World's best Equinox strolls away with Japan Cup

Full replay: Equinox strolls home in the 2023 Japan Cup

They cheered at the start, they cheered all the way through and they cheered at the finish.

Equinox, returned as 3/10 favourite locally, cemented his status as the world's leading racehorse as he won the Japan Cup on the bridle under Christophe Lemaire in front of a crowd of more than 80,000 spectators in Tokyo.

The four-year-old has not been beaten since finishing second in the Japanese Derby in May 2022, winning two Grade One contests at home at the end of last year before easily seeing off Westover when claiming the Dubai Sheema Classic at Meydan in March.

Tetsuya Kimura’s charge won two more Grade Ones since that effort and was a long odds-on favourite for the Tokyo highlight, which featured a clutch of previous top-level victors, including leading three-year-old filly Liberty Island.

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In a race that was set up to bring the cream to the top with Saudi Cup winner Panthalassa going off at a savage gallop, the winner travelled smoothly throughout in the chasing pack, turning for home in third, struck the front 250 metres from the finish and pulled clear under a motionless Christophe Lemaire to beat fillies' triple crown winner Liberty Island in a time of 2mins 21.8secs.

Stars On Earth, last year's Japanese Oaks winner, finished third under William Buick. Further back in the field, Hollie Doyle finished seventh on last year's winner Vela Azul while Tom Marquand came home in eighth aboard Studley.

Lemaire: "I'm not used to crying"

Lemaire said: "Seriously, I think we just witnessed the number one horse in the world.

"The horse was just travelling so smoothly turning into the home straight. I just felt so much adrenaline when the horse hit top speed. There aren't many words to describe that feeling."

Quoted further via racing.com, the rider added: “Top horses, champion horses adapt to any kind of race and to any surface or ground.

“Coming back to the stand, in front of that huge crowd I felt the people very happy of what they witnessed and that’s why I was so emotional."

He continued: “Even as a professional jockey for so many years, maybe I realised that I rode the perfection and it comes after many years of hard work.

“It is something I can’t really explain, I’m not used to crying.”

The question for international racing fans is whether they will now see Equinox again, but even if he does have another start, he is unlikely to leave Japan, so it may be left to runner-up Liberty Island to fly the flag next year internationally.

Lemaire added: "The connections are looking ahead with the horse's future plans, but I don't know."