Satono Reve Repeats as Takamatsunomiya Kinen Winner

Race favorite Satono Reve successfully defended his Takamatsunomiya Kinen title on Sunday, March 29 in Toyoake, Aichi Prefecture.

The Lord Kanaloa progeny renewed the race record by 0.4 seconds to 1 minute, 6.3 seconds. He also became the first horse to win the race in consecutive years since Kinshasa no Kiseki in 2010 and 2011.

Following his 2025 victory, Satono Reve recorded two runner-up efforts overseas — the Chairman's Sprint Prize (Grade 1, 1,200 meters) in Hong Kong and the Queen Elizabeth II Jubilee Stakes (G1, 1,200 meters) in Great Britain. And after finishing fourth in the Sprinters Stakes (G1, 1,200 meters) at Nakayama Racecourse, he concluded the season by placing ninth in another overseas outing, the 1,200-meter Hong Kong Sprint, another G1 race.

This year, he was initially scheduled to race in the Al Quoz Sprint but his trip to Dubai was canceled. Instead, Satono Reve's handlers decided to begin his 7-year-old season with this race.

On Sunday, trainer Noriyuki Hori scored his fourth Takamatsunomiya Kinen title, including two with Kinshasa no Kiseki, and his 17th overall Japan Racing Association G1 win.

Jockey Christophe Lemaire, who partnered with this horse for the first time, claimed his 59th JRA G1 victory. It was his first G1 win since the 2026 February Stakes with Costa Nova.

The Path to Victory for Satono Reve

At Chukyo Racecourse, Satono Reve broke sharply from stall 9 and settled in mid-division, traveling around 10th as the field rounded the corners.

Angling slightly to the outside entering the stretch, the defending champion unleashed a powerful late charge with the fastest closing speed (32.4 seconds over the last three furlongs) to collar the leaders 100 meters out before pulling away for a comfortable two-length victory. (Watch the race on the JRA's YouTube channel.)

"I'm glad Satono Reve was able to win the race for two consecutive years," Lemaire said after the 1,200-meter race. "He's a very strong horse. The pace was fast from the start, but he knows what he's supposed to do, so I just let him run in his own rhythm."

The French jockey added, "Once we entered the stretch, he really accelerated — it felt great. It was my first time riding him, but having raced alongside him many times, I knew him well. He's an easy horse to ride, so it wasn't difficult at all."

The 56th Running of the Takamatsunomiya Kinen

Fifteenth choice Red Mon Reve (Manabu Sakai) broke smoothly and traveled just behind Satono Reve about 11th to 13th from the front. Turning the corners wide, the 7-year-old bay, another Lord Kanaloa progeny, continued to chase the race favorite to the wire, producing the second-fastest late kick (32.5 seconds over the final three furlongs). As a result, Red Mon Reve overtook the dueling Win Carnelian (Kosei Miura) and Panja Tower (Kohei Matsuyama) just before the wire, securing second place.

Seventh pick and 2025 Sprinters Stakes champion Win Carnelian settled wide in fourth after a sharp break and responded well to inherit the lead passing the 200-meter pole. While soon overtaken by the winner, the 9-year-old dueled with Panja Tower to hold that foe by a head but was denied by fast-closing Red Mon Reve just before the wire, narrowly missing the runner-up seat by a neck.

Panja Tower finished fourth and eighth favorite Rapier (Genki Maruyama) placed fifth.

Second pick Namura Clair (Suguru Hamanaka) was sixth, a half-length behind Rapier in the 18-horse event.