Stellenbosch Out To Salvage Season
Stellenbosch is on a mission to rescue her season and perhaps book her ticket to Hong Kong at Kyoto on Sunday when she will go up against Regaleira in Japan’s big autumn test for fillies and mares, the G1 Queen Elizabeth II Cup.
The four-year-old has been one of the year’s disappointments so far. Her form figures from three races read 13, 8, and 15, a dismal return for a filly that won the G1 Oka Sho under Joao Moreira in April 2024 and was placed that year in the G1 Yushun Himba and G1 Shuka Sho before going on to run third behind Giavelotto in the G1 Hong Kong Vase at Sha Tin.
With her entries posted for this December’s 2400m Hong Kong Vase and the 2000m Hong Kong Cup, trainer Sakae Kunieda and powerhouse owner Katsumi Yoshida have booked the man-of-the-moment Christophe Lemaire for this weekend’s 2200m test. Lemaire is riding at a 51 percent winning strike rate for November and has won each of the JRA’s last three Group 1 races, the Kikuka Sho, Shuka Sho, and Tenno Sho Autumn.
Lemaire has ridden Stellenbosch once before, when second behind Ascoli Piceno in the G1 Hanshin Juvenile Fillies in December 2023.
“Recently she was not at her best and I don’t know why that is because I haven’t ridden her for nearly two years,” Lemaire told Idol Horse. “I will check her previous races again and try to find what went wrong with her, if it’s been a problem of condition, physical condition, or if it’s a problem of trip or racecourse (configuration), I have to check on those things.”
Japan’s seven-time champion jockey gave a positive bulletin, nonetheless.
“I rode her last week and she was moving very well,” he said. “She’s full of energy, so there’s nothing wrong that tells me she won’t do a good performance. I know she has the potential, if she’s fine physically and if I can give her a proper trip, she will perform, so I’m quite confident.”
Her main obstacle to victory appears to be last year’s G1 Arima Kinen heroine Regaleira, who won the G2 All Comers at Nakayama in September. But she is known to mix her form and was only fifth in this race last year.
The Queen Elizabeth II Cup is a traditional clash of the generations, but since 2010 when Britain’s great mare Snow Fairy won the first of her two Cups, only three three-year-olds have succeeded. The picks from this year’s classic-age crop in the field appear to be the Shuka Sho second Erika Express and third Paradis Reine.
Snow Fairy followed her 2010 win in Japan with victory in the G1 Hong Kong Cup at Sha Tin, and the 2019 Queen Elizabeth II Cup winner Lys Gracieux was then second in the Vase, beaten a neck in an epic clash with Exultant.
Meanwhile, Lemaire’s recent form has captured the imagination of race fans in Japan but he knows only Stellenbosch herself can turn her season around.
“There’s a lot of expectation on me but it makes no difference what I do if a horse is not in good condition,” he said. “It’s all about the horse, how she handles the track, how well she feels, but Stellenbosch definitely has the potential to win another Group 1.”
J-Mac To Go Back-To-Back
Jimmysstar will likely be a warm favourite to give Ka Ying Rising’s G1 The Everest form even more lustre at Caulfield on Saturday in the G1 C F Orr Stakes, which has the unusual distinction of being contested twice in 2025.
The shift in the race’s scheduling from February to November means its status as one of the World’s Top 100 Group 1 Races won’t come into play this time as far as the World’s Best Jockey points system is concerned. A moot point anyway, given the length of James McDonald’s lead in the standings.
Only the Mile Championship and Japan Cup among the Top 100 are still to be contested in 2025 before the World’s Best Jockey rankings officially close for the year on November 30.
Those Top 100 races are what determine the IFHA’s annual World’s Best Jockey award: riders gain 12 points for a win, six for a second and four for third-place in any of those races.
McDonald holds the title for 2024 and will go back-to-back. He is streets ahead on 184 points, with Mickael Barzalona next best on 120.
The obvious flaw in the contest is emphasised by the fact that the only jockeys to take the title are the (at the time) European-based Ryan Moore and Frankie Dettori, and Australian-based Hugh Bowman and McDonald. With 30 of this year’s qualifying races in Australia and 39 in Europe – there are 13 in Japan and 11 in the USA – it’s obvious why.
The sport’s fans will all have their own ideas about who they think is the best jockey, it’s all subjective after all. But the world’s best titles are about marketing the sport: the intent is admirable, to promote horse racing and bring some cohesive global narrative. Flaws can be forgiven.
JAMES McDONALD / G1 QEII Cup // Sha Tin /// 2023 //// Photo by Alex Evers/HKJC
This Week In Horse Racing History
Pat Valenzuela who rode Sunday Silence and Arazi in a career that saw many top level triumphs as well as troubles, rode his first winner, Parker Petite, on November 10, 1978 at Sunland Park New Mexico.
Six years later, on November 10, 1984, Hollywood Park staged the first Breeders’ Cup meeting and it was Wild Again under Pat Day that came out top in a roughly contested, close finish to the Breeders’ Cup Classic.
On November 12, 1904, at Riccarton, New Zealand, the four-year-old Machine Gun carried 159lb, which is believed to be the highest weight carried to victory in a flat race.
SUNDAY SILENCE, PATRICK VALENZUELA / G1 Kentucky Derby // Churchill Downs /// 1989 //// Photo by Focus On Sport
Idol Horse Reads Of The Week
Idol Horse this week spoke to Christophe Lemaire who is not only riding a cycle of confidence that has carried him to the top of the JRA jockey standings but is also investing his own time and capital into a horse racing inspired enterprise he hopes will connect more people with the sport.
On Track And Off
Jockey Christophe Lemaire Is Redefining Horse Racing’s Boundaries
Andrew Hawkins looks at why a “more morally sensitive, more visually driven and more attuned to authenticity” Gen Z offers hope for horse racing’s future.
Griffin Johnson To Umamusume
Why Generation Z And Beyond Offers Opportunity For Horse Racing
James McDonald’s return to Hong Kong this past week – on a short-term licence that will take him through the Hong Kong International Races next month – provides a timely opportunity to revisit David Morgan’s interview with the Sydney champion in Hong Kong last December.
Feature
Xtension To Romantic Warrior: J-Mac’s Still Learning On The Hong Kong Curve
Racing Photo Of The Week
A nod of acknowledgement as Takeshi Yokoyama brings up his 99th winner of the season, with a surging late close on the well-supported Taisei Current in the last race at Tokyo.
Date
9 November, 2025
Photographer
@s1nihs
Location
Tokyo
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A nod of acknowledgement as Takeshi Yokoyama brings up his 99th winner of the season, with a surging late close on the well-supported Taisei Current in the last race at Tokyo.
Global Blackbook
Christophe Lemaire is very much in the spotlight at present and he was the man in the saddle when this week’s blackbooker, Victor Verus, defeated his rivals by two lengths and more in the Equinox Memorial Allowance over 2000m at Tokyo last weekend, a race that had sentimental value for the jockey.
Lemaire rode Silk Racing’s world champion Equinox in all 10 of his races for eight victories that included the G1 Dubai Sheema Classic, G1 Japan Cup, G1 Arima Kinen, G1 Takaruka Kinen, and the G1 Tenno Sho Autumn twice.
Victor Verus also wears the Silk colours and while he is unlikely to get close to matching Equinox’s storied achievements, the slow-developing three-year-old showed in winning his fourth race on the bounce that he should be earning his keep in Group races next year. “He can rise higher, definitely,” Lemaire told Idol Horse. “From the start, I could see that I was going to win the race. I’m not sure that it was a very strong race, but he won brilliantly and reacted much quicker than usual. It’s unusual to win four races in a row, he’s definitely a Group race horse.”
VICTOR VERUS, CHRISTOPHE LEMAIRE / Tokyo Racecourse // 2025 /// / Tokyo // Photo by @s1nihs
World Horse Racing Calendar: What’s Coming Up
🇯🇵 Queen Elizabeth II Cup Day
Kyoto, November 16
A new queen will be crowned at Kyoto when the Queen Elizabeth II Cup, the only top-level contest in Japan restricted to fillies and mares aged three or above, takes centre stage over 2200m. The race, which became open to older mares in 1996, sees Regaleira hoping to make amends for her below-par fifth in the contest last year en route to her G1 Arima Kinen win last December. On the back of her powerful win in the All Comers at Nakayama, Regaleira will hunt for her first win in the Kansai region after her defeat 12 months ago and her tame effort in the G1 Takarazuka Kinen in June.
🇯🇵 Mile Championship
Kyoto, November 23
There will be international representation in the Mile Championship in the form of the Harry Eustace-trained Docklands. Mark Zahra enjoyed a remarkable Royal Ascot success aboard Docklands in the G1 Queen Anne Stakes and the star Australian will bid for more international success with the Harry Eustace-trained five-year-old in Kyoto. Docklands narrowly got the better of Rosallion at Ascot in June and while he hasn’t got his head in front since, Eustace’s stable star will be heading to Japan on the back of a gallant fourth in the G1 Queen Elizabeth II Stakes last month. The home team is headed by Jantar Mantar, who won the G1 Yasuda Kinen in June and will look to go one better than his latest effort in the G2 Fuji Stakes last month.
🇭🇰 Bank of China (Hong Kong) Raceday
Sha Tin, November 23
Three Group 2 contests headline the action at Sha Tin as we see Hong Kong’s superstars gear up for the Hong Kong International Races on December 14. The G2 Jockey Club Sprint once again revolves around the world’s highest-rated sprinter, Ka Ying Rising, while the Jockey Club Cup throws up a big clash between two of Hong Kong’s flagbearers. Danny Shum’s globetrotting superstar, Romantic Warrior, will make his first appearance since his surgery in May when he takes on last season’s Hong Kong Triple Crown hero, Voyage Bubble, over 2000m. In the mile contest, My Wish will bid to continue his rapid rise after his G2 Sha Tin Trophy win.
VOYAGE BUBBLE, JAMES McDONALD / G1 Champions & Chater Cup // Sha Tin /// 2025 //// Photo by HKJC
🇯🇵 Japan Cup
Tokyo, November 30
This year’s Japan Cup will see just one international contender wage war over a mile and a half after Los Angeles, Goliath and Queenstown withdrew from the contest. That overseas raider, though, comes in the shape of Calandagan, Europe’s star middle-distance horse this year. Trainer Francis-Henri Graffard has enjoyed a sensational season and he will try to put the cherry on top courtesy of his four-year-old gelding, who has won three Group 1s this term. Last time out, Calandagan arguably produced his career-best performance when he stamped his class in a red-hot G1 Champion Stakes at Ascot. ∎
AloJapan.com