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Marialite Tops G1 Mares and Fillies in Queen Elizabeth II Cup

Having just joined grade-race company two starts ago in the Mermaid Stakes and coming off a fifth-place in the All Comers, Marialite turned in a terrific performance against the top middle-distance mares and fillies for her first G1 victory in her first G1 challenge. It was also a memorable first G1 victory for trainer Takashi Kubota who opened his yard in 2003 and his first grade-race title in six years and sixth career grade-race title overall. Masayoshi Ebina landed his 24th career JRA-G1 title—his last being in the Asahi Hai Futurity Stakes with Danon Platina—and his first victory in the Queen Elizabeth II Cup.

Marialite was positioned between horses in mid-division early, around ninth, and well behind Win Liberty who set the pace and opened the gap to about five lengths from Lilavati, the lone second who ran another five lengths in front of the rest of the field that traveled at a slow pace over the soft turf rated good with the weather having just cleared after two days of rain. Under Masayoshi Ebina, the Deep Impact filly advanced along the outside as the field spread wide into the stretch and closed in on the leaders with every stride, taking command soon after the furlong pole. Challenged by a fast closing Nuovo Record who had beaten her in their previous start in the All Comers and progressing three-year-old filly Touching Speech, Marialite held on willingly and prevailed for a neck victory.

“The track condition worked to her advantage. She’s easy to ride and was in great shape today. She’s been allowed to mature without much pressure up to now for which I’m grateful and now that she’s won today, I’m looking forward to much more improvement which she is capable of,” commented Ebina. “I’m so delighted with her achievement because I’ve been training her towards this goal all along and she’s built up into a great filly. I left all the tactics to Ebina and she ran such a smooth race, I was really excited watching her charging down the homestretch. She held on so well!” said Kubota after the race.

Sent to post race favorite again this year after finishing second in the 2014 edition of the Queen Elizabeth II Cup, Nuovo Record was wide throughout most of the 2,200-meter trip after breaking from stall 18. In hand and positioned in mid-field before being held back a little further back, the 2014 Oaks winner made headway along the outside approaching the final turn and demonstrated her impressive turn of speed while still wide along the homestretch to miss by a neck.

Touching Speech settled well off the pace in mid-pack about two lengths behind the eventual winner. Shuffled back a little as the field crowded in turning for home; the Deep Impact three-year-old regained her momentum in the last 200 meters and came with great force from between horses to grab her share.

Lachesis saved ground and edged forward along the rails but was bumped when angling out at the final turn and ran into a wall of horses in the straight, finishing a dull 11th.

Other Horses:
4th: (15) Rouge Buck—ran wide in rear division, bumped circling wide in final corner, showed belated charge
5th: (16) Smart Layer—raced near rear, angled wide, quickened and timed fastest over last 3 furlongs
6th: (3) Hula Bride—chased distant leaders in 3rd, advanced to 2nd passing 200m marker, weakened100m out
7th: (17) Sundarbans—traveled wide in mid-group, showed effort at straight, weakened in final strides
8th: (2) Queens Ring—sat inside winner, bumped at final corner, then accelerated
9th: (4) Lilavati—chasing leader in 2nd, held well until 100m out, then outrun
10th: (7) Chateau Blanche—hugged rail in mid-division, accelerated until 100m out
12th: (14) Nobori Diana—ran outside winner, lacked needed kick at stretch
13th: (1) Power Spot—hugged rail in rear pack, unable to reach contention
14th: (9) Felice Regalo—raced in 5th, failed to respond at stretch
15th: (5) Tagano Etoile—saved ground in 6th, ran gamely until 300m out, ran out of steam
16th: (11) Win Liberty—set pace, led until 200m marker, fell back thereafter
17th: (13) Meisho Mambo—trailed in rear, no factor
18th: (6) Remain Silent—positioned in 4th, faded after entering straight

THE 40TH QUEEN ELIZABETH II CUP (G1) – Japan Autumn International
3-year-old & up, Fillies & Mares, 2,200 meters (about 11 furlongs), turf, right-handed
Sunday, November 15, 2015 Kyoto Racecourse 11th Race Post time: 15:40
Total prize money: ¥ 188,200,000 (about US$ 1,568,000 <US$1=¥120>)
3-y-o: 54kg (about 119 lbs), 4-y-o & up: 56kg (about 123-124 lbs),
2kg allowance for Southern Hemisphere-bred born in 2012
Safety factor: 18 runners

1. Marialite (JPN), dark bay or brown, filly, 4-year-old
   Deep Impact / Chrysoprase (El Condor Pasa)

   Owner: U. Carrot Farm	Breeder: Northern Farm
   Trainer: Takashi Kubota	Jockey: Masayoshi Ebina
   13 Starts, 5 Wins
   Added money: ¥ 93,822,000	Career earnings: ¥ 175,190,000
   Principal Race Performances:	’15 Mermaid Stakes (G3, 2,000m)	2nd

   
   
2. Nuovo Record (JPN), chestnut, filly, 4-year-old
   Heart’s Cry / Omega Spirit (Spinning World)

   Owner: Reiko Hara	Breeder: Reiko Hara
   Trainer: Makoto Saito	Jockey: Yasunari Iwata

   
   
3. Touching Speech (JPN), bay, filly, 3-year-old
   Deep Impact / Listen (Sadler’s Wells)

   Owner: Sunday Racing Co., Ltd.	Breeder: Northern Farm
   Trainer: Sei Ishizaka	Jockey: Christophe Lemaire

*Queen Elizabeth II Cup (G1)

The Queen Elizabeth II Cup, formally known as the Queen Elizabeth II Commemorative Cup until 2012, was established in 1976 to facilitate friendly relations between Japan and England, in commemoration of Her Excellency’s visit to Japan in 1975. The race initially started as a 2,400-meter race and the last leg of the “Triple Crown for three-year-old fillies”, but became a 2,200-meter race for fillies and mares of three-year-old and up from 1996.
Tigertail (FR, by Priolo) and Ana Marie (FR, by Anabaa) were the first two foreign contestants to run in 2003—four years after its designation as an international event in 1999—and finished third and eighth, respectively. Shalanaya (IRE, by Lomitas) finished fourth in 2009 before Edward Dunlop-trained Snow Fairy (IRE, by Intikhab) became the first foreign runner to win back-to-back G1 titles in 2010 and 2011. However, the race has been contested without the participation from abroad since 2012.
Last year’s winner Lachesis came off a fourth-place finish in the Kyoto Daishoten (G2, 2,400m) on October 12 while Nuovo Record, who won the Yushun Himba (Japanese Oaks, G1, 2,400m) and was runner-up in the 2014 edition of this race, was second in her previous start in the All Comers (G2, 2,200m). Nobori Diana came off her first grade-race victory in the Fuchu Himba Stakes (G2, 1,800m) in which 2013 Shuka Sho (G1, 2,000m) runner-up Smart Layer came in second. 2013 Best Three-Year-Old Filly Meisho Mambo also ran in the Fuchu Himba, finishing a disappointing 14th.
The three-year-old newcomers challenging their seniors in this G1 race included Queens Ring who missed by a neck margin in the last leg of the Fillies’ Triple Crown, the Shuka Sho, Touching Speech who was second pick in the same race but finished sixth, and Rouge Buck who made her first start since finishing second in the Yushun Himba. Mikki Queen (JPN, by Deep Impact), winner of both the Yushun Himba and the Shuka Sho, did not run in the QE II Cup but chose to challenge the Japan Cup (G1, 2,400m) held in two weeks’ time.
The race record has not been broken since To the Victory (JPN, by Sunday Silence) covered the 2,200-meter distance in 2:11.2 in 2001.