Satono Crown

In 2016 he won the Kyoto Kinen but then displayed indifferent form before defeating a top-class international field in the Hong Kong Vase to establish himself as one of the best horses in the world over 2,400 metres.

[3] Satono Crown's dam Jioconda showed good form as a racemare in Ireland, winning two of her eight races including the Listed Silken Glider Stakes in 2005.

Satono Crown was given a long summer break before returning on 1 November when he was matched against older horses for the first time in the Tenno Sho over 2000 metres at Tokyo.

Ridden by Mirco Demuro he recorded his first success in eleven months as he won by three lengths and a neck from the filly Touching Speech and the five-year-old Admire Deus.

[12] He was then sent to Hong Kong to contest the Queen Elizabeth II Cup at Sha Tin Racecourse in April but made little impact and finished unplaced behind the locally trained Werther.

"[13] Satono Crown was back in Japan for the Takarazuka Kinen at Hanshin Racecourse on 26 June in which he started a 28/1 outsider and finished sixth of the seventeen runners behind Marialite, Duramente, Kitasan Black, Lovely Day and Staphanos.

Satono Crown ended his season with a second trip to Sha Tin and started at odds of 19.5/1 for the Hong Kong Vase, a race in which he was ridden by the locally based João Moreira.

Other overseas contenders included Nuovo Record (Yushun Himba) and Smart Layer from Japan, Siverwave (Grand Prix de Saint-Cloud), One Foot In Heaven and Garlingari from France, Big Orange (Goodwood Cup) from England, Benzini from New Zealand an Quechua from Singapore, whilst the bet-fancied of the local runners was Helene Happy Star.

[18] On his first appearance of 2017 on 12 February, Satono Crown attempted to repeat his 2016 success in the Kyoto Kinen and started third choice in the betting behind the four-year-olds Makahiki and Mikki Rocket.

[19] In the Grade 1 Osaka Hai at Hanshin on 2 April he went off the 3.6/1 third choice in the betting but came home sixth of the fourteen runners behind Kitasan Black, beaten three lengths by the winner.

[20] On 25 June on rain-softened ground at Hanshin the horse contested his second Takarazuka Kinen and started the 8/1 third choice in the betting behind Kitasan Black and Sciacchetra in an eleven runner field which also included Mikki Queen, Cheval Grand, Gold Actor and Rainbow Line.

[23] For his first appearance of 2018 Satono Crown was flown to the United Arab Emirates to contest the Sheema Classic over 2400 metres at Meydan Racecourse on 31 March but never looked likely to win and came home seventh of the ten runners behind Hawkbill.

Satono Crown ended his racing career in the Japan Cup at Tokyo on 25 November when he finished ninth behind Almond Eye, beaten twelve lengths by the winner.

Satono Crown's trainer Noriyuki Hori