3 minute read
Mirai Iwata wins this year’s WASJ.
Mirai Iwata won a close competition to claim this year's World All-Star Jockeys champion title in his first challenge, following the footsteps of his father, Yasunari Iwata, who claimed the title in 2005—the event was then held under the name, the World Super Jockeys Series. Though without a win, Iwata accumulated points by marking a third with eighth pick Galilei in the first leg and a seventh with sixth pick Win Eclair in the 2nd leg to tie for third at the end of Day One. He marked a runner-up effort on board race favorite Leesan Burning in the 3rd leg and demonstrated his skills in guiding longshot Win Ruaidh to third in the last leg to collect 56 points.
"I feel great! It would have been nicer if I had at least won one of the series, but I am glad to have made the overall champion. I tried to ride as usual in all of the races and it was great fun to compete with the top jockeys from abroad, so it was a fulfilling two-day experience for me. I will try my best to win big titles this coming autumn so I ask you for your continued support," commented Mirai Iwata in the closing ceremony.
Rachel King who was on top with 50 points with a win and a runner-up effort at the end of Day One succumbed to second with 55 points, only one point behind the winner, as she was only able to collect five points on Day Two—four points by finishing eighth in the 3rd leg and one point in the last leg in which her mount was met with an unfortunate accident and had to be pulled up mid-race.
"I am honored to stand on this podium today. Yesterday ended at a fantastic note and I had hoped to continue with the same kind of results today, but all the same, I am delighted to be standing here with two great jockeys. It was a great experience to be supported by such great Japanese fans and I am certain that all my fellow jockeys from abroad feel the same. Thank you very much! I am looking forward to having the chance to come back soon and compete with all of you at JRA," said Rachel King.
Coming in third was defending champion Yutaka Take who was overall second on Day One with a 10th and a win and added a third and a sixth in the last two legs to accumulate 54 points, again only one point behind the runner-up.
"I was honored to be selected again for this series so I was hoping to win at least one race—I am glad that I was able to achieve my goal. I am also glad to be able to stand on the podium again this year. It was fun and stimulating to compete with jockeys from around the world," commented Yutaka Take.
Team JRA claimed the team competition with a comfortable 235 points to claim its seventh consecutive title while Team WAS collected 213 points.
2023 WORLD ALL-STAR JOCKEYS POINT CHART
| Standing | Jockey | Team | August 26, 2023 | August 27, 2023 | Total Points | ||||||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1st Leg | 2nd Leg | 3rd Leg | 4th Leg | ||||||||
| 1 | Mirai Iwata | JRA | 3rd | (15) | 7th | (6) | 2nd | (20) | 3rd | (15) | 56 |
| 2 | Rachel King (AUS) | WAS | 1st | (30) | 2nd | (20) | 8th | (4) | FF | (1) | 55 |
| 3 | Yutaka Take | JRA | 10th | (1) | 1st | (30) | 3rd | (15) | 6th | (8) | 54 |
| 4 | Marie Velon (FR) | WAS | 6th | (8) | 8th | (4) | 1st | (30) | 9th | (2) | 44 |
| 5 | Alexis Badel (HK) | WAS | 12th | (1) | 5th | (10) | 14th | (1) | 1st | (30) | 42 |
| 6 | Christophe Lemaire | JRA | 4th | (12) | 14th | (1) | 12th | (1) | 2nd | (20) | 34 |
| 7 | Umberto Rispoli (USA) | WAS | 2nd | (20) | 11th | (1) | 6th | (8) | 8th | (4) | 33 |
| 8 | Takeshi Yokoyama | JRA | 8th | (4) | 3rd | (15) | 13th | (1) | 5th | (10) | 30 |
| 9 | Ryusei Sakai | JRA | 5th | (10) | 13th | (1) | 4th | (12) | 12th | (1) | 24 |
| 10 | Keita Tosaki | JRA | 7th | (6) | 6th | (8) | 7th | (6) | 13th | (1) | 21 |
| 11 | Yuga Kawada | JRA | 11th | (1) | 4th | (12) | 9th | (2) | 10th | (1) | 16 |
| 11 | Luke Morris (GB) | WAS | 9th | (2) | 12th | (1) | 11th | (1) | 4th | (12) | 16 |
| 13 | Minoru Miyagawa (NAR) | WAS | 14th | (1) | 10th | (1) | 5th | (10) | 11th | (1) | 13 |
| 14 | Joao Moreira (BRZ) | WAS | 13th | (1) | 9th | (2) | 10th | (1) | 7th | (6) | 10 |
| Team WAS (World All-Star) : 213 points | Team JRA : 235 points | ||||||||||
*1st: 30 points / 2nd: 20 points / 3rd: 15 points / 4th: 12 points / 5th: 10 points / 6th: 8 points / 7th: 6 points / 8th: 4 points / 9th: 2 points / 10th: 1 point / 11th: 1 point / 12th: 1 point / 13th: 1 point / 14th: 1 point / ER= Excluded from running (by stewards): 6 points
FF=Fail to Finish: 1 point
