Zoroastro Beats Five Grade 1 Winners to Win Niigata Kinen
Listen to the story
The racehorse Zoroastro has won the Niigata Kinen, an important horse race held in Niigata, Japan.
The Niigata Kinen is a graded race, meaning it is one of the more significant races on the calendar.
Five horses in the field had previously won Grade 1 races, the highest level in horse racing. Zoroastro defeated all of them to take the win.
This victory marked Zoroastro's second graded race win in his career.
The horse was ridden by jockey Miu Iwata, who guided him to the finish.
For Iwata, this was his sixth graded race victory of the year, showing his strong recent form.
Zoroastro's trainer, Mr. Miyata, spoke after the race about the result.
He said the outcome was "exactly the result I was hoping for," showing his confidence in the horse before the race.
A trainer is responsible for preparing a horse physically and mentally for competition, and Miyata's comments suggest he believed Zoroastro was ready to perform at this level.
The win adds to Zoroastro's growing reputation, having now proven he can compete with and beat horses that have won at the sport's top tier.
Horse racing fans in Japan followed the event closely, as the Niigata Kinen regularly attracts strong fields of competitive horses.
The result is likely to boost interest in Zoroastro's future races, as beating five Grade 1 winners is considered a notable achievement in the sport.
Vocabulary6 words
- graded race
- an important horse race with a special ranking
- Grade 1
- the top ranking level for horse races
- jockey
- a person who rides the horse during a race
- trainer
- a person who prepares a horse for racing
- field
- all the horses competing in one race
- form
- how well someone has been performing recently
Quiz
Answer key
1. They had all previously won Grade 1 races 2. Six 3. It was exactly what he expected
Fill-in-the-blank listening
Play the audio again and fill in the missing words as you listen.
The racehorse Zoroastro has won the Niigata Kinen, an important horse race held in _____, Japan.
The Niigata Kinen is a _____ race, meaning it is significant on the calendar.
Five horses in the field had previously won _____ races, the highest level in horse racing.
This victory marked Zoroastro's second _____ race win in his career.
The horse was ridden by jockey Miu _____, who guided him to the finish.
For Iwata, this was his sixth graded race victory of the _____.
Zoroastro's trainer, Mr. _____, spoke after the race about the result.
He said the outcome was "exactly the result I was _____ for."
A trainer is responsible for _____ a horse physically and mentally for competition.
The win adds to Zoroastro's growing _____, having beaten horses that won at the sport's top tier.