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7-Year-Old Straight Girl Defends Victoria Mile Title in Record Time

Defending champion and seventh favorite Straight Girl coasted to a convincing victory to become the second mare to claim two Victoria Mile titles in a row, following Verxina in 2013 and 2014, and the first seven-year-old mare ever to capture a G1 title in JRA history. The Fuji Kiseki mare landed another G1 win in the Sprinters Stakes last season after claiming the Victoria Mile and was scheduled to conclude her racing career after registering a ninth in the year-end Hong Kong Sprint. However the decision by her connections to postpone her retirement proved successful and she had been well prepped in her kick-off start of the season, the Hanshin Himba Stakes in April, where she was ninth. Trainer Hideaki Fujiwara has now eight JRA-G1 titles in his pocket including three Victoria Mile titles—the first was in 2008 with Asian Winds—and jockey Keita Tosaki has now six. The Sprinters Stakes victory last year with the mare was the most recent JRA-G1 title for both of them.

The race broke smoothly with Red Reveur and Smart Layer fighting for the lead up front while Straight Girl was settled in mid-division in front of Mikki Queen in the early stages down the backstretch. After stalking the front runners in fourth, Cafe Brilliant took over the lead after the third corner and was the first to attack the straight, however was caught by the others early, especially Straight Girl who furiously swooped past her 300 meters out increasing her lead stride by stride to clear the wire by a comfortable 2-1/2 lengths.

“Her response was terrific and we were very fortunate to find a clear path open right in front of us in the homestretch. I felt I didn’t have to use my whip, but with top G1 competition chasing us, I drove her to the finish line just in case. The Hanshin Himba Stakes was a good start to get her back in form. To be able to show a race like that at seven means we still have a lot to look forward to,” commented Keita Tosaki.

Race favorite Mikki Queen took a ground saving trip in mid-field and rounding the final corner, could not keep up with the intimidating speed of the winner however chased her in the same path, galloped on strongly in the last furlong to tag Smart Layer 100 meters out, and narrowly held off a fast closing Shonan Pandora at the wire to secure the runner-up seat.

Other Horses:
4th: (2) Smart Layer—stalked leader in 2nd, sustained bid until 100m out, weakened thereafter
5th: (7) Rouge Buck—ran in front of winner, switched to outside for clear path, showed effort
6th: (6) Magic Time—saved ground in mid-group, switched to outside for clear path, accelerated briefly
7th: (14) Ukiyono Kaze—trailed in rear, circled wide and timed fastest over last 3 furlongs, was too late
8th: (12) Queens Ring—raced outside winner, passed tired rivals after turning widely
9th: (16) Sundarbans—settled 3rd from rear, lacked needed kick at stretch
10th: (11) Let’s Go Donki—traveled 3-wide in mid-pack, passed tired rivals at stretch
11th: (1) Win Primera—ran near pace along rails, showed effort until 200m pole, weakened thereafter
12th: (8) Meisho Mambo—raced toward rear, met traffic at 200m marker, never threatened
13th: (4) Uliuli—hugged rails in mid-division, failed to respond at stretch
14th: (5) Red Reveur—set pace, sustained bid until 300m out, outrun thereafter
15th: (9) Cafe Brilliant—traveled in 4th, led before 4th corner, dropped back after 300m out
16th: (18) Shonan Adela—sat 2nd from rear, unable to reach contention
17th: (17) Tosen Victory—made headway to 5th or 6th at backstretch, nothing left at stretch
18th: (3) Chaleur—chased leaders in 3rd, faded after entering stretch

THE 11TH VICTORIA MILE (G1)
4-year-old & up, Fillies & Mares, 1,600 meters (about 8 furlongs), turf, left-handed
Sunday, May 15, 2016    Tokyo Racecourse     11th Race        Post time: 15:40
Total prize money: ¥ 200,480,000 (about US$ 1,671,000 <US$1=¥120>)
4-y-o & up: 55kg (about 121 lbs), 1kg allowance for Southern Hemisphere-bred born in 2012
Safety factor: 18 runners

1. Straight Girl (JPN), bay, mare, 7-year-old
   Fuji Kiseki / Never Period (Taiki Shuttle)

   Owner: Hirosaki Toshihiro HD Co., Ltd.	Breeder: TH Co., Ltd.
   Trainer: Hideaki Fujiwara	Jockey: Keita Tosaki
   31 Starts, 11 Wins
   Added money: ¥ 96,822,000	Career earnings: ¥ 570,369,900
   Principal Race Performances:	’15 Sprinters Stakes (G1, 1,200m)	1st
   	’15 Victoria Mile (G1, 1,600m)	1st
   	’14 Silk Road Stakes (G3, 1,200m)	1st

   
   
2. Mikki Queen (JPN), bay, filly, 4-year-old
   Deep Impact / Musical Way (Gold Away)

   Owner: Mizuki Noda	Breeder: Northern Farm
   Trainer: Yasutoshi Ikee	Jockey: Suguru Hamanaka

   
   
3. Shonan Pandora (JPN), bay, mare, 5-year-old
   Deep Impact / Cutie Gold (French Deputy)

   Owner: Tetsuhide Kunimoto	Breeder: Shadai Corporation Inc.
   Trainer: Tomokazu Takano	Jockey: Kenichi Ikezoe

* Victoria Mile (G1)
In accordance with the restructuring of JRA racing program for fillies/mares executed in the 2006 season, the Victoria Mile was established to give the older fillies/mares a stage to prove their ability among their own sex, in addition to the Queen Elizabeth II Cup, which had been the only G1 reserved for older fillies/mares. While the Queen Elizabeth is run over 2,200 meters and held in mid-November, the Victoria Mile is held in spring and provides female milers a chance to claim a G1 title without having a tough competition in a mixed field.
The race, however, attracts not only fillies/mares suited to the mile distance but also outstanding runners from the middle-long distance group. Two-time Horse of the Year winner Vodka (JPN, by Tanino Gimlet) claimed the title in 2009 by an overwhelming seven-length margin and the race record (1:31.9) was renewed in 2011 by Apapane (JPN, by King Kamehameha) who, after having claimed all three titles of the fillies’ version of the Triple Crown during 2010, held off defending champion and 2010 Horse of the Year Buena Vista (JPN, by Special Week) for a neck victory.
After claiming last year’s version, Straight Girl went on to win the Sprinters Stakes (G1, 1,200m) in the autumn and was back this year to defend her title coming off a ninth in the her kick-off start of the season, the Hanshin Himba Stakes (G2, 1,600m) on April 9. It was Smart Layer who landed the Hanshin Himba Stakes, her second graded victory in as many starts this year, while 2015 Best Three-Year-Old Filly Mikki Queen was runner-up, and winner of the January Kyoto Kimpai (G3, 1,600m) Win Primera, was third.
Other notable contenders comprising this year’s line-up had come off other key races such as; winner and runner-up of the March 13 Nakayama Himba Stakes (G3, 1,800m), Sundarbans and Rouge Buck, respectively; 2015 Oka Sho (Japanese 1000 Guineas, G1, 1,600m) winner Let’s Go Donki who was eighth in the Takamatsunomiya Kinen (G1, 1,200m) on March 27; 2015 Japan Cup (G1, 2,400m) victor and Best Older Filly or Mare of that year Shonan Pandora who was third in the April 3 Sankei Osaka Hai (G2, 2,000m); and winner against tough male competition in the Lord Derby Challenge Trophy (G3, 1,600m) on April 3, Magic Time.
It was the first outing for Shonan Adela since she claimed the 2014 Hanshin Juvenile Fillies (G1, 1,600m) and was duly crowned Best Two-Year-Old Filly that season, as she recovered from fractures which had forced her to sit out her whole three-year-old campaign.