Fierement left it late but got there in the final stride to win his second Tenno Sho (Spring) over 3200m at Kyoto.
The outsider Stiffelio looked the winner when clear with 200m to go but Christophe Lemaire timed his run perfectly on Fierement to reach the front in the final strides to score by a nose with Mikki Swallow closing late to edge You Can Smile for third.
It is the fifth time a horse has won this race in consecutive years.
Fierement won the Gr1 Kikuka Sho over 3000m in 2018 but failed to land a blow when finishing last in the Prix de l’Arc de Triomphe last season in his first international test before ending the year by finishing fourth to Lys Gracieux in the Gr1 Arima Kinen over 2500m.
Lemaire told the JRA the race went mostly the way he anticipated.
“The pace was ideal and I was almost sure it would be an easy win for us, but he wasn’t focused at times,” Lemaire said.
“As it turned out we had to fight hard to the line. But in spite of the long distance and the wide draw, he was unhurried earlier in the race and had the strength left to charge home the way he did—everything went well.
I’m thankful to the fans rooting for us at home. I look forward to seeing them in the stands very soon.”
A five-year-old son of Deep Impact, Fierement has won five of his 10 races and is the best of six winners left by Italian Gr1 Premio Lydia Tesio winner Lune d’Or