OVER 69,000 people were at Kyoto racecourse to witness the spring edition of the biannual Tenno Sho, or Emperor’s Cup in English.

Confined to older horses, it is run over the marathon distance of 3,200 metres (two miles) as opposed to its autumn counterpart which is contested over 2,000 metres. A field of 17 runners lined up to contest the €1,200,000 first-place prize.