2016 Victoria Mile (G1) - Preview

Major Emblem beat over a dozen colts to the finish line in the NHK Mile Cup on Sunday, May 8 in a fitting Mother’s Day tribute to the fairer sex. However, the next two weeks will allow no gender-based revenge in JRA top-level racing action. Two all-fillies/mares races, both at Tokyo Racecourse, take top billing over the next fortnight. First up is the Victoria Mile on Sunday, May 15 and the following week is the Yushun Himba (Japanese Oaks).

Mikki Queen

The Victoria Mile, open to 4-year-olds and up, marks its 11th running this year and an age of super fillies and mares, the Victoria Mile is becoming quite a showcase of power.

The Grade 1 event now carries a first-place prize of 93 million yen and boasts a total purse of over 200 million yen. It is open to qualifying participants from the local NAR circuits, as well as to foreign-based horses. This year’s lineup, however, is composed solely of JRA-registered horses.

The last four years have seen huge returns on the winning exacta, all over 100-fold. Last year a 100 yen bet would have brought just short of 74,000 yen, not bad for a bit of fun. This year, however, the chances of a longshot appearing in the top two spots may be less likely than in recent years.

Seven Grade 1 winners are among the 23 nominees for this year’s Victoria Mile and 18 of them will vie for the title of “Mile Queen.” Some of the Grade 1 winners, along with a number of other capable runners, are expected to comprise the top choices on Sunday.

Rouge Buck

Standouts are 2014 Shuka Sho winner and last year’s Japan Cup winner Shonan Pandora, as well as Mikki Queen, who won both the 2015 Japanese Oaks and the Shuka Sho. Other talented ladies include Smart Layer, who is looking fine on a two graded-stakes roll. Last year’s Oaks runnerup Rouge Buck is fired up for her first G1 of the year and the 2015 Victoria Mile champion Straight Girl is back in a bid for a repeat.

Others gaining considerable mention are Queens Ring and Magic Time. Those punters with faith in an upset may consider darkhorses Sundarbans, Win Primera or Let’s Go Donki. And, longshot Shonan Adela from the stable of this year’s Satsuki Sho champ is back racing after a 5-month spell and could be good for a surprise.

Shonan Pandora

The Tokyo 1,600-meter course is considered by many to be one of the toughest, if not the toughest, of the JRA courses. It requires the stamina needed for longer races at other tracks and thus attracts many a runner not normally thought of as mile specialists.

The race starts at the top of the backstretch and continues for more than 500 meters. It dips slightly from the gate to about 250 meters out and the pace tends to be a bit faster than average. The track rises again, then dips into the bend, and levels into the stretch of 525 meters, where horses face an upward slope over 225 meters until the ground flattens over the final 300 meters.

Following is a look at the likely top picks:

Mikki Queen: Top 3-year-old filly of 2015, the Deep Impact-sired Mikki Queen had a very hard schedule last year. After acing both her G1 bids, the Japanese Oaks and the Shuka Sho, trainer Yasutoshi Ikee then ran her in the Japan Cup, where she finished eighth, only 0.3 seconds off the winner, quite an accomplishment for a 3-year-old filly. She was finally given time off and came back in April for the 1,600-meter Hanshin Himba Stakes, her first mile since her second-place run in the Queens Cup 14 months earlier. She ran second in the Hanshin Himba Stakes under Christophe Lemaire and 56 kg, with Smart Layer, who carried Mirco Demuro and 54 kg, beating her to the finish line by a mere neck.

“The Hanshin Himba Stakes was her first mile race in a while and so she raced from a rear position,” assistant trainer Tatsuhiko Kawai said. “But even though the pace was advantageous to the frontrunners, she really showed her speed in the end. And she did it carrying 56 kg. I think it was quite a race.”

Queens Ring

Regarding the distance, Kawai said, “She won the Oaks at Tokyo, but drawing on her last race over the mile, I think it’ll be easy for her to gain ground.” If anything, this filly’s strong point is her late speed. If the race unfolds in such a way that late speed is favored, money on this girl is where you want to be.

Mikki Queen worked on the woodchip course at Ritto Training Center on May 4 and was reported to be looking characteristically a bit lean, but eager to run. This time out will see her shouldered with only 55 kg, which should help her bring out her best.

Regular rider Suguru Hamanaka will be back for the Victoria Mile after returning from a fall in early February. He rode work on May 5 taking Mikki Queen for a fast gallop over the woodchip course and clocking 83 seconds over 6 furlongs with a final furlong of 11. 6 seconds. “It was the first time I’d ridden in a whole and everything felt fresh. She was fast. She’s an easy horse to ride so I hadn’t expected any problems though I had been a bit concerned if I could push her enough,” Hamanaka said with a laugh. “I pushed her hard and her movement was good.” Hamanaka is said to have returned to racing two months earlier than planned because he “wanted to ride Mikki Queen.”

Straight Girl

Rouge Buck: This daughter of Manhattan Cafe started her career with three straight wins running against colts. Hopes were sky-high with visions of two filly classics bagged and then on to the Arc. Rouge Buck went to the Oka Sho (Japanese 1000 Guineas) gate as the favorite, but racing from the rear, she was unable to catch the frontrunning Let’s Go Donki, who held her ground the whole way and shot over the final 3 furlongs in 33. 5 seconds for a victory by 4 lengths. Rouge Buck ran ninth. The favorite again in the Japanese Oaks, she ran second by a neck to Mikki Queen. Rouge Buck was slated for the Sapporo Kinen as a springboard to Longchamp, but a fever saw her scratched and dreams of the Arc dashed. She came back after a lengthy layoff and turned in a fourth-place finish in the Queen Elizabeth II Cup, followed by a double-digit run in the Arima Kinen (The Grand Prix) which wrapped up the year. Rouge Buck’s first race of the year was the March 13 Nakayama Himba Stakes (G3, 1,800 meters). Once again the favorite, she finished second by a neck behind Sundarbans, saddled with 2 kg less. Trainer Masahiro Otake said, “Coming into the stretch she lost her shoe on her left fore and cut herself. That surely had an impact. She was obviously in pain after the race. There was also the difference in weight she was carrying. She definitely didn’t lose due to a lack of strength.”

Rouge Buck worked over the dirt course at Miho Training Center on May 7 followed by a gallop in tandem over the woodchips. Starting more than 2 seconds behind the other horse over 6 furlongs, she easily caught and passed her training partner in the last 200 meters. She looked well filled out and in fine condition. Otake said, “After the Oka Sho, I wondered about racing her over the mile again, but since it’s Tokyo I once again have my hopes up. I always thought she would be something of a late bloomer.”

Smart Layer

Keita Tosaki has ridden Rouge Buck for all her races and has maintained his conviction that she is one “that simply must win a G1.” The fans this time probably aren’t as eager as they once were to buy that. But, with the pressure off, Rouge Buck is not one to overlook.

Shonan Pandora: Shonan Pandora will be back at the mile and back in all-female company for the first time since her eighth-place run in last year’s Victoria Mile. The 5-year-old daughter of Deep Impact went on to bigger and better things after the 2015 Victoria Mile, all of them at 2,000 meters or longer -- a third in the Takarazuka Kinen, a win of the G2 Sankei Sho All Comers, fourth in the Tenno Sho (Autumn), and victory in the Japan Cup. Her first start this year saw her race from a much more forward position than usual and finish third in the 2,000-meter Osaka Hai behind Ambitious and Kitasan Black, who went on to win the Tenno Sho (Spring). Fillies and mares that have competed alongside males heading into the Victoria Mile have fared well in the race. In the past 10 years, seven of such have won and three have finished second.

Though Shonan Pandora’s experience at the mile is limited (2 starts, one second) the Tokyo track should suit her. Having drawn the No. 17 gate last year, she was forced to run from further back than desirable in what was a high-paced race. This time, if the Osaka Hai was any indication and the draw is right, she may be able to finish closer to the money. Trainer Tomokazu Takano said, “She was third in the Osaka Hai last out, but it was a slow pace and I have to give her high marks for having gained as much ground as she did coming from where she was.” Takano said that race has sharpened her up nicely, making her more responsive. “Her rotation this year too is far better for her. Even though she’s not really the perfect type for a mile, I think she’ll do well over the wide-open Tokyo course.”

Magic Time

Kenichi Ikezoe, who has taken over as her regular jockey since the Takarazuka Kinen last year, rode Shonan Pandora up the Ritto Training Center hill course on May 4. “She moved well,” Ikezoe said. “She worked hard last week and this week I just pushed her over the last furlong. (The Osaka Hai) has sharpened her up nicely.”

Queens Ring: Queens Ring took on all three of the filly classic races last year, finishing fourth, ninth and second, respectively. Her second in the Shuka Sho saw her finish only a neck behind Mikki Queen. She then wrapped up the year with an eighth-place finish in the Queen Elizabeth II Commemorative Cup, then came back to win the G3 Kyoto Himba Stakes by a neck over Magic Time at the end of February.

“The Kyoto Himba Stakes was over 1,400 meters but she won it very nicely. She looked a bit lean, however, so we passed on the Hanshin Himba Stakes,” trainer Keiji Yoshimura said. “Her appetite is much better now and her back, where she was always weak, is strong. I think she’s improving and the distance shouldn’t be a problem. She’s a lot more stable now.”

Win Primera

Straight Girl: Last year, Straight Girl came off a 13th-place finish in the Takamatsunomiya Kinen as the favorite and, bettering her third-place finish the previous year, captured the Victoria Mile as the fifth pick. She went on to win her second G1 with the Sprinters Stakes, then ran ninth in the Hong Kong Sprint. She turned 7 this year, but assistant trainer Nobuyuki Tashiro of the Hideaki Fujiwara stable said the daughter of Fuji Kiseki is showing no signs of age. He wrote off her last outing (a ninth place in the Hanshin Himba Stakes) to it being her first race after a layoff, saying “she had a nice position until the final stages.” Tashiro also feels that it will be a plus with all runners carrying the same weight in the Victoria Mile. “She’s more relaxed now and I think she’s even more suited to this distance than she was before,” he said. “She’s very nimble and she shows no sign of slowing down due to age. I’m hoping she’ll rally this time out.”

Straight Girl looked sharp over the woodchip course at Ritto on May 5, clocking 81 seconds over 6 furlongs with a final furlong of 11.7 seconds.

Smart Layer: The Deep Impact-sired Smart Layer is one to watch out for. She is on a two-race winning streak, back-to-back graded stakes victories, and is running like a different horse. First, she topped the field of the Tokyo Shimbun Hai, a G3 over the mile in February, then notched the G2 Hanshin Himba Stakes by a neck over Mikki Queen. Her two previous bids in the Victoria Mile ended in eighth and 10th places but she has also run second for two years in the Fuchu Himba Stakes (1,800 meters) so is not ill-suited to the venue. Previously raced from a rear position, her last two starts saw a dramatic change of tactics – she went wire to wire in both. This year, paired once again with Yutaka Take, she may be able to finish further up the field.

Sundarbans

An assistant to trainer Ryuji Okubo said “she was given a very nice ride last out and won the race handily.” He says Smart Layer, now 6 years old, is more relaxed and considers her last two wins substantial performances. “She has gotten good results at Tokyo and I think she’ll be fine if she can get a forward position,” the assistant said.

Magic Time: The 5-year-old mare by Heart’s Cry has won three of her past five starts. She ran second in the other two and all her wins were over 1,600 meters. She followed a second in the G3 Kyoto Himba Stakes with a win of the G3 Lord Derby Challenge Trophy at Nakayama, topping Satsuki Sho (Japanese 2000 Guineas) winner Logotype by a neck.

The Miho-based Magic Time is said to have matured considerably in recent weeks. “She’s well-balanced now, both physically and mentally and I think this is a big part of her good results and her coming this far. She had a weight advantage in the Lord Derby Trophy Challenge (5kg less than Logotype) but she came smartly up on the inside and showed her maturity. She has always been good racing to the left and the mile is perfect for her,” assistant trainer Toshiaki Sasajima said.

Let's Go Donki

Trainer Tadashige Nakagawa agreed, adding, “She wasn’t able to bring out her best in her races before this, but now she has matured considerably both in mind and body. She’s best running to the left.”

Others to watch include the 6-year-old Stay Gold-sired Win Primera, who has finished in the top three spots in 17 of her 29 starts thus far. Five times in the money were in graded stakes races. Win Primera claimed the G3 Kyoto Kimpai over a mile in January and followed that with a third in the G3 Kyoto Himba Stakes (1,400 meters) and a third last out in the mile G2 Hanshin Himba Stakes. In 2012, she finished third in the Artemis Stakes, a mile at Tokyo and, with her reliable consistency, may be able to make the money on Sunday.

Sundarbans, a 5-year-old by Heart’s Cry, captured her second start of the year, the G3 Nakayama Himba Stakes on March 13. It was her first graded stakes win and she beat Rouge Buck to the finish line by a neck over the 1,800 meters.

Let’s Go Donki went wire to wire in the Oka Sho last year, but last out raced from the rear in the Takamatsunomiya Kinen. She’ll be paired again with Yasunari Iwata and it will be interesting to see what kind of strategy he’ll choose for the Victoria Mile.  

The Victoria Mile is the 11th race on the 12-race Sunday card at Tokyo. Post time is 15:40 local time.