Satono Reve continues his European mission – far from the shadow of his Asian nemesis Ka Ying Rising – in the G1 July Cup at Newmarket on Saturday when Christophe Lemaire will aim to maintain his perfect record aboard Japan’s top sprinter.
Lemaire is currently enjoying a summer holiday visiting family in Switzerland and France before he rides another Japanese star, Masquerade Ball, in the G1 King George VI and Queen Elizabeth Stakes at Ascot in late July and competes in the Shergar Cup there at the start of August.
But he was happy to answer the call from trainer Noriyuki Hori to renew his partnership with Satono Reve in the July Cup when the entire’s recent Royal Ascot partner Ryan Moore was required for Coolmore’s exciting three-year-old speedster Mission Central.
“Mr Hori came to me a few months ago when he was not sure yet about the horse’s rotation after Ascot,” Lemaire told Idol Horse. “He said that in case Ryan cannot ride, would you be able to ride. I said I would be in the European zone at that time and if he needed me to ride the horse he could call me and I would make the trip to go and ride wherever he would race.”
Lemaire’s one pairing with Satono Reve brought victory in the G1 Takamatsunomiya Kinen in March at left-handed Chukyo and the champion jockey sees no issues for Satono Reve with the wide, straight six-furlong track at Newmarket’s July Course.
“He’s more comfortable on a left-handed racecourse like Chukyo, rather than right-handed like in Hong Kong, but on the straight course he has performed very well last year and again this year at Royal Ascot, just beaten by a nose,” Lemaire said.
“But he’s very genuine so it’s not a problem to have a long straight in front of him. I have no doubt about his ability to adapt himself to the July course. We know that Japanese horses like good ground, so hopefully it will be warm with good ground.
“He was a very easy ride, very clever, very gentle,” Lemaire continued. “He’s a typical sprinter type, like he’s a massive horse with a big neck, but he doesn’t have that self-confidence, he was very quiet.”
Satono Reve has placed second to Ka Ying Rising in the last two runnings of the G1 Chairman’s Sprint Prize at Sha Tin and was also third to the Hong Kong superstar in the 2024 G1 Hong Kong Sprint. He has taken that form and shown its mighty merits with close seconds in the last two editions of the G1 Queen Elizabeth II Jubilee at Royal Ascot, latterly behind an exciting, emerging British sprinter, Almeraq.
Trainer William Haggas has developed Almeraq into a top-class six-furlong horse through seven completed starts for four wins and two seconds. The four-year-old Shadwell homebred has the profile of a champion sprinter in the making.
“We’ll find out on Saturday,” Haggas told Idol Horse. “He’s getting better isn’t he, so if he can confirm his progression he should be in the mix. But who knows with these sprints, it’s a very strong race with Venetian Sun and Satono Reve and the horse of Aidan’s (O’Brien) that won the five furlong race, Mission Central.”
But, win or lose, Almeraq is unlikely to ever lock horns with Ka Ying Rising, given the great gelding’s outlined plan to take in The Everest this year and likely next as well, a path Haggas is not considering any time soon for the Shadwell colt.
“I think our first job is to make him a stallion, so I wouldn’t think we’d be going anywhere near Australia unless they want to keep him training,” he continued. “Anything’s possible next year, but I wouldn’t think he’d go anywhere near Australia; his programme in England is pretty straightforward with the Maurice de Gheest and the Haydock Sprint Cup then Champions Day. It’s a very good pattern for a six-furlong sprinter.”
Haggas also has the three-year-old Division, a well-beaten second to the Karl Burke-trained filly Venetian Sun on easy going at Haydock before running a fine third to her next time out on quicker ground in the G1 Commonwealth Cup at Ascot.
“He hasn’t won a race yet this year, but I think we rode him wrong when he was second to Venetian Sun and he looked nowhere near as good as her,” Haggas said, “but we rode him better at Ascot and he was a shade unfortunate not to get there.” ∎
