Yasunari Iwata steered second pick Aventura to victory Sunday to claim his second victory at the Shuka-sho, the final leg of the Triple Crown for 3-year-old fillies.
Memorial Year made all the early running and led coming round the final bend, but Aventura came bursting through the inside channel before pulling away to win the 2,000-meter race at Kyoto Racecourse in 1 minute, 58.2 seconds.
Aventura, who missed the spring Classics as she recovered from a leg fracture, finished one-and-quarter lengths ahead of seventh choice Kyowa Jeanne to nab the ¥89 million winner's check. Top favorite Whale Capture was third.
"It is the first time I have ridden her but I didn't feel any concerns," said Iwata, who won the 2008 Shuka-sho on unfancied Black Emblem.