Yushun Himba: Juryoku Pierrot and Seina Imamura Make History

Fifth favorite Juryoku Pierrot was victorious in the 87th Yushun Himba (Japanese Oaks) on Sunday, May 24, becoming the first dirt-debut filly to win the second leg of the Fillies' Triple Crown in 26 years.

The daughter of Orfevre began her career with a win on dirt (Hanshin, 1,800 meters) in September 2025 as a 2-year-old, followed by two seventh-place finishes on the same surface. She then claimed her first win on turf in January (Kyoto, 2,000 meters) before capturing another win in the listed Wasurenagusa Sho (Hanshin, 2,000 meters) on April 12.

Trainer Ryo Terashima, who opened his yard in 2016, scored his sixth graded and first Japan Racing Association G1 title.

In her fifth season as a jockey, Seina Imamura, who was awarded the Best Newcomer Jockey accolacde in 2022 and had won one graded victory prior to this event, became the first Japanese female jockey to win a JRA G1 title. She achieved the feat in her third G1 attempt.

A Dramatic Finish in the Yushun Himba

At Tokyo Racecourse, Juryoku Pierrot broke smoothly from an outside stall and went with the flow with the other horses before eventually settling further back than mid-field off the rails, about six horses from the rear.

Unhurried along the backstretch and still well behind approaching the last turn, Imamura waited patiently when her mount began to show keenness entering the stretch. The jockey then acted quickly with 400 meters to go when an opening appeared in front down the center lane, allowing the filly to stretch out and make ground impressively.

Reaching contention and rallying for the lead with about five other rivals on both sides, the Orfevre filly outran the best 3-year-old fillies in the final strides with sheer guts to claim her first G1 victory. (Watch the race on the JRA's YouTube channel.)

'A Dream Come True' for Imamura

"It's like I'm dreaming! I've gone through tough losses in other attempts and I would always dream of doing better next time during the weekdays and dream of winning a big race," Imamura said.

"But today, it's a dream come true and, while I'm still not satisfied with my riding, I am so grateful to have been able to claim such a big title."

She added, "I truly appreciate the support I have been getting towards my first Classic challenge and it is such encouragement as a jockey, which makes me so happy to have chosen this career."

Imamaura, 22, then shared details about her racing strategy in the Yushun Himba and impressions of the winning horse.

"There may have been concerns about how my filly would handle her first 2,400-meter distance but I had every faith in her," Imamura said. "She did get a little bit excited early in the stretch but calmed down nicely and I was careful not to pull her back or shift lanes. … Then she responded with such power that she was taking me there [instead of driving her] — she's one tough girl."

Lemaire Leads Dream Core to Title Contention

Third favorite Dream Core (Christophe Lemaire) straightened herself after being shuffled back right after the break. She picked up speed to efficiently move up to the eighth position before the first turn, then further up around fourth along the backstretch.

In the third position while wide into the stretch, the Kizuna filly held on gamely as horses behind began to gain ground with Juryoku Pierrot and Laughterlines (Damian Lane) joining her on both sides.

The frontrunners also lingered from the generally slow-paced race to rally. In a neck-and-neck rally, Dream Core gave way to the winner while managing to hold off Laughterlines by a neck for the runner-up spot.

Laughterlines was rated three-wide and just in front of the eventual winner among the rear group and circled wide into the homestretch. This gave her a slight disadvantage of having to make more ground than the first two finishers while showing impressive speed in the last three furlongs (33.3 seconds).

Realize Luminous (Akihide Tsumura) finished fourth, followed by Sweet Happiness (Riki Takasugi).

Race favorite Star Anise (Kohei Matsuyama) was squeezed back by rivals rushing to gain good positions before the first turn. She managed to settle in mid-division between horses along the backstretch around the seventh or eighth position.

The Drefong filly met traffic yet again rounding the final corner. She appeared to have lost momentum in the final 400 meters and failed to emerge from the crowded rally, finishing a disappointing 12th.