Damian Lane’s Tenno Sho win signals potential Melbourne Cup bid

Damian Lane is a global superstar winning races worldwide at the elite level.

In case you missed it, Lane was at it again last Sunday where he claimed his sixth Group 1 win in Japan when taking out the Tenno Sho (Spring) at Kyoto over 3200m aboard Redentor.

Lane saluted in the same silks, those of Carrot Farm, which he wore when he guided Tastiera to victory in the G1 FWD QEII Cup at Sha Tin in Hong Kong just a week earlier.

The Tenno Sho win came in Lane’s second day back in Japan having once again taken up a three-month riding contract. It was Lane’s fourth victory over the two days and the unassuming but potent rider has now passed the one-hundred-and -fifty winners mark in Japan.

But, as inspiring as his on-going performances are, the win from an Australian perspective was not about Lane alone … but rather, more particularly, about the Lane / Redentor combination and what impact they might have on the biggest race-day in Australia later this year.

Look at the race distance of the Tenno Sho … 3200m. If you then scroll through that race’s previous results, you will find the names of Delta Blues, Red Cadeaux and Warp Speed.

All of these runners, at one time or another, used the Tenno Sho (Spring) as a kick off point for an important future targeted assignment ‘down under.’

Delta Blues made history when becoming the first Japanese horse to win the Melbourne Cup in 2006. Red Cadeaux finished second in the Melbourne Cup on no less than three occasions … 2011. 2013 and 2014. Warp Speed finished second in the Melbourne Cup in 2024.

That is why Redentor’s win on Sunday was a significant one for anyone who wants to keep an eye on how the international makeup of the 2025 Melbourne Cup unfolds.

Redentor is a name to follow.

Redentor, who is trained by Tetsuya Kimura, has now won six of his nine starts and was sent out favourite after n easy first-up win over 3400m in late February.

Redentor is obviously a horse with several options in front of him. The Melbourne Cup might well beckon him in November as it did for those who have made the trip from Japan before him, but he could also head to the Prix de L’Arc de Triomphe a month earlier.

For Lane, whose relationship with leading Japanese trainers and owners continues to grow stronger with each passing season, that trip to Japan in 2019 to seek a new experience in a different racing jurisdiction, quickly led to Lane landing two significant, major successes on Japanese owned and trained horses in the Cox Plate and the Caulfield Cup … on Lys Gracieux and Mer De Glace respectively.

Could a Melbourne Cup win be added to Lane’s resume in November?

If the Japanese do come to Melbourne, with Redentor or any other runner they may nominate, you can expect Lane to be right in the mix for a Melbourne Cup success which, if he were to achieve it, would give Lane the Grand Slam of Australian racing with Lane having also won the Golden Slipper (twice).

Oh, and by the way, if you are wondering how the Japanese Racing Industry is going … there were 47 000 racegoers at the track to witness Redentor’s Tenno Sho (Spring) win.