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Ascoli Piceno Delivers as Race Favorite in Victoria Mile

Race favorite Ascoli Piceno claimed this year’s Vicotria Mile to register her fifth graded title following the 1351 Turf Sprint (G2, 1,351m) on February 22 in Saudi Arabia. The daughter of Daiwa Major was unbeaten in her three starts as a two-year-old including the Niigata Nisai Stakes (G3, 1,600m) and the Hanshin Juvenile Fillies (G1, 1,600m) which earned her the season’s Best Two-Year-Old Filly title. After two runner-up efforts in the Oka Sho (Japanese 1000 Guineas, G1, 1,600m) and the NHK Mile Cup (G1, 1,600m) in the following spring, the three-year-old filly added another grade-race victory in the Keisei Hai Autumn Handicap (G3, 1,600m) but was 12th in the Golden Eagle (1,500m) in her first overseas endeavor. Her victory in the Victoria Mile gave trainer Yoichi Kuroiwa his second JRA-G1 title while jockey Christophe Lemaire scored his 54th JRA-G1 title after last year’s Kikuka Sho (Japanese St. Leger) with Urban Chic and fourth Victoria Mile title—the most in JRA history—after Admire Lead (2017), Almond Eye (2020) and Gran Alegria (2021).

Ascoli Piceno was eased back after the whole field broke in a straight line then led by Alice Verite who opened the gap from the rest of the field along the backstretch. Positioned well back in second from last before attempting to make headway through the last two corners and caught behind traffic soon after entering the straight, Christophe Lemaire shifted his mount to the outside to give the filly the green light to which the Daiwa Major filly responded with terrific speed as soon as she hit the top of the hill for a neck victory.

“The break wasn’t too sharp and it took some effort to get her into the speed—I did have a little concern to how the filly would perform as race favorite starting from an outside stall—but she did have plenty of energy left when needed and, while it did take her some time to reach her top speed, I was thrilled by how she showed her mental strength and potential in fighting to the very end,” commented jockey Christophe Lemaire.

Queen’s Walk, unhurried and settling in mid to near rear in a field of 17, angled out for the stretch run under Yuga Kawada, accelerated impressively to reach contention soon after the 200-meter pole and was the first to pin Alice Verite in a multiple-horse rally with just 50 meters to go before outrun by the winner from the outside in the last stride.

Shirankedo traveled well off the pace, third from last inside the eventual winner, up to the last corner. Opting to wait for an opening down the center lane down the straight while the top two finishers angled out at early stretch, the five-year-old Declaration of War mare turned in a terrific finishing speed, the fastest in the race, from 100 meters out to gain third place.

Other Horses:
4th: (3) Argine—traveled in 7th, launched bid to rally for lead in last 100m, head short for 3rd place
5th: (18) Alice Verite—set pace, maintained 5-length lead at final corner, weakened in final strides
6th: (8) Shinryokuka—settled in 4th, closed in on pacesetter but no match to top finishers
7th: (9) Admire Matsuri—chased leader in 2nd, remained in contention until 100m out
8th: (2) Stellenbosch—sat in 8th on rails, failed to find another gear in last 200m
9th: (1) Christmas Parade—saved ground in 11th, showed effort until 100m out
10th: (11) Sing That Song—ran wide in 8th, even paced
11th: (7) Wide Latour—positioned wide in 13th, lacked needed kick
12th: (5) Ravel—raced in 11th, showed effort until 200m pole
13th: (4) Safira—hugged rails in 4th, used up at 200m pole
14th: (14) Masano Canaria—traveled wide in 8th, unable to reach contention
15th: (13) Beyond the Valley—tracked leaders in 3rd, dropped back after 400m pole
16th: (10) Bond Girl—trailed in rear, failed to respond at inner stretch
17th: (15) So Dazzling—rallied for lead early, eased back to 4th, ran out of steam before 200m pole
Scratched: (6) Mi Anhelo—lameness in right foreleg

THE 20TH VICTORIA MILE (G1)
4-year-olds & up, Fillies & Mares, 1,600 meters (about 8 furlongs), turf, left-handed
Sunday, May 18, 2025          Tokyo Racecourse           11th Race            Post time: 15:40
Total prize money: ¥ 283,100,000 (about US$ 1,804,000 <US$1=¥157>)
4-y-o & up: 56kg (about 123-124 lbs), 1kg allowance for Southern Hemisphere-bred born in 2021
Course Record: 1:30.5          Race Record: 1:30.5 [Normcore (JPN, by Harbinger), 2019]
Safety factor: 18 runners       Going: Good to Firm        Weather: Cloudy

Turnover for the Race alone: ¥ 18,817,286,900       Turnover for the Day: ¥ 28,324,999,400       Attendance: 40,904

Winner= 9 starts: 6 wins & 2 seconds / Added & stakes money: ¥ 133,780,000 / Career earnings: ¥ 588,306,500

* Victoria Mile (G1)

In accordance with the restructuring of JRA racing program for fillies/mares executed in the 2006 season, the Victoria Mile was established to give the older fillies/mares a stage to prove their ability among their own sex, in addition to the Queen Elizabeth II Cup, which had been the only G1 reserved for older fillies/mares. While the Queen Elizabeth is run over 2,200 meters and held in mid-November, the Victoria Mile is held in spring and provides female milers a chance to claim a G1 title without having a tough competition in a mixed field.
The race, however, attracts not only fillies/mares suited to the mile distance but also outstanding runners from the middle-long distance group. Past victors include two-time Horse of the Year winner Vodka (JPN, by Tanino Gimlet; ’09), 2010 Horse of the Year Buena Vista (JPN, by Special Week; ’10), 2010 fillies’ Triple Crown winner Apapane (JPN, by King Kamehameha; ’11) and two-time Horse of the Year victor Almond Eye (JPN, by Lord Kanaloa; ’20). Gran Alegria (JPN, by Deep Impact) who won the 2021 edition went on to defend her Mile Championship (G1, 1,600m) title and was named the Best Sprinter or Miler for the second consecutive season.
The top three finishers will earn automatic starting positions in the French mile G1 Prix du Moulin de Longchamp as well as the Prix Jacques le Marois, while the race also joined the Breeders’ Cup Challenge Series in 2020, enabling its winner to earn an automatic starting position in the Breeders’ Cup Filly & Mare Turf (G1, 2,200m).
Coming off respective graded wins into this year’s edition of the Victoria Mile race were Ascoli Piceno (1351 Turf Sprint [G2, 1,351m, Feb.22]), Shirankedo (Nakayama Himba Stakes [G3, 1,800m, Mar.8]), Queen’s Walk (Kinko Sho [G2, 2,000m, Mar.16]), Wide Latour (Aichi Hai [G3, 1,400m, Mar.23]), Safira (Hanshin Himba Stakes [G2, 1,600m, Apr.12]) and Admire Matsuri (Fukushima Himba Stakes [G3, 1,800m, Apr.20]). The field also included Stellenbosch, victor of 2024 Oka Sho (Japanese 1000 Guineas, G1, 1,600m), Bond Girl who marked five runner-up efforts at graded level, and Argine, winner of the Turquoise Stakes (G3, 1,600m) who came off a second in the Hanshin Himba Stakes.