The 56-year-old veteran was onboard winner, Smart Lien, in race eleven at Fukushima Racecourse on July 16th. The 6/1 chance secured a come-from-behind victory to claim his first Open class win. Ridden by jockey Yoshitomi Shibata, who is the same age as his mount's trainer, Mamoru Ishibashi. Shibata updated his own record of the oldest jockey to win a JRA race at age 56 years and 11 months young.

"I received a call from Trainer Ishibashi quite early on, saying 'I'm counting on you.' It's really appreciated, especially considering there are many other jockeys available," expressed a grateful Shibata. Analyzing the race, Shibata commented; "The horse seemed to be in good condition, and the pace of the race worked in our favour. The inside track was rough, so it was advantageous to have an outside-closing type of horse."

Smart Lien's win marked Shibata's fifth JRA victory for 2023, with his last feature race win dating back to November 20th, 2022, in the Fukushima Minyu Cup. "Fukushima is lucky for me."