Saint Emilion (horse)

2010: three-year-old season

Saint Emilion made her debut on 5 January 2010, in a maiden race over 2,000 meters on turf at Nakayama Racecourse. Living up to her status as the favorite, she won her first race. In her second start, the Wakatake Sho, on January 24, she was again the third favorite but pulled away down the stretch to claim her second victory. In her third race, the Flower Cup, Saint Emilion was forced to race from the back of the pack and finished third. Her team opted to not enter her in the Oka Sho and instead set her sights on the Yushun Himba, adjusting her racing schedule accordingly. Then, in the Flora Stakes, she claimed her first graded stakes victory.

In the Yushun Himba, Saint Emilion started from the outside gate and raced in the middle-to-rear of the pack. Around one furlong out of the final straight, she engaged in a neck-and-neck battle with Apapane, and the two horses crossed the finish line side by side. After a photo finish that took nearly 15 minutes, Saint Emilion was declared a dead heat for first place with Apapane, the first such result and currently only instance in a JRA-sponsored GI race. This result gave jockey Norihiro Yokoyama his first victory in the Yushun Himba and trainer Nobuaki Koga his first GI victory. It also marked the first GI victory for a progeny of Zenno Rob Roy.

In the fall, Saint Emilion was scheduled to head straight to the Shuka Sho without running in any trial races. Since her regular jockey, Norihiro Yokoyama, had been injured in a fall, Yusuke Fujioka took over in the saddle. However, in the actual race, she suffered a mishap at the start when she bumped her face against the gate door, causing her to get off to a slow start. Additionally, because she had cut her mouth and was bleeding from the impact, she was unable to take the bit, and she remained at the very back of the field throughout the race, finishing a dismal 18th, six lengths behind the winner in a massive defeat. In the Queen Elizabeth II Cup, with her regular jockey Yokoyama riding Yuno Sophie in the Musashino Stakes, she was ridden by Mirco Demuro. Although she raced in the middle of the pack, she lacked acceleration in the home stretch and finished in 9th place.

2011-2013: four to six-year-old seasons

In 2011, Saint Emilion began the season in the Queen Stakes; though she raced in the middle of the pack, she failed to pick up any speed in the home stretch and finished last in 14th place. In the Fuchu Himba Stakes, she raced toward the back of the middle pack but finished 11th. In the Queen Elizabeth II Cup, she remained at the back throughout the race and suffered a crushing defeat, finishing 18th.

In 2012, Saint Emilion began the season in the American Jockey Club Cup, where she ran from a good position and finished fourth. In the Diamond Stakes, she raced in the middle of the pack but failed to pick up speed in the home stretch, suffering a heavy defeat in 12th place. In the Nikkei Sho, she raced near the front but lacked acceleration in the home stretch, finishing sixth, and in the Meguro Kinen, she finished last in 18th place. She took a break during the summer and ran three more races that year, but failed to place in any of them. She retired from racing after finishing 11th in the American Jockey Club Cup in January 2013.