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Juryoku Pierrot and Seina Imamura Achieve Historic Victory in Yushun Himba

Fifth favorite Juryoku Pierrot claimed this year’s Yushun Himba (Japanese Oaks) and became the first dirt-debut filly to win the second leg of the fillies’ Triple Crown in 26 years. The daughter of Orfevre began her career with a win on dirt (Hanshin, 1,800m) in September as a two-year-old which was followed by two seventh-place finishes on the same surface then claimed her first win on turf in January (Kyoto, 2,000m) before capturing another win in the listed Wasurenagusa Sho (Hanshin, 2,000m) on April 12. Trainer Ryo Terashima, who opened his yard in 2016, scored his sixth graded and first G1 title in JRA. In her fifth season as a jockey, Seina Imamura, who was awarded the Best Newcomer Jockey in 2022 and had won one graded victory prior to this event, became the first Japanese female jockey to win a JRA-G1 let alone a classic title in her third G1 attempt.

Juryoku Pierrot broke smoothly from an outside stall and went with the flow with the other horses before eventually settling further back than mid-field off the rails, about six horses from the rear. Unhurried along the backstretch and still well behind approaching the last turn, Imamura waited patiently when her mount began to show keenness entering the stretch then acted quickly with 400 meter to go when an opening appeared in front down the center lane, allowing the filly to stretch out and make ground impressively. Reaching contention and in rally for the lead with about five other rivals on both sides, the Orfevre filly outran the best three-year-old fillies in the final strides with sheer guts to claim her first G1 victory and second jewel of the fillies’ Triple.

“It’s like I’m dreaming! I’ve gone through tough losses in other attempts and I would always dream of doing better next time during the week-days and dream of winning a big race…but today, it’s a dream come true and, while I’m still not satisfied with my riding, I am so grateful to have been able to claim such a big title. I truly appreciate the support I have been getting towards my first classic challenge and it is such an encouragement as a jockey which makes me so happy to have chosen this career. There may have been concerns about how my filly would handle her first 2,400-meter distance but I had every faith in her. She did get a little bit excited early in the stretch but calmed down nicely and I was careful not to pull her back or shift lanes…then she responded with such power as she was taking me there (instead of my driving her)—she’s one tough girl,” commented Seina Imamura.

Third favorite Dream Core straightened herself after being shuffled back right briefly after the break and picked up speed to efficiently move up to eighth position before the first turn, then further up around fourth along the backstretch. In third position while wide into the stretch, the Kizuna filly held on gamely as horses behind began to gain ground with Juryoku Pierrot and Laughterlines joining her on both sides. The frontrunners also lingered from the generally slow-paced race to rally. In a neck-and-neck rally, she gave way to the winner while managing to hold off Laughterlines for the runner-up spot.

Laughterlines was rated three-wide and just in front of the eventual winner among the rear group and circled wide into the homestretch giving her a slight disadvantage of having to make more ground than the first two finishers while showing impressive speed in the last three furlongs.

Race favorite Star Anise was squeezed back by rivals rushing to gain good positions before the first turn then finally managed to settle in mid-division between horses along the backstretch around seventh or eighth position. The Drefong filly met traffic yet again rounding the final corner and appeared to have lost momentum in the final 400 meters from which she failed to emerge from the crowded rally and disappointed to 12th.

Other Horses:
4th: (5) Realize Luminous—ran around 10th early, advanced to 2nd, led 300m out, outrun in final strides
5th: (17) Sweet Happiness—sat around 5th, responded but a little bit short of top finishers
6th: (2) Lay Classic—saved ground around 12th, joined rally for lead, weakened in final strides
7th: (13) Enne—near rear early, angled out and in early stretch, quickened to reach contention 100 meters tying fastest finishing speed but belatedly
8th: (3) Alankar—ran around 10th on rails early, switched to outside in backstretch, lacked needed kick
9th: (15) Ange de Joie—broke slowly, settled wide around 15th, passed tired rivals
10th: (9) Trinity—set slow pace, showed tenacity until 200m pole, weakened thereafter
11th: (4) Long Tall Sally—hugged rails around 9th, showed effort, needed more in last 200m
13th: (14) Sorpassare—ran around 15th, checked by rival 300m out, unable to reach contention
14th: (11) Ametista—chased leaders in 2nd or 3rd, ran out of steam 300m out
15th: (8) Smart Priere—raced wide around 8th, showed effort until 300m out
16th: (1) Mitsukane Venera—broke poorly, trailed in rear, no factor
17th: (6) Longing Celine—took economic trip, around 5th, nothing left at stretch
18th: (7) Stunning Lady—traveled wide around 7th behind favorite, outrun in stretch

THE 87TH YUSHUN HIMBA (JAPANESE OAKS, G1)
3-year-olds, Fillies, 2,400 meters (about 12 furlongs), turf, left-handed
Sunday, May 24, 2026          Tokyo Racecourse           11th Race          Post time: 15:40
Total prize money: ¥ 326,500,000 (about US$ 2,107,000 <US$1=¥155>)
3-y-o: 55 kg (about 121 lbs), 3 kg allowance for Southern Hemisphere-bred born in 2023
Course record: 2:20.3           Race record: 2:22.8 [Loves Only You (JPN, by Deep Impact), 2019]
Safety factor: 18 runners       Going: Good to Firm        Weather: Cloudy

Turnover for the Race alone: ¥ 21,116,924,300       Turnover for the Day: ¥ 31,986,876,400       Attendance: 44,539

Winner= 6 starts: 4 wins / Added & stakes money: ¥ 176,369,000 / Career earnings: ¥ 213,370,000

* Yushun Himba (Japanese Oaks) (G1)

The Japanese version of the prestigious British Oaks, the Yushun Himba was established in 1938 and contested among runners limited to home-bred three-year-old fillies. Initially called the “Hanshin Yushun Himba” and held during the fall season at Hanshin Racecourse, the race acquired its current status as the Japanese Oaks upon changing its venue to Tokyo Racecourse in 1946. The race was also shifted to the spring season, being the richest in prize money and longest in distance among the current JRA races limited to fillies/mares. The Yushun Himba opened its door to foreign-bred runners in 2003 and acquired international G1 status in 2010.
While the Oka Sho (Japanese 1000 Guineas, G1, 1,600m) serves in gauging the speed potentials in the future broodmares, the Yushun Himba is a championship race in which to discover the added quality of stamina as well as speed, and winners of this race are highly rated as broodmares upon retirement to stud. Recent winners included fillies/mares that became high profile G1 winners. 2023 winner Liberty Island (JPN, by Duramente) went on to capture the Shuka Sho (G1, 2,000m) that autumn to become the seventh filly to capture the fillies’ Triple Crown title.
The top five finishers (in that order) of the Oka Sho (Apr.12) that were automatically eligible for the Oaks were Star Anise, Garavogue (JPN, by Lord Kanaloa), Zippy Tune (JPN, by Lord Kanaloa), I Need You (JPN, by Fine Needle) and Alankar. However, Garavogue and Zippy Tune cancelled their entries, the former due to a cellulitis and the latter with a chip fracture, both in their right foreleg, while I Need You was in need for a rest following her last start and also withdrawn. Dream Core and Sweet Happiness, already proven winners in graded/listed events but ninth and 13th, respectively, in the Oka Sho, ran in the Yushun Himba, hoping to improve in the 2,400-meter classic. Those who earned their tickets to make the lineup by faring well in Oaks trial, the Flora Stakes (G2, 2,000m; Apr.26) were winner Laughterlines and runner-up Enne. The field also included Smart Priere, Ange de Joie, Juryoku Pierrot and Trinity, respective winners of the Flower Cup (G3, 1,800m; Mar.21), the Kunshiran Sho (1 Win Class, 1,800m; Mar.28), the Wasurenagusa Sho (Listed, 2,000m; Apr.12) and the Yaguruma Sho (1 Win Class, 2,200m; May.2).