Horse of the Week #4: Win Carnelian’s Historic Sprinters Stakes Triumph
- Archie Brookes
- 1 day ago
- 3 min read
Welcome back to our Horse of the Week series on archiebrookesracing.net, where we spotlight standout performances from Japan’s racing scene. This week, the honour goes to the veteran Win Carnelian, who stunned at Nakayama in Sunday’s G1 Sprinters Stakes to deliver both a career-defining result and a long-awaited milestone for his jockey.
Race Dynamics and Outcome
The 1200m Sprinters Stakes was expected to showcase Japan’s premier short-course specialists, but the outcome surprised many: an eight-year-old outsider prevailed. Breaking from the widest stall at 50.0 JRA odds (roughly 49-1), Win Carnelian pressed the pace outside frontrunner June Blair. Together they set a steady but demanding rhythm before engaging in a prolonged head-to-head duel through the straight.
Miura guided Win Carnelian with composure, securing a narrow but decisive victory in 1:06.9. June Blair finished a head behind, while Namura Clair produced the fastest closing sectional of the race - 32.7 seconds for the final 600m - but settled for third after conceding too much early ground. Satono Reve, the race favourite, finished strongly but missed third by a nose.
Sectional splits (12.0 - 10.7 - 11.0 - 11.2 - 10.6 - 11.4) underscored the fast tempo, with Win Carnelian completing his final 600m in 33.0. The upset delivered extraordinary returns for punters: ¥5,000 for the win, with the trifecta (16-13-6) paying more than ¥1.3 million.
Historical Significance
For Miura, the victory was transformative. Since his professional debut in 2008, he had ridden in 126 G1 races without success. That drought ended here, with Miura describing the breakthrough succinctly:
“It’s been a long road. I just wanted to keep him in rhythm and let him fight.”
For Win Carnelian, the win carried its own distinction. He became only the second eight-year-old to claim the Sprinters Stakes, following Ultra Fantasy in 2010. His sire, Screen Hero - renowned for middle-distance champions Maurice and Gold Actor - earned his first top-level sprint success. Trainer Yuichi Shikato, who previously guided Screen Hero, completed a rare generational link with this win.
Pedigree and Connections
Win Carnelian is by Screen Hero out of Cosmo Crystal (by Meiner Love). He was bred by Cosmo View Farm and races for Win Co., Ltd. For Shikato, this marked his fifth JRA G1 title and demonstrated his capacity to manage horses across varied distances, from the 2000m Satsuki Sho to 1200m at Nakayama.
The gelding’s record now stands at 33 starts: 9 wins, 6 seconds, and 1 third. Prior to this triumph, he had registered notable mile victories in the 2022 G3Sekiya Kinen and the 2023 G3 Tokyo Shimbun Hai, as well as a runner-up finish in the 2025 G1 Al Quoz Sprint in Dubai.
Race Day Context
Nakayama drew a crowd of 33,918, with wagering turnover reaching ¥17.0 billion on the Sprinters Stakes and ¥28.3 billion across the card. Although the record time of 1:06.7, set by Lord Kanaloa in 2012, remains intact, the upset result ensured the day’s significance.
Among the beaten runners, June Blair enhanced her reputation with a tenacious front-running effort. Namura Clair recorded her third consecutive third-place finish in this race, again flashing a powerful but belated turn of foot. Satono Reve was unlucky to miss the placings, while international star Lucky Sweynesse never found his rhythm and faded to 11th. Defending champion Lugal was off the pace throughout and finished 12th.
Conclusion: Why Win Carnelian is Our Horse of the Week
Win Carnelian exemplifies resilience, tactical adaptability, and the ability to defy expectations. An ageing sprinter dismissed by the betting public, he outbattled younger rivals and delivered a first G1 victory for a jockey long considered Japan’s perennial nearly man. His success not only reshaped the narrative of his own career but also extended the influence of his sire line.
This was a victory forged through grit and timing, making Win Carnelian a fitting and unforgettable choice for Horse of the Week.
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