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Uberleben Scores First G1 Victory in Yushun Himba (Japanese Oaks)

Third favorite Uberleben marked her first graded win in claiming this year’s Yushun Himba (Japanese Oaks), the second leg of the Triple Crown for fillies, while giving her sire Gold Ship (JPN, by Stay Gold) his first G1 title. After immediately breaking her maiden in her debut start (1,800m) last June, the filly was second to Sodashi in the following Sapporo Nisai Stakes (G3, 1,800m) and went on to mark three thirds in a row, the 2020 Hanshin Juvenile Fillies (G1, 1,600m), this year’s Flower Cup (G3, 1,800m) in March and the Flora Stakes (G2, 2,000m), her most recent start. Claiming the NHK Mile Cup just two weeks earlier with Schnell Meister, trainer Takahisa Tezuka is now a proud winner of eight JRA-G1 titles while jockey Mirco Demuro marked his 33rd following his latest triumph in last year’s NHK Mile Cup with Lauda Sion. He also celebrates his second Oaks victory following his win with Loves Only You in 2019.

Breaking smoothly from stall nine, Demuro kept Uberleben reserved in mid-division taking a wide route throughout and slightly advanced before the final turn. Steered further to the outside entering the straight, the Gold Ship filly launched her bid, steadily gained on the struggling favorite battling with the tiring leaders and pulled away strongly after the furlong pole while holding off Akaitorino Musume on her inside and Hagino Pilina digging in from the outside to prevail by a length.

“She suffered from colic in February and has shown a slow but steady recovery. She broke smoothly today and it did worry me a bit that we were dead last in the backstretch but she responded well when the pace accelerated from the third corner and showed her tenacity in steadily advancing in the straight. She was strong pulling away and holding off the others. The added distance wasn’t a problem for her at all. I’m thrilled—it’s always wonderful to win a G1 race,” commented Mirco Demuro after the race.

Second favorite and Oka Sho (Japanese 1000 Guineas) fourth-place finisher, Akaitorino Musume was kept within a length behind the favorite in around sixth, dropped slightly as the others made their moves rounding the last corners, was trapped in tight quarters however, found an opening 300 meters out and finally burst out to chase the winner while holding off Hagino Pilina for a length-second.

Sent off 16th favorite in her grade stakes debut, Hagino Pilina sat last in the 18-horse field down the backstretch, gradually made headway and shifted far out at the final turn before displaying the second fastest late drive to threaten the runner-up but was a nose short at the line in third.

Other Horses:
4th: (4) Tagano Passion—sat 3-wide in 16th, showed fastest late kick, weakened in final strides
5th: (15) Art de Vivre—ran around 13th near winner, circled wide, responded well until 100m out
6th: (12) Miyabi Heidi—trailed in rear, angled out, showed tied 2nd fastest late drive, belatedly
7th: (1) Kukuna—chased leaders in 3rd, led briefly before 200m pole, weakened in last 100m
9th: (2) Through Seven Seas—hugged rails around 13th, showed response, even paced in last 200m
10th: (3) Purple Lady—saved ground in 15th, found little room until 200m out, accelerated thereafter
11th: (13) Fine Rouge—settled around 9th, struggled to find clear path, quickened in last 200m
12th: (17) Slyly—raced 3-wide around 9th, checked by rival 300m out, lost momentum
13th: (18) Stellaria—tracked leader in 2nd from widest draw, gradually fell back at stretch
14th: (5) Cool Cat—set pace, sustained lead until 200m marker, ran out of steam
15th: (6) Win Aglaia—took economic trip around 7th, showed effort until 200m pole
16th: (16) Nina Dress—ran 4-wide around 9th, advanced to 2nd by final corner, used up
17th: (14) Stripe—sat near favorite, gradually made headway, entered lane in 2nd, faded
18th: (10) Enthusiasm—traveled 3-wide around 8th, outrun after turning last corners

THE 82ND YUSHUN HIMBA (JAPANESE OAKS, G1)
3-year-olds, Fillies, 2,400 meters (about 12 furlongs), turf, left-handed
Sunday, May 23, 2021          Tokyo Racecourse          11th Race          Post Time: 15:40
Total prize money: ¥ 238,600,000 (about US$ 2,273,000 <US$1=¥105>)
3-y-o: 55 kg (about 121 lbs), 3 kg allowance for Southern Hemisphere-bred born in 2018
Course Record: 2:20.6         Race Record: 2:22.8 [Loves Only You (JPN, by Deep Impact), 2019]
Safety factor: 18 runners     Going: Good to Firm           Weather: Fine

Turnover for the Race alone: ¥ 17,552,957,400       Turnover for the Day: ¥ 27,079,384,300       Attendance: 4,791

Winner= 7 starts, 2 wins, 1 second, 3 thirds / Added money: ¥ 138,980,000 / Career earnings: ¥ 196,355,000

* 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.
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. Last year’s winner Daring Tact (JPN, by Epiphaneia) went on to capture the Shuka Sho (G1, 2,000m) that autumn not only to become the sixth filly to capture the fillies’ Triple Crown title but the first in JRA history to do so undefeated, while 2019 victor Loves Only You (JPN, by Deep Impact) scored her second G1 title in the Hong Kong’s Queen Elizabeth II Cup (G1, 2,000m) last month.
The top five finishers of the Oka Sho (Apr.11) that were automatically eligible for the Oaks were: Sodashi (1st), Fine Rouge (3rd), Akaitorino Musume (4th) and Art de Vivre (5th) while the runner-up Satono Reinas (JPN, by Deep Impact) was decided to run against the boys in the Tokyo Yushun (Japanese Derby, G1, 2,400m) instead. Runners who earned their tickets by faring well in Oaks trials were Cool Cat and Slyly, top two finishers in the Flora Stakes (G2, 2,000m, Apr.25), as well as the Sweet Pea Stakes (Listed, 1,800m, May.2) winner Tagano Passion. The field also included Stellaria, victor of the Wasurenagusa Sho (Listed, 2,000m, Apr.11), Kukuna, coming off a sixth in the Oka Sho, and Uberleben who registered a runner-up and three thirds in four graded starts.