Ritto Training Centre

Champion Croix Du Nord, freshened since winning the G1 Tokyo Yushun (Japanese Derby), has resumed training at Ritto Training Centre in advance of a start in the G1 Prix de l'Arc de Triomphe in October. Trainer Takashi Saito told Net Keiba, "We have brought him back into training, working backwards from the two planned races in France. It's still hot, but from here we will make sure to get him into peak condition before heading to France." A winner of the G1 Hopeful Stakes during a three-for-three juvenile season, the...

DEAUVILLE, France -- An important marker in the history of Japanese racing was passed in December 2023 when Kyoko Maekawa became the first woman to be granted a training licence in the country. Now 47, Maekawa has worked at Ritto Training Centre in the Shiga Prefecture in western Japan for 21 years. As she completes her apprenticeship alongside the internationally successful trainer Yoshito Yahagi, Maekawa is in Deauville this week to expand her knowledge of the racing and breeding world in other jurisdictions. "I was granted my licence last year...