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Shuka Sho (G1) - Deirdre Claims Last Jewel of Three-Year-Old Fillies' Triple

The last leg of the three-year-old fillies’ Triple Crown began with the top six fillies sent to post with single digit odds (decimal odds) and the lineup short of the Oaks winner. The close competition resulted in third favorite Deirdre claiming her first G1 title and landing her third consecutive wins since August. Her first G1 victory also was the first JRA-G1 victory for sire, Harbinger. Debuting last year as a two-year-old, the bay filly broke her maiden in her third career start and qualified for the Oka Sho (Japanese 1000 Guineas) after a runner-up effort in her second start this year in the Anemone Stakes. She finished sixth in her G1 debut and came off another win in the Yaguruma Sho (allowance race) for the Yushun Himba (Japanese Oaks) in which she finished fourth. Following a break, she won against a mixed field of older runners in the HTB Sho (allowance) and landed her first grade-race victory in the Shion Stakes. Her trainer Mitsuru Hashida captured his first G1 win in 10 years—the last being the 2007 Takamatsunomiya Kinen with Suzuka Phoenix—and 11th JRA-G1 overall. Christophe Lemaire won his 14th G1 title following the Tokyo Yushun (Japanese Derby) with Rey de Oro.

Deirdre was off slow and raced well behind the pace around five horses from the rear, gradually made headway after halfway and saved some ground along the rails between the third and fourth corner. As the field began to scatter turning into the stretch, Christophe Lemaire smartly shifted Deirdre off the rails, tracked Lys Gracieux who closed in quickly to pass tired rivals and gained on the leader up to the last 100 meters then overtook both Lys Gracieux and Mozu Katchan in a flash, crossing the finish line by a 1-1/4-lengh margin.

“I think the filly was in top condition today—she was on her toes in the post parade which just shows how keen she was to go out there and run—and I was quite confident going into this race. Her break wasn’t good and we had to race further back than we had hoped but the pace was fast which worked for us and she gave a terrific run in the stretch,” commented Christophe Lemaire.

Lys Gracieux broke awkwardly then immediately advanced to mid-division, made headway passing the third corner and swung wide for home, losing some ground again but came with a terrific late charge, gaining on the leader with every stride. While pinned by Deirdre in the closing stages, the Heart’s Cry filly still managed to outrun Mozu Katchan by a nose for second.

Mozu Katchan broke nicely out of the gate and secured a good position while saving ground along the rails, made an early move before the last corner, shifting out and advancing to third before the fourth corner and assuming command soon after entering the homestretch. She held on gamely to hold off fast closing Lys Gracieux and Deirdre up to the very last strides while outrun in the end to third but crossed the wire three lengths in front of the next finisher.

Aerolithe broke smoothly and positioned along the rails in third, was second as Fan Dii Na dropped back nearing the third corner and was still prominent entering the stretch but unable to respond as the late chargers came rushing to contention thereafter.

Other Horses:
4th: (2) Rabbit Run―took an economic trip in mid-pack, showed late kick but 3 lengths behind Mozu Katchan
5th: (8) Kawakita Enka―set fast pace, led until 300m out, caught by late chargers in last 100m
6th: (3) Black Onyx―saved ground towards rear, responded well at stretch but unable to reach contention
8th: (11) Mirissa―raced in mid-group, angled wide, showed some effort, never threatened
9th: (17) Port Vendres―traveled rear of mid-division, accelerated until 100m out, weakened
10th: (13) Lycabettos―hugged rails in 3rd from rear, turned wide to straight, showed belated effort
11th: (15) Vous Etes Jolie―ran 2nd from rear, improved position at stretch, never a threat
12th: (5) Black’s Beach―prominent early in 4th, lacked needed kick, gradually fell back
13th: (16) Fan Dii Na―advanced to 2nd or 3rd from wide draw, outrun turning final corner
14th: (12) Reine Minoru―settled 3-wide in 6th, nothing left after turning into straight
15th: (9) Hello Unicorn―trailed in far rear, made headway at backstretch, passed tired rivals
16th: (6) Meisho Owara―sat in mid-pack, faded before final corner
17th: (10) Tagano Verona―raced in mid-group, ran willingly until 100m out, weakened thereafter
18th: (18) Caribbean Gold―traveled 3-wide in mid-division, failed to sustain bid before final corner

THE 22ND SHUKA SHO (G1)
3-year-old Fillies, 2,000 meters (about 10 furlongs), turf, right-handed
Sunday, October 15, 2017    Kyoto Racecourse       11th Race        Post Time: 15:40
Total prize money: ¥ 199,120,000 (about US$ 1,731,000 <US$1=¥115>)
3-y-o: 55 kg (about 121 lbs), 2 kg allowance for Southern Hemisphere-bred born in 2014
Safety factor: 18 runners

1. 1. Deirdre (JPN), bay, filly, 3-year-old
   Harbinger / Reizend (Special Week)

   Owner: T. Morita	Breeder: Northern Farm
   Trainer: Mitsuru Hashida	Jockey: Christophe Lemaire
   14 Starts, 5 Wins
   Added money: ¥ 95,822,000	Career earnings: ¥ 203,614,000

   
   
2. 2. Lys Gracieux (JPN), dark bay or brown, filly, 3-year-old
   Heart's Cry / Liliside (American Post)

   Owner: U. Carrot Farm	Breeder: Northern Farm
   Trainer: Yoshito Yahagi	Jockey: Yutaka Take

   
   
3. 3. 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: Mirco Demuro

* Shuka Sho(G1)
The Shuka Sho, established in 1996, is run over 2,000 meters at Kyoto Racecourse and the third leg of the fillies’ Triple Crown reserved for the season’s three-year-old fillies following the Oka Sho (Japanese 1000 Guineas, G1, 1,600m) and the Yushun Himba (Japanese Oaks, G1, 2,400m). The Queen Elizabeth II Cup (G1, 2,200m) was formally regarded as the third leg of the fillies’ Triple Crown until the race was opened to older fillies and mares; hence the Shuka Sho was established to take its place. Acquiring international G1 status in 2009, the Shuka Sho is open to a maximum of nine foreign runners. Gentildonna (JPN, by Deep Impact) became only the fourth filly in JRA history to claim the fillies’ Triple Crown title after Mejiro Ramonu (JPN, by Mogami; 1986), Still in Love (JPN, by Sunday Silence; 2003) and Apapane (JPN, by King Kamehameha; 2010),and proceeded to achieve greater accomplishment within her three-year-old season by winning the Japan Cup (G1, 2,400m) against a powerful field which contributed to earning the season’s highest honor of JRA’s Horse of the Year award in 2012. Last year’s champion, Vivlos (JPN, by Deep Impact) subsequently proved her ability in the international competition, winning the Dubai Turf (G1, 1,800m) in March this year.
This year’s field lacked the Yushun Himna victor Soul Stirring (JPN, by Frankel) who will head towards the Tenno Sho (Autumn) (G1, 2,000m) against a mixed field of senior rivals two weeks from now. One of the trials towards this race, the Rose Stakes (G2, 1,800m; Sep.17) was won by Rabbit Run in her first graded start. Kawakita Enka and Lys Gracieux, who were second and third, respectively, also earned their tickets to the Shuka Sho. Meanwhile, improving filly and race favorite Mirissa, the Flower Cup (G3, 1,800m) winner Fan Dii Na, the Yushun Himba runner-up Mozu Katchan and the Oka Sho winner Reine Minoru finished fourth, sixth, seventh and ninth, respectively. The Shion Stakes (G3, 2,000m; Sep.9), another Shuka Sho trial was won by Deirdre, a fourth-place finisher in the Yushun Himba, who landed her first grade-race title in the race while Caribbean Gold and Port Vendres also qualified for the Shuka Sho finishing second and third, respectively. The field also included a G1 winner Aerolithe who claimed the NHK Mile Cup (G1, 1,600m) against male opponents in May and had come off a victory against older mares in the Queen Cup (G3, 1,800m) in July.
The race record was renewed by Mikki Queen (JPN, by Deep Impact) who claimed her second three-year-old fillies’ G1 title in the 2015 edition of this race following the Yushun Himba while covering the 2,000-meter distance in 1:56.9.