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Daring Tact Prevails in Yushun Himba-Second Leg of Fillies Triple Crown

Heavily favored Daring Tact retained her immaculate record in winning this year’s Yushun Himba (Japanese Oaks) becoming the fifth filly in JRA history to claim the title undefeated, following last year’s victor Loves Only You. The Epiphaneia filly is now the 15th filly to capture both the Oka Sho (Japanese 1000 Guineas) and the Yushun Himba which include five eventual fillies’ Triple Crown winners, and is also the second unbeaten winner since Miss Onward in 1957 to claim two classic titles for three-year-olds fillies. She has showcased incredible speed, running the fastest in the last three furlongs in all of her races over various distances and goings. Both trainer Haruki Sugiyama and jockey Kohei Matsuyama celebrate their third JRA-G1 victory—their latest was with the filly in the recent Oka Sho.

Daring Tact settled on the rails sixth from the rear after a good break while Smile Kana shot to the front setting the early pace six to seven lengths ahead of the rest as the field cruised down the backstretch. While the runners began to make their bids rounding the final corner, Matsuyama shifted his filly away from the rails a bit to avoid traffic however, still struggled to find a clear path in early stretch. Finally shooting through a narrow gap between rivals 300 meters out, the brown filly exploded with the fastest closing speed and caught Win Marilyn in the last 50 meters to prevail by half-a-length.

“After a good break, we were bumped a few times, so I decided to keep her relaxed in a lower position than planned. She instantly kicked into gear once out of traffic in the straight and showed another amazing run down the middle of the lane. Her tremendous burst of speed was extraordinary. It was the first time I rode a favorite (in G1 races) and I admit I felt the pressure, so I’m relieved,” commented Kohei Matsuyama after the race.

Flora Stakes winner Win Marilyn broke smoothly from a wide stall and sat unhurried far behind Smile Kana in second but caught up and was on the heels of the pacesetter at the top of the lane. While the others fanned out for room, the seventh favorite squeezed through an opening on the rails, unleashed a strong run, and pinned Win Mighty 100 meters out but succumbed to the speed of the winner to settle for second.

Other Horses:
4th: (6) Ria Amelia—broke poorly, settled in front of winner, showed good turn of foot in last 200m
5th: (12) Magic Castle—sat in 16-17th, met traffic 300m out, responded well in last 200m
6th: (15) Chain of Love—was off a bit slow, trailed in rear, circled wide, showed 2nd fastest late drive
7th: (10) Miyamazakura—saved ground around 9th, ran willingly but failed to threaten
8th: (5) Ho O Peaceful—raced around 5th, ran gamely until 200m marker, weakened thereafter
9th: (11) Lily Pure Heart—stumbled at start, gradually advanced from rear, showed brief effort
10th: (17) Maltese Diosa—traveled 3-wide around 9th, showed effort until 100m out, even paced thereafter
11th: (1) Des Ailes—sat around 14th behind winner, angled out for clear path, accelerated briefly
12th: (13) Woman's Heart—settled around 8th, lacked needed kick at stretch
13th: (18) Sanctuaire—raced 3-wide around 14th, unable to reach contention
14th: (14) Fiori Chiari—ran 3-wide around 5th, gradually dropped back while checked before 200m pole
15th: (2) Cravache d'Or—hugged rails around 3rd, took brief lead 300m out, outrun in last 200m
16th: (8) Smile Kana—set fast pace, led until 300m out, fell back in last 200m
17th: (3) Ablaze—tracked leaders around 3rd, ran out of steam 300m out
18th: (9) Intermission—traveled three-wide around 11th outside winner, faded after 3rd corner

THE 81ST YUSHUN HIMBA (JAPANESE OAKS, G1)
3-year-olds, Fillies, 2,400 meters (about 12 furlongs), turf, left-handed
Sunday, May 24, 2020          Tokyo Racecourse          11th Race          Post Time: 15:40
Total prize money: ¥ 238,600,000 (about US$ 2,210,000 <US$1=¥108>)
3-y-o: 55 kg (about 121 lbs), 3 kg allowance for Southern Hemisphere-bred born in 2017
Course Record: 2:20.6         Race Record: 2:22.8 [Loves Only You (JPN, by Deep Impact), 2019]
Safety factor: 18 runners     Going: Firm           Weather: Fine

Turnover for the Race alone: ¥ 16,112,156,000         Turnover for the Day: ¥ 24,994,829,900

Winner= 4 starts, 4 wins / Added money: ¥ 136,516,000 / Career earnings: ¥ 293,891,000

* 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, and the first three finishers of this race are eligible to start in the French G1 Prix Vermeille (2,400m) since 2018, free of charge to enter and with additional support for transportation.
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. 2018 winner Almond Eye (JPN, by Lord Kanaloa) went on to capture the Shuka Sho (G1, 2,000m) that autumn to become the fifth filly to sweep the Triple Crown for fillies, the first since Gentildonna (JPN, by Deep Impact).
The five top finishers of the Oka Sho (Apr.12) that were automatically eligible for the Oaks were: Daring Tact (1st), Smile Kana (3rd), Cravache d’Or (4th) and Miyamazakura (5th) while the runner-up Resistencia (JPN, by Daiwa Major) was decided not to step up in distance and opted to aim for a G1 title in the NHK Mile Cup (1,600m) instead, finishing second. Other Oka Sho finishers that were also among the lineup were graded winners Sanctuaire (6th), Maltese Diosa (8th), Ria Amelia (10th) and Woman’s Heart (16th). Those who came off their efforts in Oaks trials were: Win Marilyn and Ho O Peaceful who finished first and second, respectively, in the Flora Stakes (G2, 2,000m; Apr.26), as well as the Sweet Pea Stakes (Listed, 1,800m; May.3) winner Des Ailes. The field also included Ablaze and Win Mighty, victor of the Flower Cup (G3, 1,800m; Mar.20) and the Wasurenagusa Sho (Listed, 2,000m; Apr.12), respectively.