Fifth favorite Durandal produced a stunning late burst to beat Fine Motion by three- quarters of a length and win the 20th running of the Mile Championship on Sunday.
Durandal was content to settle in the pack as Gallant Arrow and Win Kluger made the early running and the four-year-old colt made his move after the sixth furlong before storming down the final stretch to win the 1,600-meter turf race at Kyoto Racecourse in 1 minute, 33.3 seconds.
The win earned 94 million yen and marked the first Mile Championship victory for jockey Kenichi Ikezoe and trainer Masahiro Sakaguchi.
Second favorite Fine Motion was followed in third by Gallant Arrow while race favorite Sidewinder finished eighth.