Horse Racing

Embroidery Triumphs in Shuka Sho to Wrap Up Fillies' Triple Crown

The Admire Mars progeny became the first filly since Daiwa Scarlet in 2007 to win the Oka Sho and the Shuka Sho. Embroidery has won four of her last five races.

by
JRA News
October 20, 2025

Second favorite Embroidery won the 30th running of the Shuka Sho, the last jewel of the Fillies' Triple Crown, on Sunday, October 19 at Kyoto Racecourse.

Embroidery, ridden by French jockey Christophe Lemaire, became the first filly since Daiwa Scarlet in 2007 and fourth overall to win the Oka Sho-Shuka Sho double.

After marking two wins and a second in her four starts as a 2-year-old in 2024, the Admire Mars filly went on to register two more wins in the Queen Cup (G3, 1,600 meters) and the Oka Sho (Japanese 1000 Guineas, G1, 1,600 meters). But she finished a disappointing ninth in her previous start at the Yushun Himba (Japanese Oaks, G1, 2,400 meters) in May 2025.

On Sunday, trainer Kazutomo Mori celebrated his second Japan Racing Association Grade 1 title.

Lemaire registered his 55th JRA G1 title. This also marks his fourth Shuka Sho triumph — the most in JRA history — after victories aboard Deirdre (2017), Almond Eye (2018) and Cervinia (2024).

The Path to Victory in the Shuka Sho

Embroidery took a wide trip in mid-division briefly stalking the race favorite, Kamunyak (jockey Yuga Kawada's ride), before picking up speed to sit behind Erika Express (Yutaka Take) in second with 1,000 meters to go.

Chasing the pace into the straight still two lengths behind, the Oka Sho victor showed a late change of gear in the last 100 meters. Embroidery then powered past the pacesetter in the final strides to clinch the title by half a length. (Watch the race on the JRA's YouTube channel.)

The Admire Mars progeny completed the 2,000-meter race in 1 minute, 58.3 seconds.

"I had every faith in the filly that she would deliver today since the Oaks didn't suit her distance-wise," Lemaire said after the race. "She was calm and relaxed in the first half of the race and while the pace slowed down in the backstretch, we were able to advance to a better position.

"It took a while for her engine to get started, but she showed an incredible turn of foot in the last 200 meters and I'm very happy we were able to notch the G1 title today."

The 30th Running of the Shuka Sho

Fifth pick and 2025 Fairy Stakes (G3, 1,600 meters) winner Erika Express was sent up to set the pace by the first turn and stubbornly sustained her lead down the stretch. But she was caught by the fast-closing eventual winner in the final strides and was second.

Sent off as the sixth choice, Paradis Reine (Yuji Tannai) settled wide near the rear and after gradually making headway in the backstretch, angled out and entered the lane in 10th place. With the fastest speed in the last 600 meters (34.4 seconds), the Yushun Himba fourth-place filly finished 3/4 of a length behind the runner-up.

Jocelyn (Mirai Iwata) and Sena Style (Yasunari Iwata, Mirai's father) were fourth and fifth, respectively).

Although a bit fractious in the second widest gate, Kamunyak broke well to glide up and sit in fourth from the front before hitting the backstretch. Advancing to third after the third corner, the Yushun Himba winner entered the lane in a good striking position. But the race favorite came up empty and faded early to finish 16th out of 18 runners.