Group 1-winning Japanese jockey Sugawara headed for Australian stint

Jockey Akira Sugawara, who was narrowly denied victory in the 2024 Melbourne Cup when aboard Warp Speed, is headed for a riding stint in Australia.

Japanese media are reporting that Sugawara, 25, is intending to spend time with Satoshi Kobayashi’s stable in Chantilly in France, before heading to Melbourne where he expects ride until at least the end of the year.

“I hope to improve myself even further. I hope it will be a good opportunity. I’m not satisfied with my current situation, so I hope it will be a good,” according to translated comments widely published in Japanese media.  

“Australian horse racing often involves horses running in close, so I hope to acquire the skills,” he said.

Sugawara, who will leave Japan in June, has had over 400 winners since debuting in 2019, with his best success coming aboard Blow The Horn in the 2024 G1 Takarazuka Kinen.

He came within a nose of winning Australia’s greatest race in 2024, when Warp Speed was just tipped out by bolter Knight’s Choice in the Melbourne Cup.