Christophe Lemaire is looking forward to partnering the Japanese-trained four-year-old filly Ascoli Piceno in Sunday’s Prix Jacques-Le-Marois at Deauville.
Having partnered the likes of Heart's Cry, Almond Eye and more recently Equinox to Group 1 victories in Japan, Christophe Lemaire certainly knows what it takes when it comes to top-class Japanese horses.
A multiple winner of Japan's leading jockey title, Lemaire will now gear up to return to his homeland as he bids to steer Ascoli Piceno to victory against some of Europe's best milers.
Trained by Yoichi Kuroiwa and bred by Japanese powerhouse Northern Farm, Ascoli Piceno will head to Deauville looking for a third straight success, having backed up a gutsy victory in the six and a half furlong 1351 Turf Sprint at Riyadh with a narrow win over a mile back on home soil in the Grade 1 Victoria Mile at Tokyo.
"She's a very talented filly," said Lemaire on the Nick Luck Daily podcast. "She's a nice ride and has a lot of experience now.
"She ran two different types of races in Saudi and in Tokyo. Maybe because of the ground, I think she is more comfortable on quick ground, so that is why she was close to the pace in Saudi over six and a half furlongs and she was off the pace on soft ground in Tokyo over a mile.
"So, I'm glad that the weather forecast is very good in France. We're going to have a warm temperature, and the ground should be quick enough for her on Sunday. I'm quite confident."
On the prospect of winning a Group 1 in his native land on a Japanese-trained horse, Lemaire, who is yet to taste success in the Prix Jacques-Le-Marois, said: "It would be quite an achievement. Especially because I've never won the Prix Jacques-Le-Marois before, especially when I was based in France.
"It's one of the most beautiful races during the Deauville meeting and one of the toughest mile races in Europe.
"To come and compete with a Japanese horse in this race is already a big challenge, but we expect a very good run from Ascoli Piceno and winning a Group 1 again in France would personally be something very very exciting."
