Lemon Pop, with Ryusei Sakai aboard, annihilated a competitive field in JpnI Nambu Hai at Morioka Racecourse on Monday, 9 October. The winning margin was officially recorded as a distance. Igniter finished second behind the hugely impressive winner, whilst Ladybug came home in third a further half-length behind. The winning time was 1:33.8. The hotly touted Cafe Pharoah and Geoglyph finished in fifth and ninth respectively.

Lemon Pop is a son of Lemon Drop Kid out of Unreachable, by Giant's Causeway. It was his first return to the track after an inexplicable subpar performance in the Dubai Golden Shaheen (Dirt 1200m) in March.