Dubai To Sydney, Christophe Lemaire Is Taking His Opportunities
Japan’s champion jockey will ride in Sydney for the first time on April 12 and tells Idol Horse he is at the stage of his career where exciting new experiences become even more important.
CHRISTOPHE LEMAIRE is at that point in his mid-40s when a person’s appreciation of time often starts to become that bit more slanted to thoughts of how much is left on the clock. Japan’s seven-time champion jockey is still at the height of his powers, with much still to accomplish, but this encroaching middle-aged awareness combined with a continuing desire to experience new achievements, are steering his direction.
“I’m not talking about retirement yet,” he says with a hint of amusement.
That’s important to stress in these days of the will-he-won’t-he retirement speculation that has built up around some of his elite peers in the last couple of years. After all, Lemaire should still have a good number of jockeys’ titles and Group 1 wins in the years ahead of him before he draws the curtains on what is already a stellar career.
“Of course, my time will come one day, but I still have things to accomplish here in Japan,” he continues. “I enjoy riding, I have great support from top owners and breeders, I’m happy to be on a horse: I go season by season.”
But he is 45, nonetheless, it’s 10 years on April 4 since he had his first ride as a fully-licensed Japan Racing Association (JRA) jockey – he and Mirco Demuro are still the only two expats licensed full-time by the JRA – and there are things he wants to do that have eluded him so far.
This week he will board a plane to Dubai for four rides on the Dubai World Cup card: he has enjoyed tremendous victories there previously, notably with two of this century’s greats, the colt Equinox and the mare Almond Eye. He is still hungry for more.
Just beyond Dubai, though, is a fresh, new challenge: Sydney. Lemaire will head there the week after, for the first time in his life, booked to partner Japanese raider Rousham Park for Sunday Racing in the G1 Queen Elizabeth Stakes at Randwick.
That means two consecutive weekends away from his home in Japan: two big JRA Group 1 days missed, the Osaka Hai and the Oka Sho. It’s rare indeed for Lemaire to miss a classic race, as the Oka Sho is.
“The Oka Sho is a beautiful race in Japan, during Sakura time,” he says, ‘Sakura’ being a reference to the cherry blossoms that bloom around Japan’s 1,000 Guineas weekend.
“It’s an important race for three-year-old fillies, but having this opportunity to ride in Sydney is something special for me: maybe I won’t have another chance so I didn’t want to miss it. After talking with the Northern Farm manager, I decided to go to Australia and they allowed me to ride the horse in Sydney so I’m very glad of that.
“I’ve had the opportunity to be a multiple leading jockey in Japan, I have great support from trainers and owners, but I know our career is not eternal on horses,” he continues. “I want to enjoy my job and my passion as much as I can and I always dreamed about travelling with horses and travelling through my job, so that’s what I have done for many years.”
His decision to go to Sydney follows a pattern that has seen him go to the United States for one-off majors, as well as to Saudi Arabia, and being a regular participant in the now traditional Japanese offshore raid to Dubai.
“When you have the opportunity for a new experience, like going to Sydney, you have to take it, in my opinion,” Lemaire says. “In the past few years, I had the occasion to ride the Kentucky Derby, that was also a great experience, also to ride a Breeders’ Cup Classic. It’s something you work for all your life, so riding in Sydney, one of the best places in the world to be a jockey, I didn’t want to miss this opportunity. It’s very important for me and I’m very excited about it.”
Lemaire is no stranger to Australia, mind you. One of his greatest moments in the saddle came with his exhilarating, lunging win on Dunaden in the 2011 Melbourne Cup.
“That Melbourne Cup was one of the best moments in my career because Australia is such a big horse racing nation and they love sports so much. Winning the biggest Australian race was something very special to me, even as a foreigner.
“I’m really looking forward to discovering Sydney for the first time and the experiences on the racecourse there. I know the enthusiasm of the Australian crowd on these big racing days and for a jockey it’s always very exciting to be on the track on these days. Even at my age it will be a new experience.”
He has strong hopes for six-year-old Rousham Park in his 2000m Sydney assignment. The entire was runner-up under Keita Tosaki in last year’s Osaka Hai, with Lemaire en route back from Dubai: the French ace was in the saddle for Rousham Park’s fine second in the G1 Breeders’ Cup Turf at Del Mar in November, before Tom Marquand took the reins for seventh in the G1 Arima Kinen over 2500m.
“I think he will do well especially because the trip will be shorter for him this time, it will be perfect for him. He pulled very hard in the Arima Kinen, the pace was slow, he didn’t run badly but he was too keen and that affected his performance,” he says.
“He adapted himself very well to Del Mar which is a bit of a tricky racecourse, so in a bigger racecourse I think he will be very comfortable and will be able to give his best performance. He’s a beautiful horse and I think he needed some time to mature but now he’s got the experience of an overseas trip, there’s no reason why he shouldn’t adapt in Australia. He’s a horse with a lot of ability, he’s got a tremendous finish and has shown that on occasions. He’s a tough horse so I’m quite confident.”
Dubai comes first, though. Lemaire has a book of four rides at this point and while he does not have a standout like Equinox, there is quality to his book: G1 Yushun Himba heroine Cervinia in the G1 Dubai Sheema Classic; G1 Queen Elizabeth Cup winner Brede Weg in the G1 Dubai Turf; Admire Daytona in the G2 UAE Derby; and North American raider Steal Sunshine in the G2 Godolphin Mile.
Cervinia won the last two legs of Japan’s Fillies’ Triple Tiara in 2024, the Yushun Himba and the Shuka Sho before a sound fourth in the G1 Japan Cup, but was only fifth in the G2 Kyoto Kinen in mid-February.
“I like Cervinia very much,” Lemaire says. “We could only be disappointed by her last run but on that occasion the track was really bad, the pace was slow, and she was not yet in racing mode, I would say. She was not at her peak weight, but she did the same last year when she didn’t run a good race in the Oka Sho (first-up) and then she won the Oaks her next race, so hopefully she will be good in the Sheema Classic.
“She won brilliantly in the Shuka Sho and she has a lot of ability, she will be comfortable in Dubai, so I’m expecting a very good run from her. She’s a Group 1 horse.”
Brede Weg is another Sunday Racing-owned mare. She has had only three starts since her 2023 Queen Elizabeth Cup win, missing almost a year of racing before returning with a Group 2 win in October, followed by a very good fourth in the G1 Mile Championship to round out 2024. She warmed up for Meydan with fourth place in a mile Group 3 on February 9.
“The mile is a bit short for her because she doesn’t have the same turn of foot that she has at a longer trip: 1800m in the Dubai Turf will be perfect for her. If we have a regular pace she will have a very strong finish,” he said.
“She is also a very talented filly but the field will be very strong,” Lemaire added, conscious of the presence of both Romantic Warrior and Liberty Island in that stellar line-up that is a racing fan’s dream.
Lemaire might be one of the world’s great jockeys, but he too is a fan, his job was his boyhood dream. He is passionate about the sport that has brought him worldwide success, wealth, acclaim, and gilt-edged achievements and he is not done with race-riding yet by any stretch.
But he also knows the clock is always ticking and a time will come when opportunity stops knocking. When that happens, he wants to look back knowing that, win or lose, he took the opportunities that did come his way ∎
