Hot favourite Just a Way had to pull out al stops to scramble home by a nose in the G1 Yasuda Kinen in Tokyo on Sunday.

In a thrilling climax Just A Way scramble home by a nose after Grand Prix Boss had stormed to the lead halfway down the straight.

The Naosuke Sugai-trained Just A Way was not to be denied under a determined Yoshitomi Shibata and closed relentlessly to grab the win in the last stride.

The Dubai Duty Free champion, rated second in TImeform’s world ratings behind French star Treve, extended his winning streak to four that began with the 2013 Tenno Sho (Autumn).

He notched his third G1 while Naosuke Sugai celebrated his eighth JRA G1 victory,

Veteran 47-year-old rider Yoshitomi Shibata, substituting for suspended regular jockey Yuichi Fukunaga, has now captured nine JRA G1 titles.

Hong Kong contender Glorious Days entered the stretch in a good position for the final attack and fought for the lead briefly before the furlong pole but ran out of steam climbing the hill to finish sixth, his personal best in three Yasuda Kinen challenges.

“I really have no excuse but I’m not disappointed with the horse.” commented Glorious Day’s rider Joao Moreira.

Trainer John Size said”: “He got tired the last 100. I don’t think he could have done any better.

“They had a beautiful trip, he was in the right lane and the right part of the track so he’s got no excuses. He just wasn’t as good as those horses on that day on that ground.”