Victoria Mile (G1) - Preview

Gran Alegria

Resistencia

Danon Fantasy

Terzetto

Magic Castle

Des Ailes

Dirndl

Maltese Diosa

Sound Chiara

Tokyo Racecourse is once again the venue for this coming Sunday’s (May 16) Grade 1 Victoria Mile, a relatively new addition to the JRA racing calendar, with the race being run for just the 16th time since its inception in 2006. The race was introduced with the idea of giving older fillies and mares a chance to perform at the highest level in the early part of the year. It’s thrown up its fair share of big-name winners in a relatively short period of time: Vodka in 2009, Apapane in 2011, and probably the greatest of them all just last year, when Almond Eye ran out a four-length winner of the race, and became just the fourth first favorite to win the race since 2006.

This year sees 20 nominations for a maximum 18 runner field for the contest which is open to fillies and mares aged 4-years-old and up, and they are all allotted a set weight of 55kg. It’s looking like a highly competitive field this year. A number of the nominated horses are coming off runs in the Grade 2 Sankei Sports Hai Hanshin Himba Stakes over a mile in April, and the Grade 3 Fukushima Himba Stakes (run this year at Niigata) over 1,800 meters, also in April. The last 10 years have seen six winners trained at the Ritto Training Center near Kyoto, but Miho trained winners from the east have retaliated to win the past two years. 4-year-old fillies have had the upper hand during the same time period, winning five times.

Record time for the race is held by Normcore, who won the race in 2019 in a time of 1 minute 30.5 seconds, a time even Almond Eye couldn’t beat last year when she posted a time of just 0.1 of a second above that. This year’s winner’s check is JPY105 million (about USD 1 million). The winner also receives an automatic entry to this year’s Breeders’ Cup Filly & Mare Turf at Del Mar in November. The final field and barrier draw will be decided later in the week, and the Grade 1 Victoria Mile will be Race 11 on the Sunday card at Tokyo, with a post time in Japan of 15:40.

Here’s a look at some of the runners expected to play a part in the race:

Gran Alegria: The now 5-year-old mare needs no introduction, being a four-time Grade 1 winner already, and having a record of five wins over a mile from her total of seven wins altogether. She was trying the distance of 2,000 meters for the first time in the Grade 1 Osaka Hai in April, her last race, but had to settle for a fourth-place finish. Assistant trainer Daisuke Tsumagari commented: “She did pretty well last time and it was probably just the ground that defeated her, which was a pity. She’s been able to have a rest at the farm, and came back to the stable at Miho on April 28. It gives us ample time to get her tuned up for this race.”

Resistencia: The 4-year-old filly by Daiwa Major has just had nine career races, but she’s won four times (once over a mile) and has only ever been unplaced once. She was second in last year’s Grade 1 NHK Mile Cup, and is coming off a bold showing in her latest race, when she finished second in the Grade 1 Takamatsunomiya Kinen over 1,200 meters at Chukyo in March. Trainer Takeshi Matsushita is full of hope for her again. “She ran a good race last time when you consider the wide draw, the going, and the fact that it was a Grade 1 over just 1,200 meters. She’s been able to freshen up at the farm, and has come back looking well and is in good shape, so her training should be fine from now,” said the trainer. Jockey Yutaka Take looks set for the ride, as he replaces the injured Yuichi Kitamura.

Danon Fantasy: Another Grade 1 winner, although for not some time, three of the 5-year-old’s six career wins have come over a mile, and she finished fifth in last year’s Victoria Mile. Looking to rebound from her worst ever placing last time, when she finished twelfth in the Grade 1 Takamatsunomiya Kinen, assistant trainer Yuya Katayama said, “She had a break at the farm after her last race, and since returning to the stable she’s worked on the turf track, where she posted a recent five furlongs time in just over 68 seconds. She’s a tough sort, but there’s a relaxed and light feel to her at the moment.”

Terzetto: Looking like Mirco Demuro’s big race ride, the 4-year-old filly by Deep Impact impressed last time when winning the Grade 3 Lord Derby Challenge Trophy over a mile at Nakayama in April. She’ll have to carry extra weight this time, and it is a jump up in class, but her current form suggests she has a chance. Trainer Shoichiro Wada also thinks so, “She won a graded race last time and did it very nicely, showing a lot of ability and good racing sense. She was a little tired after that run, but she’s coming along fine as we get her ready for this next run,” said the trainer recently.

Magic Castle: It’s been pretty much onwards and upwards for Magic Castle since she finished fifth in last year’s Grade 1 Yushun Himba (Japanese Oaks). She won the Grade 3 Aichi Hai over 2,000 meters at Chukyo in January, and is coming off a second-place finish in the Grade 2 Sankei Sports Hai Hanshin Himba Stakes over a mile in April. Trainer Sakae Kunieda, who has won the race with Apapane and Almond Eye, commented: “Given the long transportation to the track last time, and her weight loss that I attribute to the time of year, she ran a good race. It had been a while since she last ran over a mile, and the winner just had the advantage.”

Des Ailes: Trainer Yasuo Tomomichi is enjoying his fair share of success this year, bringing up his 600th career win recently, and with this Shadai Farm bred 4-year-old daughter of Deep Impact, he has another live chance of picking up a big race win here. Even though there wasn’t much to choose between the first four home in the Grade 2 Sankei Sports Hai Hanshin Himba Stakes last time, Des Ailes was the one that rattled home the strongest. The trainer said: “I wondered how she might do in her last race, running over a mile for the first time, but she adjusted well to the slow pace and came with a great run from off the pace to win. I had no hesitation in thinking of the Victoria Mile after that run.”

Dirndl: A win for the 5-year-old mare by Rulership would be a major Grade 1 breakthrough for trainer Yutaka Okumura, together with jockey Taisei Danno, who has just held a JRA license since 2019, as both of them seek their first top-level win. Dirndl just ran out the winner last time in the Grade 3 Fukushima Himba Stakes in April, where there was very little in it between the first seven home, but nevertheless her performance pleased her trainer. “She ran a good race last time, getting to the front early and running smoothly for the whole race, showing that mentally she has come on a lot,” said Okumura.

Maltese Diosa: Even though the Kizuna filly is versatile when it comes to distance, the 1,200 meters in the Grade 1 Takamatsunomiya Kinen last time was probably just a bit on the short side for her, but timewise she wasn’t beaten that much, and trainer Takahisa Tezuka doesn’t think she ran badly at all. “Given that she lost a shoe in her last race and the ground was soft, I think she still put in a good run, and there really wasn’t that much difference between her and the others,” commented the trainer. Jockey Hironobu Tanabe has ridden the horse in her last eight races, and continues his association with Maltese Diosa here.

Sound Chiara: A tougher mare would be hard to find, and the 6-year-old Sound Chiara is back for another try in the race where she finished seventh in 2019 and second in 2020. She maintains a good strike rate, although in her only race this year she finished sixth in the Grade 1 Takamatsunomiya Kinen in March. Trainer Akio Adachi said, “It was hard for her last time in a Grade1 from a wide draw and on soft ground, but she still ran a good race. She’s had a break at the farm, and on her return to the stable she’s been in good form.” Kohei Matsuyama looks set for the ride once again on Sound Chiara.