Japan: Redentor notches first Grade 1 with spring Tenno Sho
After racing on the inside for the first mile and rallying wide through the stretch, the improving colt Redentor won his first Grade 1 race in Sunday’s $3.9 million spring running of the Tenno Sho at Kyoto Racecourse in Japan for his fourth win in his last five starts.
Ridden by Damian Lane, Redentor was sixth or seventh for the first mile of the two-mile race, stalking the pace. On the backstretch for the final time, Lane moved Redentor off the inside and closer to the front.
Redentor was fourth as the field approached the stretch, briefly held up behind the pacesetters, and gradually worked his way to the front in the final sixteenth. Through the final strides, Redentor was challenged by Byzantine Dream, winning by a head.
Redentor paid $5.10 as the favorite in American pools. Byzantine Dreams (10-1) finished three lengths clear of third-place finisher Shonan la Punta (11-1) in the field of 15.
Justin Palace, who won the 2023 running of the spring Tenno Sho, finished sixth, the seventh consecutive race in which he has finished outside of the top three since late 2023. Blow the Horn, second in the 2024 spring running of the Tenno Sho, finished eighth on Sunday.
Lane, based in Australia, is riding in Japan on a short-term license through June 27. He suggested after Sunday’s win that Redentor is far from his peak.
“I wanted to get the horse in a good position and good rhythm and get him to relax because he can get a little keen in the races,” Lane said. “He was traveling very strong (on the turn) and I had to be patient and wait and get him to the outside to give him a clear running.
“I think he’s still relatively young in the mind and immature and so he’s learning all the time, which means that he can continue to race at the top level over the next couple of years.”
A 4-year-old Japanese-bred by Rulership, Redentor has won 6 of 9 starts. A second-place finish in the Grade 1 Japanese St. Leger last October interrupted a two-race winning streak in minor races.
A distance specialist, Redentor won his first start of 2025 in the Grade 3 Diamond Stakes at 2 1/8 miles at Tokyo Racecourse on Feb. 22. The colt races for Carrot Farm Co., Ltd., and trainer Tetsuya Kimura.
Last November, the Kimura-trained Geoglyph finished fifth in the Breeders’ Cup Mile at Del Mar.
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