Horse Racing

In the Mile Championship, Jantar Mantar Utilizes Record-Breaking Speed

Jantar Mantar, guided by Yuga Kawada, clocked 1:31.3 to triumph in the 42nd running of the Mile Championship, which was held at Kyoto Racecourse.

by
JRA News
November 24, 2025

Mile Championshp — Jantar Mantar, ridden by Yuga Kawada, closes in on a victory in the 42nd Mile Championship on November 23 at Kyoto Racecourse. (©SANKEI)

Race favorite Jantar Mantar claimed his fourth G1 title in the Mile Championship on Sunday, November 23. The Son of Palace Malice renewed the race record by 0.2 seconds to 1 minute, 31.3 seconds at Kyoto Racecourse.

Jantar Mantar has now become the ninth horse in Japan Racing Association history to claim both mile G1 titles, the Yasuda Kinen (G1, 1,600 meters) in June and the Mile Championship, in the same year.

Trainer Tomokazu Takano registered his 10th JRA G1 victory after his win in the Yasuda Kinen with this colt. It was his second Mile Championship title, having won it for the first time with Namur in 2023.

For jockey Yuga Kawada, this was also his first G1 win since the Yasuda Kinen and his 30th overall.

Jantar Mantar Outruns the Field in the 42nd Mile Championship

Heavily favored in a stellar field that included six G1 winners, Jantar Mantar was quick out of a wide gate, and sat in third while Toshin Macau (Taisei Danno's ride) set a rapid pace outdistancing the other runners up to the final turn. As the pace setter weakened from his early efforts, the 4-year-old colt, after hitting the stretch in good striking position, easily snatched the lead 300 meters out and pulled away convincingly to a 1¾-length victory. (Watch the race on the JRA's YouTube channel.)

"I'm glad we were able to prove that the colt is a true champion," Kawada commented after the race. "Although we lost our recent race, it was a good prep for today and enabled the colt to run in a good rhythm with a good feeling. He responded smoothly and, in the home stretch with the sun setting behind us, I was able to check by the shadows that no one was sneaking up on us."

The winning jockey added, "Owing to his outstanding talent and to the hard work of everyone involved, the colt has won all G1 Mile events open for colts/horses, which I think is absolutely incredible."

A Strong Finish for Gaia Force

Fourth pick Gaia Force (Takeshi Yokoyama), settled between horses in fourth to fifth, and sat right behind the eventual winner entering the lane. But he took an inner route instead and after squeezing through tight quarters 100 meters out, dug in with a powerful second gear in the final strides to notch the runner-up seat.

Lightly regarded as the 15th pick, Water Licht (Riki Takasugi) sat in seventh to eighth, and chased Gaia Force briefly in the early stretch. The colt shifted out to display a strong stretch run and threatened the runner-up, but he was a nose short at the wire for third.

Seventh favorite Off Trail (Akira Sugawara) and 12th pick Elton Barows (Atsuya Nishimura) finished fourth and fifth, respectively.

Sent off as the 13th choice and breaking from stall No 16, British raider Docklands (Mark Zahra) was a bit slow and struggled to keep up with the early pace, racing towards the rear around 13th. The Queen Anne Stakes winner circled wide into the lane and gradually increased speed. But he had too much ground to make up and finished ninth, 0.8 seconds behind the winner.

"The race was OK," said Henry Eustace, Docklands' trainer. "From our position in the field, we needed a stronger gallop. So, he ran on well, but he was too far back. The track was fine, the ground was fine, but the Japanese horses were too good today."