On June 6 at Hanshin Racecourse, the 78th running of the G3 Naruo Kinen was won by the second favourite David Barows (Gelding, 6yo), ridden by Mirai Iwata. Settling in fourth early, he powered clear in the stretch and finished two lengths ahead of the seventh favourite Scents Blood (Colt, 3yo), who narrowly won a tight battle for second. The winning time was 1:43.7.

A nose behind in third was third favourite Matenro Leo (Horse, 6yo), while the race favourite Grande Venus (Horse, 5yo) finished fourth.

David Barows, by Lord Kanaloa out of French Bikini, whose sire is Sunday Silence, captured his long-awaited first graded stakes title while returning from a layoff. For jockey Mirai Iwata, this marked back-to-back Naruo Kinen victories following last year's win aboard Yoho Lake.