Third favorite W Heart Bond captured her first Grade 1 title on Sunday, December 7, becoming the second female runner to win the Champions Cup and joining 2015 victor Sambista.
The Kizuna filly won her debut start in August 2024 as a 3-year-old and extended her winning streak to five before finishing second in the 2025 Breeders' Gold Cup (Listed, dirt, 2,000 meters) in August. She then claimed her first graded title in record time over sloppy going in the Miyako Stakes (G3, dirt, 1,800 meters) on November 9. The 4-year-old bay has now registered seven wins in as many starts over 1,800 meters on dirt.
At Chukyo Racecourse in Toyoake, Aichi Prefecture, trainer Ryuji Okubo scored his fourth Japan Racing Association G1 victory on Sunday following his 2020 Champions Cup title with Chuwa Wizard.
Jockey Ryusei Sakai secured his third consecutive Champions Cup win — the first two with Lemon Pop in 2023 and 2024 — and his seventh JRA G1 title.
The Path to Victory in the Champions Cup
W Heart Bond, breaking from stall 2, traveled two-wide in third and rounded the last turn wide to enter the lane in good striking position. The filly produced an impressive turn of speed in the stretch to seize the lead with 300 meters to go and engaged in a gripping duel with fast-closing Wilson Tesoro (Yuga Kawada's ride) over the final 100 meters.
But W Heart Bond managed to hold off her rival with tenacity to ultimately prevail in a photo finish. The winning time: 1 minute, 50.2 seconds. (Watch the race on the JRA's YouTube channel.)
"She's simply magnificent," Sakai said after the race. "Just making it to a G1 is tough enough, so winning it is truly amazing. Her final workout didn't look particularly impressive but I guess she knew that the race was what mattered."
The jockey added, "We didn't have a specific race plan, so I focused on riding her while keeping an eye on our rivals. She felt good turning the final corners and I trusted that she would give her best run when she geared up as Wilson Tesoro came from the inside. She was really strong today. I'm just happy that she became a G1 winner and the first filly/mare in 10 years to win the Champions Cup, rather than my third consecutive title in this race."
Wilson Tesoro's Powerful Late Charge Falls Short
Second choice Wilson Tesoro settled in mid-division, around ninth, hugged the rails rounding the final corners and angled slightly outside at the top of the stretch to pull away from the rest of the field behind W Heart Bond. The 6-year-old son of Kitasan Black unleashed a powerful late charge that marked the second-fastest last three furlongs (36.8 seconds) and closed strongly to threaten the eventual winner in the last 100 meters. But Wilson Tesoro finished a nose short for second place.
Seventh pick Ramjet (Kosei Miura) started off a bit slow, traveled wide around 12th and, while meeting traffic at the top of the stretch, switched to the outside to launch the third-fastest late kick. The 2024 Tokyo Derby (Listed, dirt, 2,000 meters) winner dug in well to close in on the leaders. And although unable to threaten the top two finishers, Ramjet overtook Meisho Hario (Yutaka Take) just before the wire to secure third place.
Meisho Hario finished fourth and Outrange (Kohei Matsuyama) was fifth.
Race favorite Narukami (Keita Tosaki) traveled wide in fourth and entered the lane in good striking position but the 3-year-old Thunder Snow colt was unable to reach contention after being crowded by horses and faded to 13th.
A Look Ahead
The Hanshin Juvenile Fillies, which will be held on Sunday, December 14 at Hanshin Racecourse, is the JRA's next G1 race.
Read the full report, including details on each of the Champions Cup entrants, on JRA News.
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Author: JRA News
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