In this year’s Prix de Jacques le Marois Stakes, star runner Bow Echo has recently retired due to injury, cancelling his intended French campaign. The withdrawal has made the race even more competitive, with Japan’s representatives Sixpence and Strauss—once overlooked—now seen as genuine contenders.

Looking back to 1998, Taiki Shuttle became the first Japanese horse to capture this prestigious race, a landmark victory that remains unmatched 28 years later. Since then, several Japanese challengers have tried, with Millennium notably finishing third in 2003.

Taiki Shuttle dominated the mile and sprint divisions throughout his career, remaining unbeaten over 1600 meters and earning the title of “Mile King.” After his triumph in the Yasuda Kinen in 1998, his connections targeted the Jacques le Marois, sending him to France in late July to acclimatize before the August 16 contest.

At Deauville, the straight 1600‑meter course proved unfamiliar, leaving the horse unsettled as he searched for a bend. Yet in the final stages, jockey Yukio Okabe steadied him and launched a decisive burst in the last 100 meters. Taiki Shuttle surged past rivals to defeat the favorite Among Men by half a length, becoming only the second Japanese horse to win an overseas Group 1 after Seeking the Pearl’s victory in the Prix Maurice de Gheest a week earlier.

Following his triumph, plans were considered for the Prix du Moulin at Longchamp and even a Breeders’ Cup Mile campaign in the United States. However, logistical and quarantine challenges prevented these ambitions, and Taiki Shuttle returned to Japan.

By year’s end, his dominance—sweeping the spring and autumn mile races and conquering France—earned him 180 votes to retain the title of Best Sprinter/Miler, 116 votes as Best Older Colt, and 174 votes to be crowned Horse of the Year, the first mile specialist ever to claim Japan’s highest honor.

Photo: Scoop Dyga

By: Big Iron