Japan Derby Fourth-Place Horse Loses in Big Race
Listen to the story
A horse named Justin Chicago ran in a big race in Japan. The race is called the St Lite Kinen. This is a graded race. Graded races are very important horse races.
Justin Chicago finished fourth in the Japan Derby before. The Japan Derby is a very famous race. Many people liked Justin Chicago for the St Lite Kinen too. He was the number one favorite. A favorite is the horse people think will win.
But Justin Chicago did not win the race. He did not even finish in the top five. This is called missing the leaderboard. The leaderboard shows the top five horses.
The horse's jockey was Yusuke Hara. A jockey is the person who rides the horse. After the race, he talked about what happened.
Many racing fans watched the race. Racing fans are people who love horse racing. They were very sad and surprised. Some fans shouted loudly because they did not expect this result.
The horse's final sprint did not work well. A final sprint is when a horse runs very fast at the end. Justin Chicago could not catch the other horses.
Vocabulary6 words
- graded race
- a very important horse race
- favorite
- the one people think will win
- leaderboard
- a list showing the top winners
- jockey
- a person who rides a horse in a race
- racing fans
- people who love watching horse races
- final sprint
- running very fast at the end of a race
Quiz
Answer key
1. St Lite Kinen 2. He did not finish in the top five 3. True
Fill-in-the-blank listening
Play the audio again and fill in the missing words as you listen.
A horse named Justin Chicago ran in a big race in Japan. The race is called the _____.
Justin Chicago finished _____ in the Japan Derby before.
He was the number one _____.
But Justin Chicago did not finish in the top _____.
This is called missing the _____.
The horse's jockey was _____.
Many racing _____ watched the race.
The horse's final _____ did not work well.