Ascoli Piceno opened a multitude of options with her heart-thumping win under Christophe Lemaire in the G2 1351 Turf Sprint on the Saudi Cup card Saturday night.
Japan’s champion jockey delivered the top-class miler in the post’s shadow to nab fellow Japanese raider Win Marvel, and the sharp performance in the ‘long’ sprint over 1351m has given her connections confidence that she has the necessary tactical traits to be a contender at major events across the globe, should that route be pursued.
This victory was a welcome return to form for the 2023 G1 Hanshin Juvenile Fillies winner after she failed to show her true ability when 12th last time in the G1 Golden Eagle over 1500m on a wet track at Rosehill, Australia on November 2.
“I think a racecourse like Sha Tin would be fine, as well as Del Mar, because today she has shown some early speed and nice cruising speed; wherever she goes I think she needs good ground and from six furlongs to seven furlongs, even eight furlongs won’t be a problem,” Lemaire told Idol Horse.
That means Ascoli Piceno’s connections might yet consider this year’s Breeders’ Cup at Del Mar or the Hong Kong International Races at Sha Tin in December. But a realistic next stop could be the G1 Victoria Mile at Tokyo where she would face fillies and mares over the distance at which she was second in both the G1 Oka Sho, the Japanese 1,000 Guineas, last April, and the G1 NHK Mile Cup, against the boys, last May.
“She could go for (the Victoria Mile) at home,” Lemaire added. “She perhaps needs another Group 1 at home.”
Ascoli Piceno’s trainer Yoichi Kuroiwa has guided his stable star – Japan’s champion juvenile filly in 2023 – through an eight-race career so far that has brought five wins, three at a mile. He was not giving away much about plans in the aftermath of her Saudi win.
“Once we settle down, we will think about what to do next because she has so many options now,” Kuroiwa said, but added, “Yes, definitely we will try to challenge with her,” when asked via an interpreter if more overseas raids would be on the agenda this year.
The trainer stated his belief that while Ascoli Piceno had been trained to compete at a sprint distance this time, “a mile would be her best” distance.
That was evident in how the race panned out. Ascoli Piceno broke smartly from the gate and followed in the slipstream of the front-running Win Marvel. But that mature entire, a four-time winner at 1400m, had two lengths on the filly at the top of the straight and was not for stopping.
“When I saw Win Marvel taking the lead, I knew he would take us very far into the straight, so that was the perfect spot for us,” Lemaire said. “Ascoli Piceno was quick out of the gates, which is not the case every time, so I was very happy that today with that draw (gate three) she jumped well from the gate. We were able to take a good position just behind the leaders.
Ascoli Piceno gradually reeled in the Kohei Matsuyama-trained Win Marvel under Lemaire’s strong drive, winning by a head.
“Win Marvel was very brave running on the front, but Ascoli Piceno, she showed us what she is able to do. She is, in my opinion, a Group 1 filly in Japan. I was very confident because the conditions were perfect for her, track conditions, good draw. We just needed a clear run to win,” the French ace said.
Lemaire seemed cool to the idea put to him in the post-race press conference by vested interests that Royal Ascot’s G1 Queen Elizabeth II Jubilee Stakes over 1200m in June might be one for Ascoli Piceno.
“It’s a tough straight course,” he said. “But that race is for specialist sprinters: she’s in between a miler and sprinter, so maybe seven furlongs would be better.” ∎
