Japanese sprint queen Curren Chan completed a memorable Group One double on Sunday when she added the Takamatsunomiya Kinen to the Sprinters Stakes crown she won last October.
Current Chan held on for a neck success over San Carlo in the first G1 turf race of the Japan season on the newly renovated Chukyo course becoming the third filly to win the Takamatsunomiya Kinen following Flower Park in 1996 and Believe in 2003 and the fifth horse to capture both the Sprinters Stakes and the Takamatsunomiya Kinen.
The second leg of this year's Global Sprint Challenge was purely a domestic field but was triumph for trainer Takayuki Yasuda, who runs Transcend in this weekend's Dubai World Cup.
Yasuda also saddled Lord Kanaloa and Dasher Go Go to finish third and fourth behind their stablemate.
It was also an important victory for jockey Kenichi Ikezoe after his controversial loss on Triple Crown winner Orfevre a week previously.
Ikezoe was aggressive from the start having Curren Chan close up in second before taking over as they turned for home and then had just enough to hold the late challenge of San Carlo on the uphill finish.
