Mile Championship (G1) - French mare Sahpresa arrives in Japan

Sahpresa touched down in one piece at Kansai International Airport on Thursday evening for the upcoming Mile Championship at Kyoto Racecourse.

The French-based 4-year-old filly arrived safely at 7:59 p.m. via Frankfurt and was transported to Miki Horseland Park in Hyogo Prefecture for quarantine, completing a 27-hour travel from Chantilly. Sahpresa walked around the stable area for about an hour on Friday.

"The weariness of the journey is gone and she seems relaxed, in good form," groom Joel Segouin said. "We will have her run a light canter tomorrow. After that, I will discuss with the trainer on her training menu. I don't know much about our competition in the Mile Championship, but of course, we have come all this way to win the race."

Sahpresa, winner of the 1,600-meter Sun Chariot Stakes at Newmarket on Oct. 3, is one of two foreign horses here for the 26th Mile Championship. Eva's Request, also 4, arrived on Tuesday, hot off her first Grade 1 victory - the Premio Lydia Tesio in Italy on Oct. 25.

Bred and owned by Douglas McIntrye, the American-bred Sahpresa, by Sahm out of Sorpresa, travels outside of Europe for the first time. She has four wins in nine starts for her career, with earnings of close to 240,000 euros or 30 million yen.

Trained by Rodolphe Collet, the filly's jockey remains undecided for the Nov. 22 race in the ancient Japanese capital, although Christophe Soumillon, already in the country on a short-term license effective to the end of the year, has mounted her four times.