IRL:Marche Lorraine

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Spoilers ahead! This page contains real life information that may spoil any story or events related to the character. Read at your own discretion!

Marche Lorraine
マルシュロレーヌ
Main
Marche Lorraine before the 2021 Breeders' Cup Distaff
Silks
Romaji	Marushu Rorēnu
Foaled	February 04, 2016
Sire	Orfevre
Dam	Vite Marcher
Sex	Mare
Color	Bay
Trainer	Yoshito Yahagi
Race Record	22: 9-2-2
Earnings	193,270,000 JPY
Major wins
Breeders' Cup Distaff (2021)

Marche Lorraine is a Japanese racehorse that was active from 2019 to 2022. She notably became the first Japanese-bred and trained racehorse to win a US Grade 1 dirt race in 2021.

Marche Lorraine and Loves Only You's wins at the Breeders' Cup began an era of Japan's large scale involvement in United States Grade 1 racing, having increased participation of Japanese racehorses in the Breeders' Cup and Kentucky Derby. This eventually led to Forever Young's iconic victory at the 2025 Breeders' Cup Classic.

Name Origin

Her name is derived from the 1892 French marching song Marche Lorraine, a patriotic song to celebrate a gymnastics festival in the city of Nancy, the capital of the French region of Lorraine.

Her mother and grandmother share march themed names, named Vite Marcher and Kyoei March respectively.

Racing career

Three-year-old season (2019)

Marche Lorraine debuted on February 3rd at Kyoto Racecourse. It would take her 5 tries to break her maiden, finally winning a maiden race on August 10th, at Kokura Racecourse. She finished off her 3-year-old season with one more win on November 3rd at Fukushima Racecourse, finishing the year with 2 wins in 7 races.

Four-year-old season (2020)

Marche Lorraine began the year with another win in the Shikoku Shimbun Hai on March 29th, enabling her to run in open grade races. She struggled with the increase in class, finishing unplaced in her next 3 races. After placing 2nd in the Hakata Stakes, assistant trainer to Yoshito Yahagi, Oka, believed Marche Lorraine would be better suited on dirt, and asked to run her in a dirt race. On September 4th, her performance significantly improved making the switch to dirt, and she won the Sakurajima Stakes by 1 1/4 lengths. Impressed with her performance, Yahagi entered her into the JPN2 Ladies' Prelude at Ooi Racecourse on October 8th. She went on to win by 3 lengths, earning her first graded victory. Her last race of the year was the JPN1 JBC Ladies Classic on November 3rd, where she finished in 3rd place.

Five-year-old season (2021)

To start off her five-year-old campaign, Marche Lorraine won her first two races of the year in the JPN3 TCK Jo-o Hai on January 20th, and the JPN2 Empress Hai on March 4th. In her next race she ran in her first and only JRA graded dirt race: the G3 Heian Stakes on May 22nd, but finished a distant 3rd. On June 30th, she ran in the JPN1 Teio Sho, running as the only mare in the race. Sitting behind the leaders in the race, she attempted a run for the lead, but faded to an unplaced finish, placing 8th.

Marche Lorraine began the 2nd half of her five-year-old season in the JPN3 Breeders Gold Cup on August 12th, winning the race by a 1/2 length. At this time, her trainer Yoshito Yahagi believed she was suited for faster dirt tracks, common in American racecourses. The JBC Ladies Classic this year was held at Kanazawa Racecourse over 1500m, a distance Yahagi believed Marche Lorraine would be poor at. He later remarked, "If we are not going to the JBC (Japan Breeding Cup), then we must go to BC (Breeder's Cup)." Another significant factor in the decision to enter into a Breeder's Cup race was another Yahagi-trained mare, Loves Only You, going to Breeder's Cup for the Filly & Mare Turf, allowing Marche Lorraine to accompany her stablemate in the trip to the United States.

Marche Lorraine traveled to the United States as an accompanying horse for Loves Only You on October 22nd, and run in the Breeder's Cup Distaff, the premier dirt race for mares and fillies in the United States, at Del Mar Racetrack. While she was adjusting and training for her race, Marche Lorraine was pivotal for Loves Only You adjustment overseas, and was seen with her and local guide horse, Rocco, on the Del Mar track in the lead up to the Breeder's Cup. On November 6th, just hours after Loves Only You won the G1 Breeder's Cup Filly & Mare Turf, Marche Lorraine ran in the Breeder's Cup Distaff. Overseas betting markets saw her as one of the longest shots in the race, going off at the gate at 45-1 odds. Trainer Yahagi even said to her jockey Oisin Murphy before the race: "I don't think she'll be able to get to the front. We will have to wait and see how the race unfolds, but let's accept that and leave the rest to (Murphy)."

In the race, Marche Lorraine ran in the back of the field early, where horses Private Mission and Letruska would set an extremely fast early pace. At the three quarters pole, she began moving her way through the field, eventually taking the lead at the top of the homestretch. Stretching out her lead, she was chased by Dunbar Road on her inside, with the race ultimately coming to a photo finish. After a stewards review, Marche Lorraine was confirmed as the winner by a nose over Dunbar Road. Marche Lorraine not only earned her first Grade 1 victory, she also became the first Japanese horse to win a US Grade 1 dirt race, and the 2nd longest shot ever to win the Breeder's Cup Distaff (Spain: 50-1 - BC Distaff 2000). After the race, jockey Oisin Murphy admitted: ""I didn't know a whole lot about Marche Lorraine...I tried to ignore her odds and just give her every chance in the run and hopefully she could finish off, and to be honest, we were obviously a hostage to fortune. I sat out the back, and they went quite quick. We needed them to do that, but it was a brilliant performance."

Commemorative photo of Trainer Yahagi's staff and guide horse Rocco (ridden by Mary Ellet) with Marche Lorraine and Loves Only You.

Marche Lorraine stayed in America while plans for her next race were being figured out, where Yahagi's staff took several commemorative photos of her and Loves Only You. Loves Only You was pointed to the Hong Kong Cup for her last race. Marche Lorraine, due to rules with owners U Carrot Club requiring mares to retire at 6 years old before the spring season, went back to Japan to train for the Saudi Cup, allowing her to have one last race before the 2022 breeding season.

Six-year-old season (2022)

While in Japan, Marche Lorraine trained at Northern Farm Shiragaki, where she would have her final works. She left Japan for Saudi Arabia on February 18th, enroute to King Abdulaziz Racecourse. On February 26th, she ran run in the Saudi Cup, joined by fellow Japanese contender T O Keynes, and faced off with the 2021 Saudi Cup winner Mishriff and 2021 Kentucky Derby winner Mandaloun. In the race, Marche Lorraine found herself in the back of the pack, before moving through the field on the turn, but could not significant ground on the homestretch, holding on for a 6th place finish. Despite the result, trainer Yahagi was encourage with her performance. "She fought to the end and is truly a fine horse."

Retirement

On March 9th 2022, Marche Lorraine was officially retired and removed from the JRA racehorse registration list. She joined her stablemate Loves Only You at Northern Farm, where both would begin their broodmare career. On April 5th, 2023 she gave birth to her first foal, a filly by Drefong. She then had foals by Kitasan Black and Kizuna in 2024 and 2025 respectively. She is currently expecting her fourth foal in 2026, after being bred by Epiphaneia.

Honors

• NTRA Moment of the Year (2021)
• NAR Grand Prix Special Commendation Horse (2021)

Relationships

Relatives

• Orfevre - Father

• Dancing Brave - Great Grandfather

Race Records

Race data sourced from netkeiba.

Date	Racecourse	Race	Grade	Distance	Gate	Odds	Fav.	Fin.	Time	Margin	Jockey	Winner (Runner-Up)	Other Umamusume
2019/02/03	Kyoto	Three-Year-Old Newcomer	Maiden	T 1600m	16	8.9	4	2	1:37.0	0.1	K.Ikezoe	I Love Tailor
2019/02/23	Hanshin	Three-Year-Old Maiden	Maiden	T 1800m	9	6.3	5	5	1:48.6	0.2	R.Sakai	Danon Teio
2019/05/25	Kyoto	Three-Year-Old Maiden	Maiden	T 1600m	18	9.1	4	9	1:34.3	0.8	K.Ikezoe	Midsummer House
2019/07/21	Chukyo	Three-Year-Old Maiden	Maiden	T 1600m	1	3.9	3	5	1:36.3	0.7	Y.Fukunaga	Mani
2019/08/10	Kokura	Three-Year-Old Maiden	Maiden	T 1800m	9	7.0	4	1	1:47.0	-0.2	Y.Fukunaga	(Essenza)
2019/10/19	Niigata	Three-Year-Old and Up One-Win Class		T 1600m	18	6.6	2	6	1:36.4	0.6	K.Tanaka	Candy Storm
2019/11/03	Fukushima	Three-Year-Old and Up One-Win Class		T 2000m	2	6.5	4	1	1:59.8	0.0	Y.Ishikawa	(La Raison)
2020/03/29	Hanshin	Shikoku Shimbun Hai (Two-Win Class)		T 2000m	1	9.1	5	1	2:01.4	-0.1	R.Sakai	(Rambling Alley)
2020/04/25	Fukushima	Fukushima Himba Stakes	G3	T 1800m	7	20.4	8	9	1:47.8	1.0	R.Sakai	Fairy Polka
2020/05/16	Niigata	Pearl Stakes (Three-Win Class)		T 1800m	3	9.4	4	12	1:48.7	1.2	Y.Nakatani	Andraste
2020/06/14	Hanshin	Mermaid Stakes	G3	T 2000m	15	29.2	13	6	2:01.7	0.6	R.Takakura	Summer Scent
2020/08/16	Kokura	Hakata Stakes (Three-Win Class)		T 2000m	8	6.0	3	2	1:57.9	0.0	Y.Take	Cathedral Bell
2020/09/04	Kokura	Sakurajima Stakes (Three-Win Class)		D 1700m	3	3.8	2	1	1:43.7	-0.2	Y.Kawada	(Kurino Flash)
2020/10/08	Ooi	Ladies' Prelude	Jpn2	D 1800m	10	2.3	1	1	1:52.1	-0.6	Y.Kawada	(Madoras Check)
2020/11/03	Ooi	JBC Ladies' Classic	Jpn1	D 1800m	13	1.3	1	3	1:51.7	0.6	Y.Kawada	Fashionista
2021/01/20	Ooi	TCK Jo-o Hai	Jpn3	D 1800m	4	1.9	1	1	1:53.7	-0.1	Y.Kawada	(Reine Blanche)
2021/03/04	Kawasaki	Empress Hai	Jpn2	D 2100m	11	2.3	1	1	2:14.1	-0.1	Y.Kawada	(Salsa Dione)
2021/05/22	Chukyo	Heian Stakes	G3	D 1900m	11	5.6	3	3	1:55.9	1.2	Y.Kawada	Auvergne
2021/06/30	Ooi	Teio Sho	Jpn1	D 2000m	12	55.0	9	8	2:04.8	2.1	T.Mori	T O Keynes
2021/08/12	Monbetsu	Breeders' Gold Cup	Jpn3	D 2000m	5	1.5	1	1	2:06.8	-0.1	Y.Kawada	(Rinen Fashion)
2021/11/06	Del Mar	Breeders' Cup Distaff	G1	D 1800m	10		9	1	1:47.67		O.Murphy	(Dunbar Road)
2022/02/26	King Abdulaziz	Saudi Cup	G1	D 1800m	14		11	6			C.Soumillon	Emblem Road

Pedigree

Horse pedigree of Marche Lorraine (JPN)

Sire Orfevre (JPN)	Stay Gold (JPN)	Sunday Silence (USA)	Halo (USA)
			Wishing Well (USA)
		Golden Sash (JPN)	Dictus (FR)
			Dyna Sash (JPN)
	Oriental Art (JPN)	Mejiro McQueen (JPN)	Mejiro Titan (JPN)
			Mejiro Aurola (JPN)
		Electro Art (JPN)	Northern Taste (CAN)
			Grandma Stevens (USA)
Dam Vite Marcher (JPN)	French Deputy (USA)	Deputy Minister (CAN)	Vice Regent (CAN)
			Mint Copy (CAN)
		Mitterand (USA)	Hold Your Peace (USA)
			Laredo Lass (USA)
	Kyoei March (JPN)	Dancing Brave (USA)	Lyphard (USA)
			Navajo Princess (USA)
		Inter Charmant (JPN)	Bravest Roman (USA)
			Tokino Shrilly (JPN), (Family: 7-d)