Ascoli Piceno (Japanese: アスコリピチェーノ, Hepburn: Asukori Pichēno; Foaled February 24, 2021) is a retired Japanese Thoroughbred racehorse. She won the Hanshin Juvenile Fillies in 2023, and the Victoria Mile in 2025.

She was named after Ascoli Piceno, a city in Italy. She was awarded the JRA Award for Best Two-Year-Old Filly for 2023.

Racing career

2023: two-year-old season

Ascoli Piceno debuted at the Tokyo Racecourse on June 24, 2023, in a two-year-old newcomer race on turf at the distance of 1,400m. She was ridden by Christophe Lemaire, who let her settle at the back of the pack, then took the lead on the final straight, winning by two-and-a-half lengths. Two months later, on August 27, she raced in the Niigata Nisai Stakes for her first graded stakes race challenge. Ridden by , she settled in the middle of the pack. On the final straight, she chased down the runaway horse Shonan Manuela and won by a length, successfully achieving her first graded stakes win.

For the last race of her two-year-old season, she was signed-up for the Hanshin Juvenile Fillies held at Hanshin Racecourse on December 10. This was her first grade-one stakes race. Ridden by Hiroshi Kitamura again, she settled in midfield. Entering the final straight, after passing a group of horses, she overtook in the final furlong and held off the fast-finishing Stellenbosch, winning the race by a neck. She achieved her first grade-one stakes victory while breaking the race record.

2024: three-year-old season Ascoli Piceno started her three year old season with the first leg of the Triple Tiara, the Oka Shō. She ran in the middle of the pack, and followed Stellenbosch in to the home stretch, but was never able to take her over and finished second; with the same horse that she beat at the Hanshin Juvenile Fillies handing her first defeat in her career. She was then entered in to the NHK Mile Cup, where she was blocked by a swerving horse, and while she made her attempt to catch up to Jantar Mantar, she still lost to him by two-and-a-half lengths. On top of this, because the horse had also swerved and interfered with Captaincy and 's paths, her jockey Lemaire was fined 30,000 yen.

After taking a four months break, Ascoli Piceno returned to racing with the Keisei Hai Autumn Handicap, which was her first race with older horses. During the race she ran among the pack and after coming in to the home stretch with a smooth turn, she surged to the top, winning her third graded race of her career. Her victory also made her the first three-year-old filly to win the race since 1985 when won the race.

On November 12, Ascoli Piceno ran her first race abroad, the Golden Eagle held at Rosehill Gardens Racecourse in Australia. Ridden by João Moreira, she ran on the outside but was unable to make gains and finished at twelfth, failing to secure a back-to-back win for a Japanese horse since .

2025: four-year-old season Ascoli Piceno started her four-year-old season in Saudi Arabia with the 1351 Turf Sprint, an under card race of the Saudi Cup Night. The horse ran third of the pack for most of the race, before contesting the lead on the final stetch and passing front-runner and fellow Japanese just before the wire, winning her fourth graded race.

After returning to Japan, she was then entered in to the Victoria Mile, where she would start from gate number 17, which was on the outside of the race track. She would have a poor start, but on the final stretch she would pick up speed and overtake who had taken the lead earlier, before winning the race by a neck. This would mark her fifth graded race victory, her second Grade I win, and also the 11th consecutive year that Lemaire won a JRA Grade I race.

Following this race, she was sent to France to contest the Prix Jacques Le Marois. During the race she ran second along the outside rail, but was blocked by other horses towards the end, finishing sixth. She would then return to Japan to race in the Mile Championship, where she finished at seventh place.

2026: five-year-old season Ascoli Piceno started the season with the Hanshin Himba Stakes but finished tenth. Following this defeat, she was returned to Miho Training Center, where she went through a medical examination, where it was discovered that her left gluteal muscles were stiffeniing. A few days later, an additional examination was conducted on her pelvis, and while no problems were discovered on her pelvis, her gluteal muscle fibers were showing signs of bleeding; resulting her to be sent to pasture at the before going through additional examination several weeks later. In the additional examination, it was noted that there was a possibility that the horse's pelvis was fractured. Unsure of how long it would take for the horse to be able to race again, her connections announced the horse would retire from racing on May 22 to become a broodmare at Northern Farm.

Racing statistics Below data is based on data available on JBIS Search, Netkeiba, Racing Post, and Racing Australia. DateTrackRaceGradeDistance(Condition)EntryHNOdds(Favored)FinishTimeMarginsJockeyWinner(Runner-up)2023 – two-year-old seasonJun 24Tokyo2yo Newcomer1,400 m (Firm)1651.7 (1)1:22.8 -0.4Christophe Lemaire(Red Senor)Aug 27NiigataNiigata Nisai Stakes31,600 m (Firm)12123.7 (1)1:33.8 -0.2Hiroshi Kitamura(Shonan Manuela)Dec 10HanshinHanshin Juvenile Fillies11,600 m (Firm)1875.9 (3)0.0Hiroshi Kitamura(Stellenbosch)2024 – three-year-old seasonApr 7HanshinOka Sho11,600 m (Firm)1893.5 (1)1:32.30.1Hiroshi KitamuraStellenboschMay 5TokyoNHK Mile Cup11,600 m (Firm)18142.9 (1)1:32.80.4Christophe LemaireJantar MantarSep 8NakayamaKeisei Hai Autumn Handicap31,600 m (Firm)16101.5 (1)1:30.80.2Christophe Lemaire(Time to Heaven)Nov 2RosehillGolden Eagle1,500 m (Good)20193.10 (1)12th -- --João MoreiraLake Forest2025 – four-year-old seasonFeb 22King Abdulaziz1351 Turf Sprint21,351 m (Firm)133 --1:17.8790.019Christophe Lemaire(Win Marvel)May 18TokyoVictoria Mile11,600 m (Firm)18172.5 (1)1:32.10.0Christophe Lemaire(Queen's Walk)Aug 17DeauvillePrix Jacques Le Marois11,600 m (Soft)1023.6 (1)6th1:34.770.54Christophe LemaireDiego VelazquezNov 23KyotoMile Championship11,600 m (Firm)1857.5 (3)7th1:31.90.6Christophe LemaireJantar Mantar2026 – five-year-old seasonApr 11HanshinHanshin Himba Stakes21,600 m (Firm)1063.3 (2)1:33.72.1Ryusei SakaiEmbroidery

Legend:

Notes:

Pedigree

Her grand dam from the damside won the Fillies' Mile in 2007. Her dam's sister Touching Speech won the Rose Stakes in 2015. Other close relatives include Henrythenavigator, who won four group-one races including the 2008 2000 Guineas Stakes; Magician, winner of the 2013 Irish 2,000 Guineas and Breeders' Cup Turf; and Fashionista, winner of the 2020 JBC Ladies' Classic.

Footnotes

Notes

References