Contrail duly claimed this year’s Kikuka Sho (Japanese St Leger) to become the third undefeated Triple Crown winner after Symboli Rudolf (1984) and his sire Deep Impact (2005) and the eighth colt to win all three classics.
Racing at 3,000m for the first time, Contrail raced worse than midfield until the home straight where the field fanned, Contrail and Aristoteles, settling down to dual over the final 200m .
At the finish Contrail had a neck to spare with Satono Flag another 3-1/2 lengths.
Trainer Yoshito Yahagi, is the first trainer to claim four Gr1 titles for two consecutive seasons and jockey Yuichi Fukunaga claimed his second Kikuka Sho title after his victory with Epiphaneia in 2013 and became the fourth jockey in JRA history with 10 Classic titles.
Fukunaga told the JRA Contrail showed great strength to win.
“I can’t say that I was successful in keeping him relaxed during the race with so much pressure from Aristoteles,” Fukunaga said.
“It turned out to be a tough race for us with Aristoteles looking quite strong and persistent, and this race may not have been his best performance, but I kept my faith in Contrail and he certainly showed how strong he is to have maintained his position up to the end of the 3,000-metre trip.”