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Stars on Earth Captures Second Jewel in Yushun Himba (Japanese Oaks)

Third favorite Stars on Earth picked up her second classic title after her victory in the Oka Sho (Japanese 1000 Guineas) and is on the road to follow Almond Eye (2018) and Daring Tact (2020) to become JRA’s Triple Crown filly of this season. Trainer Mizuki Takayanagi scored his second JRA-G1 title—the first being without saying with Stars on Earth. Jockey Christophe Lemaire, who had partnered the Duramente filly for the first time, registered his first JRA-G1 win since last year’s Mile Championship with Gran Alegria and 41st overall—it was his third Yushun Himba title after with Soul Stirring in 2017 and Almond Eye in 2018.

Following a delay due to a loose horse prior to the scheduled start, Stars on Earth was unhurried after a smooth break and rated in midfield around ninth or tenth position. Christophe Lemaire guided the dark bay slightly to the outside where she made her bid along the center lane, closing the gap on the leaders with every stride as a fierce battle for the lead took place in front in the last 200 meters but once grabbing the lead 100 meters out, the Oka Sho winner pulled away strongly to secure her second jewel of the fillies’ Triple by 1-1/4 lengths.

“I am really thrilled to have won in front of a big crowd today—it’s really not fun to win with an empty stand so I appreciate all you fans for coming. The filly was in great condition coming into the race but it requires a lot of effort to start from an outside draw, so I was easy with her in early. She stayed calm and responded really well in the closing stages so I was happy. It was her first attempt at 2,400 meters but her pedigree showed that she should be up in terms of stamina so I thought it shouldn’t be a problem. She’s already won at 1,600 meters and shown to handle 2,400 meters, so I think she has a pretty good chance to win her third G1 triple over 2,000 meters,” commented Christophe Lemaire.

Tenth pick Stunning Rose was nicely positioned along the rails around fifth, angled out slightly for the stretch run and turned in a fine turn of foot to lead briefly at the 200-meter mark but was unable to match the strong finishing speed of the winner who quickly overtook her from the outside.

Fourth choice Namur secured an inside position behind Stunning Rose after a good break then eased further back to mid-division along the backstretch with a good view of the eventual winner on her outside. Staying to the inside coming into the final turn, the Harbinger filly closed in rapidly and rallied with the top two finishers in the last 100 meters but was unable to sustain her bid in the last strides, finishing third.

Race favorite Circle of Life showed frustration and lost momentum due to the start delay, missed a beat coming out of the gate and trailed at the very rear for most of the trip. Still with a lot of ground to cover coming into the straight, the Epiphaneia filly failed to find her usual turn of speed finishing a dull 12th.

Other Horses:
4th: (15) Pin High—raced 3-wide around 10th, accelerated between horses in last 300m
5th: (16) Presage Lift—sat in 6th in front of winner, ran willingly but no match for top finishers
6th: (4) Rouge Eveil—traveled around 13th, circled wide, showed belated charge
7th: (3) Art House—chased leaders in 3rd, remained in contention until passed by top finishers
8th: (17) Nishino Love Wink—set pace, showed tenacity until 150m out
9th: (9) Erika Vita—positioned around 7th near winner, ran gamely up to 200m pole
10th: (11) Belle Cresta—ran 3-wide around 11th, failed to respond
11th: (12) Lilac—settled near rear in 15th, unable to reach contention
13th: (1) Water Navillera—saved ground around 11th, never fired
14th: (14) Sea Glass—traveled wide around 13th, showed little at stretch
15th: (10) Love Pyro—prominent early in 4th, outrun in last 400m
16th: (13) Personal High—tracked leader in 2nd, faded after 400m pole
17th: (7) Ho O Vanilla—far rear throughout trip
Excluded from running: (5) Sound Vivace—broke loose prior start and declared a non-runner following vet check

THE 83RD YUSHUN HIMBA (JAPANESE OAKS, G1)
3-year-olds, Fillies, 2,400 meters (about 12 furlongs), turf, left-handed
Sunday, May 22, 2022          Tokyo Racecourse          11th Race          Post Time: 15:40
Total prize money: ¥ 302,400,000 (about US$ 2,630,000 <US$1=¥115>)
3-y-o: 55 kg (about 121 lbs), 3 kg allowance for Southern Hemisphere-bred born in 2019
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: ¥ 19,747,306,000       Turnover for the Day: ¥ 29,592,983,800       Attendance: 30,552

Winner= 7 starts: 3 wins, 3 seconds, 1 third / Added money: ¥ 168,154,000 / Career earnings: ¥ 366,507,000

* 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. 2020 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 three G1 titles in Hong Kong and U.S last year to become the season’s Best Older Filly or Mare.
The top five finishers of the Oka Sho (Apr.10) that were automatically eligible for the Oaks were: Stars on Earth (1st), Water Navillera (2nd), Circle of Life (4th) and Pin High (5th) although Namura Clair (3rd) did not run and will likely head for the Hakodate Sprint Stakes (G3, 1,200m, Jun.12). Proven grade-race winners, Namur, Presage Lift and Lilac who were 10th, 11th and 16th, respectively, in the Oka Sho, were hoped to show improvement in the 2,400-meter classic. Contenders who earned their tickets from their efforts in the Oaks trials were Erika Vita and Personal High, the top two finishers in the Flora Stakes (G2, 2,000m, Apr.24). The Yushun Himba field also included Stunning Rose and Art House, respective winners of the Flower Cup (G3, 1,800m, Mar.21) and the Wasurenagusa Sho (L, 2,000m, Apr.10).