Museum Mile capped a busy and successful 3-year-old season with a late-running, 1/2-length victory over older rivals in the Arima Kinen (G1T) Dec. 28 at Nakayama Racecourse.
In the process, the Leontes colt avoided a year-end shocker for Japanese punters as the horse he caught in final strides, Cosmo Kuranda, showed odds of 111-1 on the board.
Museum Mile, with Cristian Demuro in the irons, didn't break particularly sharp and settled well back as the 16-horse field ran through the early stages of the 2,500 meters (about 1 9/16 miles), following Danon Decile.
Cosmo Kuranda took the lead late in the stretch run while Danon Decile and Museum Mile quickly made up ground out toward the middle of the course with Museum Mile getting in the last licks. Danon Decile settled for third, a neck back of the longshot, as Museum Mile finished in 2:31.5 over good to firm going.
The favorite and last year's winner, Regaleira, also was away slowly and had some traffic problems late in the race while attempting a late bid. The 4-year-old Suave Richard filly finished fourth.
"I'm really happy to win the race on the last day of racing of this year," said Demuro, who finished second in the 2024 Arima Kinen on Shahryar, a nose behind Regaleira. "It was revenge from last year. Last year, Regaleira cut my dream and this year, I brought it back.
"I just followed Danon Decile all the way. He opened the way for us in the last stretch and when we came outside, I knew we could beat him. The horse likes the Nakayama track, so it was a big advantage for us.
"I'm very happy to win the Arima Kinen on its 70th anniversary," Demuro added.
Museum Mile, bred by Northern Farm and racing for Sunday Racing, added his name to an illustrious roster of stars who won the race during the seven decades. That list includes several who completed their racing careers in the event, among them Orfevre (JPN) in 2013, Gentildonna in 2014, Kitasan Black in 2017, and Lys Gracieux in 2019. In that 2019 race, legendary Japanese filly Almond Eye suffered the worst defeat of her career, reporting ninth.
As a relative youngster, and especially after showing he can handle some distance, Museum Mile seems likely to soldier on, perhaps as part of Japan's travel team, during 2026.
Museum Mile showed promise with a second-place finish in the Asahi Hai Futurity (G1T) in December of 2024. He started 2025 finishing fourth in a grade 2 event at Nakayama going 2,000 meters (about 1 1/4 miles) and won the Satsuki Sho (Japanese Two Thousand Guineas-G1T) at the same distance but then reported sixth when tasked with 2,400 meters (about 1 1/2 miles) in the Tokyo Yushun (Japanese Derby-G1T), raising questions about possible distance limitations.
He eased those concerns with a victory in the St. Lite Kinen (G2T) at 2,200 meters (about 1 5/8 miles) in September, then retreated to the 2,000 meters of the Tenno Sho (Autumn) (G1T) Nov. 2, finishing second behind the highly regarded Masquerade Ball in his first race against older rivals.
The Arima Kinen effort should eliminate any doubt about Museum Mile's ability to handle any middle-distance task.
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