Jockey Kenichi Ikezoe Achieves Historic 100th JRA Graded Stakes Win
On September 6, 2025, at Sapporo Racecourse, jockey Kenichi Ikezoe (46) achieved a remarkable milestone, guiding Shonan Gulf to victory in the 60th Sapporo Nisai Stakes (GIII). This win marked his 100th JRA graded stakes victory, making him only the 12th jockey in JRA history to reach this illustrious record. In that day's Sapporo Nisai Stakes, Shonan Gulf (colt, 2 years old, trained by Naosuke Sugai at Ritto Training Center), the top favorite, displayed an impressive burst of speed to powerfully overtake the field just before the finish line, securing his first graded stakes title and remaining undefeated with two wins from two starts. After the race, Ikezoe commented, "I intended to decide on our position after the start, and since the pace wasn't too fast, I settled him into that spot to find a rhythm. We had to go quite wide, but he showed wonderfully sustained speed and possesses solid potential." He highly praised his partner's ability. Upon achieving the si...