TOKYO, Japan (AFP) — Seina Imamura became the first Japanese woman to win a domestic Grade 1 race by driving Juryoku Pierrot to victory in the Japanese Oaks.

Imamura guided three-year-old filly Juryoku Pierrot to snatch the 2,400-metre (1.5 mile) Japanese Oaks at Tokyo Racecourse on Sunday by a neck in a tight finish.

“It feels like I’m still in a dream. She had the legs to go between the horses in the final straight,” said the 22-year-old Imamura, who received a huge ovation after her victory.

“I was thinking I’d be left frustrated if I were to finish second or third, and she had another gear to go to at the end.”

Imamura is one of six current Japan Racing Association woman jockeys and was riding in her first Classic.

“I’ve always thought jockeys were cool since I was small,” she said.

“Hopefully I can provide dreams and hopes with this victory.”

Imamura is the second woman to win a Grade 1 flat race in Japan, after the Australia-based Briton Rachel King, who guided Costa Nova to victory in the February Stakes in 2025.

Jockey Seina Imamura looks on atop Juryoku Pierrot after winning the Japanese Oaks at the Tokyo Racecourse in Tokyo on May 24, 2026. (Photo: AFP)