle's Auguste Rodin, who is due to take in the Japan Cup on November 24 before retiring to Coolmore Stud in County Tipperary for 2025. 

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