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Four-Year-Old Geraldina Captures First G1 Victory in Queen Elizabeth II Cup

Fourth pick Geraldina claimed this year’s Queen Elizabeth II Cup to score her first G1 title. Foaled out of seven-time G1 winner Gentildonna who swept the fillies’ Triple Crown in 2012, the bay broke her maiden in her third start as a two-year-old and, though unable to run in the Classics in her three-year-old spring campaign, marked three consecutive wins from July. She came off her first graded win in the All Comers (G2, 2,200m) on September 25, which was her sixth graded challenge. Trainer Takashi Saito marked his seventh JRA-G1 title following his win in last year’s Hopeful Stakes with Killer Ability, while jockey Cristian Demuro, who is under short-term license, claimed his fourth JRA-G1 victory following his 2018 Hanshin Juvenile Fillies title with Danon Fantasy.

Breaking out from the outermost stall, Geraldina traveled wide towards the rear and advanced rounding the last corners the widest. Displaying her powerful late drive that timed the fastest last three furlongs in the field, the Maurice filly caught up with the frontrunner after passing the 200-meter pole, dueled briefly with Win Marilyn 100 meters out but pulled away in the last 50 meters for a 1-3/4-length win.

“I’m very happy I was able to win another G1 race. The filly was traveling very well in the last corner, came out and gave a good turn of foot. The last time when she won, it was a good race, so I was pretty confident with her. Gentildonna was a good filly and I think Geraldina can be like her dam,” commented Cristian Demuro.

Traveling three-wide around sixth, fifth pick Win Marilyn made headway after the third corner and briefly took command 200 meters out. The Screen Hero chestnut, however, was overtaken by fast-closing eventual winner after a brief duel in the last 100 meters and was then challenged by 12th choice Lilac who launched the second fastest late kick after racing in 17th position. The two dueled strongly at the wire to share the runner-up seat.

Race favorite Daring Tact settled in mid-division around eighth and was unable to pull out from the pack at the stretch to finish sixth.

Magical Lagoon pressed the pace in second but was unable to make use of her late kick due to the heavy going and finished 18th.

“We were able to race in good position but she likes quick ground and the rain, unfortunately, took her chance away. I urged her to go from the third corner but she didn’t respond. I don’t know why she didn’t want to go into the gate because she’s usually really good,” said Shane Foley.

Other Horses:
4th: (14) Akai Ito—trailed in rear, showed 3rd fastest late drive, belatedly
5th: (11) Namur—sat 3-wide around 8th, stretched but no match for top finishers
7th: (6) Ho O Emmy’s—ran around 15th, angled out, responded but never threatened
8th: (12) Ruby Casablanca—saved ground around 16th, lacked needed kick
9th: (3) Pin High—traveled around 6th on rails, drifted to outside at early stretch, showed brief effort
10th: (7) Izu Jo no Kiseki—settled in 11-12th, passed tiring rivals
11th: (1) Kurino Premium—hugged rails in 10-11th, even paced at stretch
12th: (16) Terzetto—sat 3-wide around 10th, gradually advanced, showed effort until 200m pole
13th: (2) Rosa Noir—set pace, dropped back after surrendering lead 200m out
14th: (10) Stunning Rose—ran in 5th, met traffic at early stretch, lost momentum
15th: (9) Win Kiitos—chased leaders around 3rd, failed to sustain bid
16th: (17) Win Mighty—traveled around 4th, faded after 200m marker
17th: (8) Andvaranaut—raced in 11-12th, gradually fell back

THE 47TH QUEEN ELIZABETH II CUP (G1) – Japan Autumn International -
3-year-olds & up, Fillies & Mares, 2,200 meters (about 11 furlongs), turf, right-handed
Sunday, November 13, 2022     Hanshin Racecourse     11th Race       Post time: 15:40
Total prize money: ¥ 281,800,000 (about US$ 2,451,000 <US$1=¥115>)
3-y-o: 54kg (about 119 lbs), 4-y-o & up: 56kg (about 123-124 lbs),
2kg allowance for Southern Hemisphere-bred born in 2019
Course Record: 2:10.1              Race Record: 2:11.2 [To the Victory (JPN, by Sunday Silence), Kyoto, 2001]
Safety factor: 18 runners           Going: Yielding             Weather: Cloudy

Turnover for the Race alone: ¥ 19,002,105,800       Turnover for the Day: ¥ 27,162,009,200       Attendance: 18,817

Winner= 16 starts: 6 wins, 2 seconds, 2 thirds / Added money: ¥ 133,780,000 / Career earnings: ¥ 298,967,000

* Queen Elizabeth II Cup (G1)

The Queen Elizabeth II Cup was established in 1976 to facilitate friendly relations between Japan and England, in commemoration of Her Excellency’s visit to Japan in 1975. The race initially started as a 2,400-meter race and the last leg of the “Triple Crown for three-year-old fillies,” but became a 2,200-meter race for fillies and mares of three-year-old and up from 1996. The race has been shifted to Hanshin Racecourse due to the renovation of Kyoto Racecourse since 2020.
Tigertail (FR, by Priolo) and Ana Marie (FR, by Anabaa) were the first two foreign contestants to run in 2003—four years after its designation as an international event in 1999—and finished third and eighth, respectively. Shalanaya (IRE, by Lomitas) finished fourth in 2009 before Edward Dunlop-trained Snow Fairy (IRE, by Intikhab) became the first foreign runner to win back-to-back G1 titles in 2010 and 2011. This year’s edition welcomed Irish Oaks (G1, 2,400m) victor Magical Lagoon, the first overseas contender in 11 years.
Last year’s victor Akai Ito came off a 10th in the Fuchu Himba Stakes (G2, 1,800m, Oct.15) where Izu Jo no Kiseki denied star white filly Sodashi by a head for her first graded victory, with Andvaranaut finishing third. Geraldina came off a win in the All Comers (G2, 2,200m, Sep.25) in which Win Kiitos and 2020 fillies’ Triple Crown winner Daring Tact finished third and sixth respectively. Other key four-year-old and up females included Win Marilyn and Win Mighty, respective third-place finishers in the Sapporo Kinen (G2, 2,000m, Aug.21) and the Kyoto Daishoten (G2, 2,400m), and Terzetto, back-to-back victor of the Queen Stakes (G3, 1,800m, Jul.31). The field also included notable three-year-old fillies Stunning Rose and Namur, winner and runner-up, respectively, of the last leg of the Triple Tiara, the Shuka Sho (G1, 2,000m, Oct.16).