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Ecoro Duel Defends His Nakayama Grand Jump Title, Extending His J-G1 Winning Streak to Three

Heavy favorite Ecoro Duel defended his title in this year’s Nakayama Grand Jump, crossing the wire in 4:49.0, 1.5 seconds faster than last year, and became the fifth horse to win this race two years in a row. Following his victory in last year’s running, the son of Kitasan Black registered a second in the Tokyo High-Jump (J-G2, 3,110m) before capturing the year-end Nakayama Daishogai (J-G1, 4,100m), which earned him unanimous honors as Best Steeplechase Horse. He came off a runner-up effort in his first start of this season, the Hanshin Spring Jump (J-G2, 3,900m) on March 14. Both trainer Takaki Iwato and jockey Taro Kusano claimed their third J-G1 titles—all with Ecoro Duel—while this marked the trainer’s tenth grade-race victory (including flat races) and the jockey’s seventh jump graded title.

After a clean start from stall six, Ecoro Duel cleared the first (fence no.5) of the 12 jumps among the front group and settled around third to fourth. As the frontrunners—Forged Brick and Sun Davis—jumped the fifth grand bush fence (no.6) side by side, opening a wide gap on the rest of the field, the son of Kitasan Black remained unhurried, maintaining his position between third and fourth until after the seventh jump (grand hedge, no.7). The seven-year-old then made an early move, advancing to second at the eighth jump (no.2) and taking the lead after the 10th obstacle (no.8). The defending champion extended strongly, clearing the final jump (no.10) with a commanding advantage and widening the lead further to cross the wide in record time.

“The horse was quite calm after the parade ring, which actually made me a little worried, but I figured he wouldn’t be too keen even if we moved up toward the front. My biggest concern was a slow pace, so I had him press the pacesetter. I think we were able to travel in good position throughout the trip. He cleared the final fence perfectly today, and it really surprised me that I couldn’t see the rest of the field when I glanced at the big screen. While his physique hasn’t changed much since last year, he has definitely become much more mentally settled,” commented Taro Kusano.

Third choice Dinasta, breaking well from the outermost stall, settled around fifth, tracking Ecoro Duel in front. While the race favorite advanced to second at the eighth jump (no.2), the Duramente chestnut waited, drifting back to seventh before launching his bid after the 10th jump (no.8) with an impressive turn of foot. The Hanshin Spring Jump victor swept past Forged Brick entering the stretch and drew clear after the final jump (no.10), but was no match for the winner and finished second.

Eighth pick Forged Brick set the pace until passing the fifth jump (no.6), then chased Sun Davis in second and was closed in by Ecoro Duel and Ho O Purosangue after the seventh jump (no.7). Dropping to fourth in the backstretch, the five-year-old bay launched a strong late drive together with Dinasta, overtaking Sun Davis rounding the final corner and Ho O Purosangue after the last jump (no.10), but was pulled away by the eventual runner-up, finishing six lengths behind in third.

Other Horses:
4th: (3) Ho O Purosangue—raced around 3rd, closed in on frontrunners after 7th jump (no.7), chased winner in 2nd around 11th jump (no.9), outrun by Dinasta then Forged Brick
5th: (7) Neviim—traveled around 7th, advanced after 7th jump (no.7) but failed to keep up with top finishers
6th: (4) Sun Davis—settled forwardly inside winner, took front after 5th jump (no.6), weakened after 10th jump (no.8)
7th: (8) Hezarfen—sat around 7th early, gradually made headway to 5th, showed little after 11th jump (no.9)
8th: (5) Platina Dream—positioned in 8th throughout trip
9th: (9) Tangent Arc— trailed in rear, passed one rival after 3rd jump (no.2)
10th: (1) Polytonality—ran 2nd from last early, dropped to last after 3rd jump (no.2), no factor

THE 28TH NAKAYAMA GRAND JUMP (J-G1)
4-year-olds & up, 4,260 meters (about 2 and 2/3 miles), turf
Saturday, April 18, 2026      Nakayama Racecourse      11th Race         Post time: 15:40
Total prize money: ¥ 152,900,000 (about US$ 986,000 <US$1=¥155>)
4-y-o: 62kg (about 137 lbs), 5-y-o & up: 63kg (about 139 lbs), 2kg allowance for Fillies & Mares
Course & race record: 4:49.0 [Ecoro Duel (JPN, by Kitasan Black), 2026]
Safety factor: 16 runners     Going: Good to Firm           Weather: Fine

Turnover for the Race alone: ¥ 2,635,737,300       Turnover for the Day: ¥ 10,187,846,800       Attendance: 22,951

Winner= 26 starts: 7 wins, 6 seconds & 2 thirds (16 starts: 6 wins, 5 seconds & 1 third *steeplechases only)
Added & stakes money: ¥ 70,364,000 / Career earnings: ¥ 401,251,000 (¥ 390,211,000 *steeplechases only)

* Nakayama Grand Jump (J-G1)

The Nakayama Grand Jump, the biggest steeplechase event in spring, spun off from the biannual Nakayama Daishogai (J-G1, 4,100m) steeplechase races in 1999. The history of the Nakayama Daishogai dates back to 1934 when the two races—one in spring and one in autumn—were created with the aim of making them the most prestigious and attractive races in steeplechase racing, just like the Tokyo Yushun (Japanese Derby) in flat racing.
In 2000, a year after the Nakayama Grand Jump received its current name, the race became an international event. Seven foreign runners from five countries took part, and Boca Boca (IRE, by Mandalus) from France finished second to Gokai (JPN, by Judge Angelucci) that year. During 2000 - 2010, when the Nakayama Grand Jump was an invitational event, St. Steven (NZ, by Hula Town) became the first foreign contingent to claim the title in 2002 and finished third the following year, while Australian contender Karasi (IRE, by Kahyasi) was the first horse to win three consecutive titles from 2005 to 2007. In 2013, eighth favorite Irish raider Blackstairmountain (IRE, by Imperial Ballet) became the first European contender to claim the title.
The Nakayama Grand Jump features 12 jumps over the figure-of-eight-shaped course, which includes five up-and-downs over the banks and three hurdles set on the outside turf towards the final stretch. The 310-meter uphill stretch before the wire is also quite a test for many of the runners especially after running at a solid pace throughout the race. The distance has been changed from 4,250 meters to 4,260 meters since last year. Oju Chosan (JPN, by Stay Gold), a legendary jumper who won this race six times, set the race record of 4:43.0 over 4,250 meters in 2018.
Defending champion and 2025 Best Steeplechase Horse Ecoro Duel commenced this season with a second in the Hanshin Spring Jump (J-G2, 3,900m; Mar.14), a race won by Dinasta, who secured his first graded title, with Hezarfen following in third and two-time J-G1 runner-up Neviim in sixth. The spring steeplechase highlight also featured Platina Dream, fifth in the year-end Nakayama Daishogai, as well as Sun Davis, Forged Brick and Ho O Purosangue, respective winners of the Kokura Jump Stakes (J-G3, 3,390m; Feb.14), the Pegasus Jump Stakes (Open Class, 3,350m; Mar.21) and the Miki Horseland Park Jump Stakes (Open Class, 3,140m; Mar.28).