16 September 2023
THE GREAT JAPANESE HOPE TOUCHES DOWN
On Sunday, 1st October 2023, at ParisLongchamp racecourse, the best racehorses from across the globe will line up at the start of the Qatar Prix de l’Arc de Triomphe, the world’s greatest horse race, which will be broadcast live in 60 countries.
Flying the flag for Japan in this prestigious flat race, Japanese mare Through Seven Seas has just landed in Paris after a 12-hour flight from Tokyo. She travelled under the watchful eye of a team that took care of the champion’s every need. With her, they brought 300 kilos of alfalfa, oats and soya, which constitute her usual diet.
She was filmed getting off the plane exclusively for the @FranceGalop social media accounts, where a host of immersive behind-the-scenes content will be posted before and during the Qatar Prix de l’Arc de Triomphe, which can be followed using the hashtag #QPAT
VIDEO of the Japanese mare’s arrival in Paris: https://youtu.be/pxiPB-RkDS4
HER PREPARATIONS CONTINUE IN CHANTILLY
Upon her arrival on French soil, the mare was collected by transporter STH Hipavia, who specialises in organising transport for racehorses in France and abroad.
Her first port of call in France is the training centre in Chantilly, in the Oise department, one of Europe’s largest racehorse training centres. Her training will continue in Chantilly over the next few weeks, overseen by Japanese trainer Tomohito Ozeki’s staff. She will hit the gallops every day and will follow a detailed training programme that will enable her to acclimatise and prepare for the world’s greatest horse race so that she arrives at ParisLongchamp in peak condition on race day.
Through Seven Seas with jockey C Lemaire - The Nakayama Himba Stakes 2023 ©JRA
LOFTY AMBITIONS FOR THROUGH SEVEN SEAS
In the 2023 edition of the race, Japan will be represented by Through Seven Seas, a 5-year-old mare trained by Tomohito Ozeki. In 2023, she has dazzled on racecourses across Japan. Winning a Listed race back in January, she galloped to an easy win of Group 3 in March (one of the highest categories of competition, a springboard for Group 1) on the Nakayama racecourse. She put in the best performance of her career so far when she came second, by a neck, in the Takarazuka Kinen (Group 1) after getting stuck behind a wall of horses in the sprint. The Qatar Prix de l’Arc de Triomphe will be the first race she has run outside Japan.
HER JOCKEY: FRANCE’S CHRISTOPHE LEMAIRE, THE LEADING JOCKEY IN JAPAN
Through Seven Seas will be paired with a French jockey who now rides in Japan and will travel to France, especially for the occasion: Christophe Lemaire, born in 1979 in Gouvieux (Oise), who has lived in Japan since 2014.
The entourage of this runner in the Qatar Prix de l’Arc de Triomphe chose this jockey because, since 2017, Christophe Lemaire has been crowned Champion Jockey almost every year in Japan, a distinction reserved for the jockey who won the most races during the year. He also holds the record with 215 wins in 2018.
A polyglot, he speaks fluent Japanese. He is a true celebrity in Japan, a country that has a love affair with horseracing. In 2022, he launched his own streetwear brand, CL by C. Lemaire.
A fine connoisseur of racing in France, he will ride in the Arc for the 13th time in his career this year.
JAPAN DREAMS OF WINNING THE QATAR PRIX DE L’ARC DE TRIOMPHE
Japanese people love horse racing. Every year, they bet almost 25 billion euros on races, which places them way ahead of any other country in the world. A renowned racing programme is scheduled on the major racecourses dotted across Japan.
The country has many important owners and breeders who have invested millions to import some of the world’s top broodmares over the years, including various winners of prestigious French races. For example, the Yoshida family bought the Prix de Diane, Stacelita, Avenir Certain and La Cressonnière, one of Japan’s best-known racing families. It is, therefore, only natural that winning the world’s most challenging flat race, the Qatar Prix de l’Arc de Triomphe would be a dream come true for Japan’s trainers, owners and jockeys.
The first Japanese runner in the Arc, Speed Symboli, entered in 1969. But it has only really been since the end of the 1990s that Japan has got into the habit of sending its best horses to France every year for this event, held on the first weekend in October. In total, 18 editions of the Arc have featured Japanese horses!
Japanese horses perform well all over the world. They have won Group 1 races (the highest category of a horse race) in France, Britain, the United States, Dubai, Hong Kong and even Australia. But one race has remained out of reach, and it is one that the whole country dreams of winning one day: the Qatar Prix de l’Arc de Triomphe.