2012 Victoria Mile (G1) - Preview

The seventh running of the Victoria Mile on May 13 at Tokyo Racecourse is shaping up to be one of the most closely contested in the race's history, even with Apapane set to return to try to defend her title.

Named after the Roman goddess of victory, the Victoria Mile was established in 2006 as a Grade 1 event for fillies and mares, 4-year-olds & up. The race is open to a maximum of nine entries from overseas although the 22 nominations this year are all Japanese-trained horses.

The Victoria Mile ranks next to the Queen Elizabeth II Commemorative Cup in the fall as the biggest races for older females and despite its brief history, has been a gateway to success for some of the Japan Racing Association's brightest stars. Vodka, a winner of the 2009 Victoria Mile, won Horse of the Year honors twice, becoming the first filly in 64 years to capture the Tokyo Yushun (Japanese Derby) in 2007. Buena Vista won the race in 2010 before being named Horse of the Year that season, and Apapane, last year's winner in a record time of 1 minute 31.9 seconds, is only one of three horses to have ever completed the filly's Triple Crown of the Oka Sho (Japanese 1000 Guineas), Yushun Himba (Japanese Oaks) and Shuka Sho.

Tokyo Racecourse, with its wide, sweeping turns and a long homestretch, is widely regarded as the fairest -- as well as the most grueling -- of the racetracks in the JRA. The mile at Fuchu -- which is also home to the NHK Mile Cup held a week before the Victoria Mile, and the Yasuda Kinen in June -- starts at the beginning of the backstretch for a run of more than 500 meters before the course bends counterclockwise over 400 meters, leading into the punishing final straight of 525 meters. The first 225 meters of the straight slopes upward, challenging runners to the limit, and usually invites a lead change over the last 100 meters as the course flattens.

Post time is 15:40, with a full field of 18 set to take the turf this weekend for the winner's check of 90 million yen. The following are the early favorites:

All That Jazz ALL THAT JAZZ: Dubai World Cup-winning trainer Katsuhiko Sumii's 4-year-old is poised for a breakout campaign in the Victoria Mile, having won three of her last four starts including the April 21 Fukushima Himba Stakes for her first graded title. "She's really coming into her own," assistant trainer Yamada said. "In last week's workout, she was so eager to run. She didn't need any prodding from us and had a time much faster than we expected. At this rate, I have no doubt she'll be in fine form for this weekend." The Tanino Gimlet filly, out of the Sunday Silence dam Diamond Pisa, only made her debut in April last year, missing out on the entire Classic season, but has come on strong as of late. Her critics say All That Jazz is better suited to a longer race and point to her inexperience at Tokyo in 11 career starts, but Yamada begs to differ, saying the horse is more than ready for her first G1 test. The Sumii stable is also riding a wave of momentum, following a big recent win in Hong Kong with Rulership, who won the Audemars Piguet Queen Elizabeth II Cup in dominating fashion. "It's a big race for sure, but I'm convinced she can compete here," Yamada said. "She ran a strong race in Niigata which is also left-handed so I'm not the least bit worried about this being her first race at Tokyo. She shouldn't have any problems with the distance, and we just need to pray for good weather because she quickens so well."

Apapane APAPANE: Apapane is a proven winner, with five G1 titles to her credit. The Sakae Kunieda-trained 5-year-old held off Horse of the Year Buena Vista to win last year's Victoria Mile, so there's no denying her quality, either. But the daughter of King Kamehameha out of the Salt Lake dam Salty Bid hasn't won a race since reaching the winner's circle here a year ago, leaving fans and critics alike to wonder if she peaked early. Her best finish in five starts since the 2011 Victoria Mile was third in the Queen Elizabeth II Commemorative Cup, which Snow Fairy dominated in. Apapane made the trip to Hong Kong in December, but crossed the line next to last in a field of 14 in the Hong Kong Mile. Kunieda believes Apapane's recent woes are psychological. "I'm betting her problem is mental, because there's absolutely nothing wrong with her physically," Kunieda said. "She's been training a little different recently, and I'm hoping that will spark something inside her, especially since she won on this stage last year. I hope she bounces back here." Her first start of the 2012 campaign also ended in disappointment, placing seventh in the Sankei Sports Hai Hanshin Himba Stakes on April 7. Apapane has always been slow to come around after a layoff, but Kunieda still wasn't happy with her race last month. While it's almost a given Apapane will be in better condition for the Victoria Mile, the trainer doesn't seem to be certain of much else as she tries to become the first horse to win the race in consecutive years. "She never runs well after a break and while we were racing only against other females, she'd never raced at 1,400 meters before," Kunieda said, looking back on the Hanshin Himba Stakes won by Queen's Barn who is also entered on Sunday. "But I'm not satisfied with the performance. I understand the conditions weren't in her favor, but she struggled to keep up during the trip and she didn't come close to catching up on the straight. She was disappointing in the Hong Kong Mile before her time off, too. The field was pretty strong then, but she didn't even have a moment. She just hasn't been anywhere near her best these past two starts."

Grand Prix Angel GRAND PRIX ANGEL: The Takamatsunomiya Kinen in March was set to be the last race of Grand Prix Angel's career, but after raising the eyebrows of the ownership with a sixth-place effort, it was decided the 6-year-old daughter of Agnes Digital will race for another season. Grand Prix Angel was the 14th pick in the Victoria Mile last year, but came in an impressive fourth. While all five of her career five victories have been at 1,200 meters, the Yoshito Yahagi-trained mare seems to thrive in the Tokyo mile as she showed in the Victoria Mile and the NHK Mile Cup three years ago, when she took third. Yahagi says Grand Prix Angel hasn't ever been better as a racehorse than she is now. "She's just been unlucky a lot in the past," Yahagi said. "She's getting better with age; she can keep up even when the race picks up now. There was talk of her retiring after her last race, so I had her in tiptop form. We farmed her out because I was worried she might be overworked, but she's recovered just in time. She's in good shape. She'll be racing for another year but I'm looking forward to it. There's plenty of space at Tokyo so she can run her heart out."

Marcellina MARCELLINA: The 4-year-old Marcellina will be the only other G1 winner in the Victoria Mile apart from defending champion Apapane. The Hiroyoshi Matsuda-trained filly captured the 1,600-meter Oka Sho last year to give Deep Impact his first G1 title as a sire, but it's been the last race Marcellina has won in six following starts. Marcellina came in fourth in the 2,400-meter Japanese Oaks and seventh in the Shuka Sho at 2,000 meters, results that have led Matsuda to decide his horse is more of a natural miler than a middle-distance runner like her father. Marcellina warmed up for the Victoria Mile with a second-place finish in last month's Hanshin Himba Stakes, her first start of the year. Matsuda couldn't be happier with his horse's current condition, so much so the esteemed trainer thinks Marcellina could finally end the drought which has lasted more than a year. "Her movement has been great; I couldn't ask for more from her," said Matsuda, who has won the Victoria Mile with Buena Vista. "She's really light on her feet at the moment, just as you would expect from a horse by Deep Impact. The Hanshin Himba Stakes was always a prep race, and the race this weekend has been our goal for the spring all long. She ran well even at 1,400 meters last time, but the Tokyo mile should be a much easier race for her. She won't have to rush at all during the trip given the way the course is laid out. I've got my hopes up given her form at the moment."

Whale Capture WHALE CAPTURE: While Whale Capture has yet to win a G1 race through the first 12 starts of her career, the 4-year-old filly trained by Kiyotaka Tanaka has been a model of consistency. The Kurofune daughter, out of Global Peace by Sunday Silence, has always managed to keep herself in any race, never having finished below fifth place regardless of the competition. At the top level, she was runnerup in the Hanshin Juvenile Fillies and Oka Sho, third in the Japanese Oaks and Shuka Sho and fourth in the Queen Elizabeth II Commemorative Cup won by the brilliant Snow Fairy. "She couldn't win the big one last season, but we definitely believe she's talented enough to do it," Tanaka said. "The mile at Tokyo is good for her, and I think she has a chance here as long as she runs to the best of her ability. I'm praying for a good result this time." Whale Capture started her season by finishing fifth in the Laurel R.C. Sho Nakayama Himba Stakes on March 11, in a renewed partnership with jockey Norihiro Yokoyama. It was her first race in four months, and Tanaka said there's no comparing the horse's present form to what it was going into the Nakayama Himba Stakes run on yielding conditions. Given the relatively even field in this year's Victoria Mile, this could be Whale Capture's best shot yet at a G1 title given her progress, especially with Yokoyama, who thrives in the big races, back in the saddle. "It was her first race since the fall, and she was on the heavy side," the trainer said. "The bad going didn't help and it's safe to say she was nowhere near her best. We sent her back to the farm for a little bit after her last start, but she's been fantastic since she's come back to the stable. Without a doubt, she's in better shape than she was for her last race. She just wasn't sharp enough last time, even after the fast work. But now she is."