Champions Cup (Group 1)

RACE favourite Lemon Pop led the field from start to finish in the Group 1 Champions Cup on dirt at Chuyko racecourse.

He had also won the Group 1 February Stakes to become the fourth horse in history to win both Group 1 dirt events in the same year.

The son of Lemon Drop Kid kicked off this season with consecutive wins in a Group 3 and the February Stakes though was only 10th in the Dubai Golden Shaheen at Meydan, won his comeback start back home in the Mile Championship Nambu Hai on October 9th before coming into this race.

Lemon Pop, quick out of the gate from the widest stall, accelerated strongly to assume command. The five-year-old chestnut maintained his lead into the straight, holding off the strong challenges from behind to clear the wire with a length and a quarter margin.

“He was quick out of the gate and wanted to go, so I chose to race him in the front. Though it was his first 1,800-metre race and the outermost stall was not to his advantage, I think he handled it well with his remarkable ability. He was really strong. That’s all I can say. I’m really looking forward to his future races,” commented his rider Ryusei Sakai.

Outsider Wilson Tesoro travelled at the back of the field on the rails after a poor break and angled out to enter the straight. While unable to find a clear path at the early stretch, the Kitasan Black colt switched wider around 350 metres out and launched the fastest late drive to overtake all his rivals but the winner to finish second.

Dura Erede tracked the leader in second, closed the gap at the final bend but failed to catch the winner and while overtaken by the fast-closing runner-up just before the wire, held third place by a neck.