Japan’s top three-year-old filly will face some ‘unknowns’ when she steps out at Sha Tin in the G1 LONGINES Hong Kong Mile but her jockey Christophe Lemaire believes the distance is right for Silk Racing’s latest star. Christophe Lemaire has worn the Silk Racing colors in some of his finest moments thanks to the great champions Almond Eye and Equinox, and he is set to button them up again for a major race aboard Embroidery in the G1 Hong Kong Mile on December 14. The Hong Kong Jockey Club’s Wednesday release of the fields for its four-race Group 1 showcase revealed that Silk Racing’s latest Classic-winning filly will not only be traveling offshore for the first time but will drop back to a mile in the Sha Tin cauldron to take on the colts and her elders for the first time too. “She’s only a three-year-old so it's hard to evaluate her true level against the foreigners and the older horses in Japan, but from what she has been doing at home, we can expect from her a very good performance,” Lemaire told Idol Horse. And Japan’s champion jockey is not concerned about the drop to a mile – a return to the distance of her G1 Oka Sho win in April – after her success last month in the G1 Shuka Sho over 2000m. Between times she finished a non-staying ninth in the G1 Yushun Himba, the Japanese Oaks. “A mile is probably her best trip right now,” Lemaire continued. “She's a top class filly. She's got nice acceleration and we have great expectations with her. “She was not mature enough to go from a mile to 2400 meters and settle well in the Oaks, but when I did trackwork with her the week before the Shuka Sho, and again in that race, she was much more relaxed and much more settled so the signs are that she is now more mature. “It will be her first time abroad, so let's see how she travels, how she handles this trip, how she handles the Hong Kong atmosphere. There are some question marks, but it's a very nice challenge. We know that the filly has a lot of potential and it will be a very good experience for her.” A mile around Sha Tin will be a new type of contest for the Kazutomo Mori-trained Embroidery. The race usually shapes with pace from gate, followed most often by an easing of the tempo, and then a winding up again on the turn before a hard acceleration and a battle to the line. It is a race that often goes to a Sha Tin specialist: Hong Kong-trained horses have won 19 editions this century, with five wins going to Japan, though the most recent Japanese victor was Admire Mars six years ago. “She might be a good fit for Sha Tin race course, she's quite an easy ride,” Lemaire said. “In the Shuka Sho, I was able to ride her with confidence: after the first and second corners I could improve the position and then she settled well again. “She's not the type of filly to be annoyed by a different type of race,” he added. “She's quite adaptable and that's a very strong point for this kind of race.” Embroidery is one of eight Japanese challengers slated to contest the Hong Kong International Races and is set to face her compatriot in the Mile, last year’s runner-up Soul Rush, while last year’s winner for Hong Kong, Voyage Bubble, is aiming to defend his title rather than go to the G1 Hong Kong Cup over 2000m where he would meet Romantic Warrior. No marquee matchup as Calandagan sticks to original script French trainer Francis-Henri Graffard has confirmed Calandagan will not take his place in the G1 LONGINES Hong Kong Cup two weeks after Sunday’s G1 Japan Cup, ending hopes of a Sha Tin showdown with Romantic Warrior this year.