2017 News

May 21, 2017

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Race Favorite Soul Stirring Comes Through in Yushun Himba (Japanese Oaks)
Yushun Himba (Japanese Oaks)(G1)

Yushun Himba (Japanese Oaks)(G1)

Race favorite Soul Stirring took advantage of the firm track condition and demonstrated her winning ways in dominating the Yushun Himba (Japanese Oaks). Bouncing back from a third-place finish in the Oka Sho (Japanese 1000 Guineas) in which she failed to show her best over soft goings, the 2016 Best Two-Year-Old Filly also gave jockey Christophe Lemaire one memorable victory as the French rider was able to celebrate Oaks victories in two countries—one with Soul Stirring's dam Stacelita with whom he won the 2009 Prix de Diane in France and this time, his first Oaks victory in Japan, with Stacelita's daughter. Trainer Kazuo Fujisawa, whose last G1 victory was in the Asahi Hai Futurity Stakes with Satono Ares last December, became the first JRA trainer to reach a milestone of 100 grade-race titles since the graded system was implemented in 1984 while scoring his 25th career G1 win. Christophe Lemaire, who also won the G1 Victoria Mile with Admire Lead only last week, landed his 12th career G1 title.

Soul Stirring was well positioned along the rails among the leaders behind Flawless Magic and edged closer to second position while angling slightly away from the rails after the third corner. Smooth into her stretch drive along the center lane, she assumed command before the furlong pole and drew away to a comfortable victory as Mozu Katchan, looking to have any chance from behind on her inside, failed to pin her down.

“It's such a thrill for me as I also won the Oaks back home with her mother. Soul Stirring certainly has inherited the power both from her sire (Frankel) and her dam. I was quite confident coming into this race. I wasn't sure yet about the distance as it was her first time (at 2,400m) so I wanted her in a good position which I did because she is quick out of the gate. She also has a good lasting speed so I was able to give her the go from early at the stretch and sustain our bid right up to the finish,” commented Christophe Lemaire.

Mozu Katchan saved ground in mid-division early, a few lengths behind Soul Stirring, followed that foe into the stretch and launched her bid as they overtook the tired pacesetter but was unable to keep up with the winner while well clear of the others in second. Admire Miyabi bounced back to form after struggling over the rain sodden track in the Oka Sho. Unhurried after breaking from an outside stall, jockey Mirco Demuro rated the Heart's Cry filly off the rails and outside a rival, five to six horses from the rear. Making headway approaching the last corner but still well behind as the gray filly swung wide into the lane for a clear run, Admire Miyabi came charging with great force along the uphill stretch with the fastest finish over the last three furlongs and continued to overtake her rivals while unable to threaten the leaders after having to make much ground.

Other Horses:
4th: (7) Deirdre―saved ground 4th from rear, launched bid on the inside, passed by Admire Miyabi before wire
5th: (14) Lys Gracieux―sat 3-wide in mid-group, checked passing 400m marker, quickened in last 300m
6th: (3) Flawless Magic―set pace, outrun by winner before 200m marker, held well but outrun in last 100m
7th: (12) Black Onyx―traveled around 5th outside winner, ran gamely until 200m marker, weakened thereafter
8th: (18) Manarola―raced 2nd or 3rd from rear, turned wide and showed effort, was too late
9th: (10) Black's Beach―hugged rails in mid-division, boxed at early stretch, accelerated in last 200m
10th: (4) Miss Panthere―chased leader outside winner, sustained bid until 200m marker
11th: (17) Caribbean Gold―ran behind winner, met traffic passing 400m marker, quickened thereafter
12th: (5) Mauve Sapphire―sat in mid-pack, found little room 300m out, lacked needed kick
13th: (13) Reine Minoru―settled 3-wide in mid-group, showed brief effort until 200m marker
14th: (6) Hello Unicorn―trailed in rear, passed tired rivals at stretch
15th: (11) Red Cordis―was off slow, positioned 2nd or 3rd from rear, failed to respond at inner stretch
16th: (8) Ho O Perfume―traveled 4-wide in mid-division, showed little at stretch
17th: (9) Dipavamsa―sat toward rear, no impression at stretch, unable to reach contention
18th: (15) Yamakatsu Grace―stalked leaders in 3rd, gradually fell back after wide trip

THE 78TH YUSHUN HIMBA (JAPANESE OAKS, G1)
3-year-old Fillies, 2,400 meters (about 12 furlongs), turf, left-handed
Sunday, May 21, 2017      Tokyo Racecourse        11th Race           Post Time: 15:40
Total prize money: ¥ 216,000,000 (about US$ 1,878,000 <US$1=¥115>)
3-y-o: 55 kg (about 121 lbs), 3 kg allowance for Southern Hemisphere-bred born in 2014
Safety factor: 18 runners

FP BK PP Horse Sex
Age
Wgt
(kg)
Sire
Dam
Jockey
Trainer
Owner
Breeder
Margin
(L3F)
Odds
(Fav)
1 1 2 Soul Stirring
(JPN)
F3 55.0 Frankel
Stacelita
C. Lemaire
K. Fujisawa
Shadai Race Horse Co., Ltd.
Shadai Farm
2:24.1
(34.1)
2.4
(1)
2 1 1 Mozu Katchan
(JPN)
F3 55.0 Harbinger
Site Dealer
R. Wada
I. Sameshima
Capital System Co., Ltd.
Masaji Kitagawa
1-3/4
(34.1)
15.0
(6)
3 8 16 Admire Miyabi
(JPN)
F3 55.0 Heart's Cry
Lady Skipper
M. Demuro
Y. Tomomichi
Riichi Kondo
Northern Farm
2-1/2
(33.9)
4.8
(2)
4 4 7 Deirdre
(JPN)
F3 55.0 Harbinger
Reizend
Y. Iwata
M. Hashida
T. Morita
Northern Farm
Head
(33.9)
27.6
(9)
5 7 14 Lys Gracieux
(JPN)
F3 55.0 Heart's Cry
Liliside
Y. Take
Y. Yahagi
U. Carrot Farm
Northern Farm
3/4
(34.2)
5.9
(3)
6 2 3 Flawless Magic
(JPN)
F3 55.0 Deep Impact
Magic Storm
K. Tosaki
T. Kimura
Sunday Racing Co., Ltd.
Northern Farm
Neck
(35.0)
11.4
(5)
7 6 12 Black Onyx
(JPN)
F3 55.0 Black Tide
Larimar
T. Ono
K. Kato
Makio Okada
Hirotomi Bokujo
2-1/2
(35.1)
242.5
(17)
8 8 18 Manarola
(JPN)
F3 55.0 Heart's Cry
Shape Up
M. Ebina
I. Sameshima
Koji Maeda
North Hills Co,. Ltd.
1-1/4
(34.5)
151.9
(16)
9 5 10 Black's Beach
(JPN)
F3 55.0 Deep Impact
Visual Shock
H. Kitamura
K. Sumii
Hidetoshi Yamamoto
Hidetoshi Yamamoto
Neck
(35.0)
26.9
(8)
10 2 4 Miss Panthere
(JPN)
F3 55.0 Daiwa Major
Aile de Courage
H. Shii
M. Kon
Chiyono Terada
Sanjo Bokujo
1/2
(35.6)
51.3
(11)
11 8 17 Caribbean Gold
(JPN)
F3 55.0 Stay Gold
Sabana Perdida
K. Tanaka
F. Kojima
HH Sheikh Mohammed bin Rashid Al Maktoum
Darley Japan K.K
1/2
(35.3)
88.9
(14)
12 3 5 Mauve Sapphire
(JPN)
F3 55.0 Harbinger
Morganite
Y. Kitamura
M. Ikezoe
Kazumi Yoshida
Northern Farm
1-1/2
(35.1)
76.9
(13)
13 7 13 Reine Minoru
(JPN)
F3 55.0 Daiwa Major
Daiwa Angel
K. Ikezoe
M. Honda
Minoru Yoshioka
Fujiwara Farm
1-1/4
(35.8)
10.4
(4)
14 3 6 Hello Unicorn
(JPN)
F3 55.0 Heart's Cry
Santa Rose
Y. Shibayama
I. Sameshima
CHEVAL ATTACHE Co., Ltd.
Akihiro Murashita
1-1/2
(34.9)
52.4
(12)
15 6 11 Red Cordis
(JPN)
F3 55.0 Heart's Cry
Striking Veil
Y. Yoshida
Y. Takahashi
TokyoHorseRacing Co., Ltd
Tomita Bokujo
1/2
(35.3)
111.9
(15)
16 4 8 Ho O Perfume
(JPN)
F3 55.0 Heart's Cry
Matikanetamakazura
M. Matsuoka
T. Okumura
Yoshihisa Ozasa
Northern Racing
1-1/4
(36.1)
25.9
(7)
17 5 9 Dipavamsa
(JPN)
F3 55.0 Deep Brillante
Polonnaruwa
H. Uchida
T. Matsushita
U. Carrot Farm
Northern Racing
1/2
(35.7)
251.6
(18)
18 7 15 Yamakatsu Grace
(JPN)
F3 55.0 Harbinger
Yamakatsu Marilyn
N. Yokoyama
K. Ikezoe
H. Yamada
Okada Bokujo
7
(37.8)
43.4
(10)

FP=Final Position / BK=Bracket Number / PP=Post Position / Wgt=Weight / L3F=Time of Last 3 Furlongs (600m)

Note1: No foreign contenders
Note2: Figures quoted under Odds are Win Odds, which show the amount of money you get back per single unit (100yen), and Fav indicates the order of favorites.

WINNING TIME: 2:24.1 GOING: Firm WEATHER: Fine
TURNOVER FOR THE RACE ALONE: ¥ 16,096,299,000
TURNOVER FOR THE DAY: ¥ 24,539,468,200 ATTENDANCE: 60,807

PAY-OFF (for ¥100)
WIN No.2 ¥240 BRACKET QUINELLA 1-1 ¥2,280 QUINELLA 1-2 ¥2,290
PLACE No.2 ¥130 QUINELLA PLACE 1-2 ¥830 EXACTA 2-1 ¥2,790
No.1 ¥350 2-16 ¥370 TRIO 1-2-16 ¥4,600
No.16 ¥190 1-16 ¥1,680 TRIFECTA 2-1-16 ¥20,130
  1. 1.Soul Stirring (JPN), dark bay or brown, filly, 3-year-old
    Frankel / Stacelita (Monsun)
    Owner: Shadai Race Horse Co., Ltd. Breeder: Shadai Farm
    Trainer: Kazuo Fujisawa Jockey: Christophe Lemaire
    6 Starts, 5 Wins  
    Added money: ¥ 125,445,000 Career earnings: ¥ 277,178,000
    Principal race performances: '16 Hanshin Juvenile Fillies (G1, 1,600m) 1st
    '17 Tulip Sho (G3, 1,600m) 1st

  2. 2.Mozu Katchan (JPN), dark bay or brown, filly, 3-year-old
    Harbinger / Site Dealer (King Kamehameha)
    Owner: Capital System Co., Ltd. Breeder: Masaji Kitagawa
    Trainer: Ippo Sameshima Jockey: Ryuji Wada

  3. 3.Admire Miyabi (JPN), gray, filly, 3-year-old
    Heart's Cry / Lady Skipper (Kurofune)
    Owner: Riichi Kondo Breeder: Northern Farm
    Trainer: Yasuo Tomomichi Jockey: Mirco Demuro
Fractional time (sec./furlong): 12.7 - 11.6 - 12.8 - 12.6 - 12.0 - 12.3 - 12.3 - 12.1 -11.6 - 11.3 - 11.2 - 11.6
Last 4 furlongs: 45.7          Last 3 furlongs: 34.1

Positions at each corner: 1st corner 3,4(2,12,15)(1,5,17,13)(10,14,8)16,9,7(11,18)6
2nd corner 3(4,15)(2,12)(1,17,13)(14,8)(10,5)(9,16)(7,18)11-6
3rd corner (*3,2,4,15)12(1,17,13)(10,5,14,8)(9,16)7(11,18)-6
4th corner (*3,2)(4,15)(1,12,13)(10,17,8)14(7,5,16)(11,9,18)-6

Note1: Underlined bold number indicates the winning horse.
Note2: Horse numbers are indicated in the order of their positions at each corner, with the first position listed first. Two or more horses inside the same parentheses indicate that they were positioned side by side. Hyphens between the horse numbers indicate that there is distance between the former and the latter. The asterisk indicates a slight lead.

 

* Yushun Himba (Japanese Oaks)(G1)

The Japanese version of the prestigious British Oaks, the Yushun Himba was established in 1938 and contested among runners limited to home-bred three-year-old fillies. Initially called the “Hanshin Yushun Himba” and held during the fall season at Hanshin Racecourse, the race acquired its current status as the Japanese Oaks upon changing its venue to Tokyo Racecourse in 1946. The race was also shifted to the spring season, being the richest in prize money and longest in distance among the current JRA races limited to fillies/mares. The Yushun Himba opened its door to foreign-bred runners in 2003 and acquired international G1 status in 2010.
While the Oka Sho (Japanese 1000 Guineas, G1, 1,600m) serves in gauging the speed potentials in the future broodmares, the Yushun Himba is a championship race in which to discover the added quality of stamina as well as speed, and winners of this race are highly rated as broodmares upon retirement to stud. Recent winners included fillies/mares that became high profile G1 winners. 2009 Oaks winner, Buena Vista (JPN, by Special Week) captured a total of six G1 titles and JRA's Horse of the Year of 2010 before her retirement in the end of 2011, while 2012 winner Gentildonna (JPN, by Deep Impact), who holds the race record of 2:23.6, went on to capture the Shuka Sho (G1, 2,000m) that autumn to become the fourth filly to sweep the Triple Crown for fillies. The star filly later went on to claim four G1 titles and was crowned Horse of the Year twice in 2012 and 2014.
Among the four top finisher of the Oka Sho (Apr.9) that were automatically eligible for the Oaks, fourth-place Karakurenai (JPN, by Lohengrin) opted to run in the NHK Mile Cup (G1, 1,600m), held two weeks earlier, and finished 17th. Reine Minoru, Lys Gracieux and Soul Stirring came off their respective first, second and third place finishes in the Oka Sho. Admire Miyabi, who disappointed to 12th despite being second favorite in the Oka Sho, was well backed in her second shot in the fillies' Triple Crown start.
Qualifying to run from their Oaks trial starts were; Mozu Katchan, Yamakatsu Grace, Flawless Magic who finished first, second and third, respectively, in the Flora Stakes (G2, 2,000m; Apr.23), as well as Black's Beach and Caribbean Gold who finished in the top two in that order in the Sweet Pea Stakes (1,800m; Apr.30). Hello Unicorn also made the line-up with her win in the Wasurenagusa Sho (2,000m; Apr.9).

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