Oka Sho (Japanese 1000 Guineas) (G1) - Preview

Star Anise

Alankar

Dream Core

Zippy Tune

Garavogue

Lily Joie

Black Chalice

Festival Hill

Namura Cosmos

Sweet Happiness

Dear Diamond

Japan’s racing season for the Classics is here again, and Hanshin Racecourse is first up with the 86th running of the Oka Sho (Japanese 1,000 Guineas), the first leg of the filly’s Triple Crown on Sunday, April 12. The event kicks off the once-in-a-lifetime event for three-year-old fillies, with 19 nominees for 18 berths in the 1,600-meter turf event. The purse is just shy of JPY304 million and the winner will take home 140 million of that.

The Oka Sho is the shortest of the three races that make up Japan’s Triple Crown for fillies. It is followed on May 24 this year by the Yushun Himba (Japanese Oaks), which is the longest of the three races run over 2,400 meters at Tokyo Racecourse. The third and final race is the 2,000-meter Shuka Sho, to be held on Oct. 18 at Kyoto.

Eighteen of the nominated fillies have secured a berth either through their earnings or having finished in the top spots in any of three trials - the March 1 Tulip Sho at Hanshin, the Fillies Revue on March 7, also at Hanshin, or the Anemone Stakes on March 14 at Nakayama.

Expected top picks for the Oka Sho this year will likely revolve around three fillies, none of whom competed in the afore-mentioned trials. They are Star Anise, winner of the Grade 1 Hanshin Juvenile Fillies, Alankar, the fifth-place finisher in the same race, and Grade 3 Queen Cup winner Dream Core.

The past 10 runnings of the Oka Sho have seen the Top 5 picks of the day consistently finish in the Top 3. And the past five years have seen the Oka Sho winner coming from a first or second-place finish in either the Grade 1 Hanshin Juvenile Fillies(Star Anise) or the Grade 3 Queen Cup (Dream Core and Zippy Tune) immediately prior to the Oka Sho.

The Oka Sho is held on the outer Hanshin course and starts in the backstretch. There is about 450 meters to the first turn and a downhill slope into the homestretch, which extends about 470 meters to the finish. The track rises shortly past the final furlong pole and flattens over the remaining 80 meters. The pace is often slow in the Oka Sho and inside gates are not thought to be advantageous. However, those fillies racing close to the pace tend to do well.

All runners will carry 55kg. The Oka Sho is the 11th race on Hanshin’s Sunday card of 12. Post time is 15:40 locally.

Here’s a look at some of the expected popular picks.

Dream Core: Sired by Kizuna, Dream Core is out of Normcore, who landed two G1s in her career - the 2019 Victoria Mile and the 2020 Hong Kong Cup. Dream Core has yet to figure out of the Top 3 in her four career starts. She is just off a win of the Grade 3 Queen Cup over 1,600 meters at Tokyo, where she displayed not only a blistering turn of foot but also a keen competitiveness, and is looking to scoop her third straight win. However, all three of her wins have been at the left-handed Tokyo Racecourse. Her third-place finish at Nakayama was her only trip to the right. Based at the Miho stable of Kiyoshi Hagiwara (whose last G1 win was the 2021 Yasuda Kinen), Dream Core has shipped west early to train closer to the race venue. Her strength lies in her versatility. Being able to maintain a high speed while keeping something in reserve should stand her well in the Oka Sho, a race often decided by the fastest late speed. If she wins, Dream Core will extend an Oka Sho winning streak by Miho-based fillies to three.

Star Anise: After notching her first win on her second time out, the Drefong-sired Star Anise posted two wins and a second as she leapt from her maiden over six furlongs to a Grade 3 (the Chukyo Nisai Stakes) a furlong longer, then went on to display her versatility by winning the Grade 1 Hanshin Juvenile Fillies over a mile at Hanshin. She topped runner-up Garavogue by a length and a quarter, and tied the record set by Ascoli Piceno two years earlier. The G1 victory won Star Anise JRA’s title of Best 2-Year-Old Filly for 2025. The big chestnut filly goes to the Oka Sho gate without a prep, a route that took Sodashi in 2020 and Liberty Island in 2022 to the Oka Sho winner’s circle. Star Anise is trained at Ritto by Tomokazu Takano, who has 11 G1 wins, but none of them in the Classics. She races under the colors of Northern Farm’s Katsumi Yoshida, who has four fillies nominated for this race. On April 1, Star Anise worked up the hill course under her regular rider Kohei Matsuyama (won this race aboard Daring Tact in 2020). Star Anise covered the heavy ground in 54.2 seconds over four furlongs, and looked well filled out and very much on her toes.

Alankar: The Ritto-based, Epiphaneia-sired Alankar finished fifth in the Hanshin Juvenile Fillies, the third start of her career. She followed that up with a third place in the Grade 2 Tulip Sho, landing her a spot here. Her last three starts have all been over the Hanshin mile, where she has posted 1-5-3. In the Tulip Sho, Alankar raced slightly rear of midfield under Yutaka Take, finished only two necks off the winner and turned in the fastest final three-furlong time. Looking fine in trackwork, Alankar is expected to be paired once again with Take. Her dam Sinhalite was runner-up by a nose in the 2016 Oka Sho, followed by the win in the Japanese Oaks after that.

Lily Joie: This filly is on a three-race winning streak from her debut, but will be racing for her first time over 1,600 meters. Her previous races were 100-200 meters shorter and her favored front-running style may not stand her well here. Lily Joie is one of two fillies (along with Black Chalice) fielded by Koshiro Take, who narrowly missed what would have been his first Oka Sho win when Water Navillera finished in second by a nose in 2022. Though it will be a big leap up in class for Lily Joie, a daughter of Silver State, as she has yet to compete in a graded stakes event, she blew away the field in her most recent race, the Jan. 17 listed Kobai Stakes, winning by four lengths. She also has a mean turn of foot and has shown she doesn’t need to go to the front. She has bested colts too, including Asahi Futurity Stakes runner-up Diamond Knot two starts ago in the open-class Momiji Stakes over 1,400 meters at Kyoto.

Festival Hill: This daughter of Saturnalia had aced her debut over the Hanshin mile, then ran third in the Grade 3 Niigata Nisai Stakes and followed that up with a win of the Grade 3 Fantasy Stakes over 1,400 meters at Kyoto. Aimed for the Hanshin Juvenile Fillies, she suffered a fracture and was withdrawn. This will be her first race in five and a half months. Though she still wasn’t looking back up to speed in morning work last week, further improvement is expected by Sunday. Out of Museum Hill, Festival Hill is a half sister to Museum Mile, who currently has two wins and two seconds in G1 competition.

Namura Cosmos: Debuting in mid September of last year, this Danon Premium filly already has six starts behind her, the two most recent over a mile and the most recent the Tulip Sho at Hanshin, where her second place won her a ticket here. With the exception of her debut, Namura Cosmos has finished in first or second place. She has displayed keen racing sense, versatility and guts. In the Tulip Sho, she was able to keep something in reserve even though she raced without cover and was able to finish but a neck behind the winner Taisei Vogue (Juvenile Fillies third-place finisher) and a neck ahead of Alankar.

Sweet Happiness - Fourth in the Juvenile Fillies only 0.3 seconds off the top, in her most recent start, Sweet Happiness captured the Elfin Stakes, a listed race over the Kyoto 1,600. Her third dam, Phalaenopsis, won the Elfin Stakes in 1998 and went on to capture the Oka Sho.

A few others to note are:

Dear Diamond struggled over the torn-up Kyoto track in the Grade 3 Shinzan Kinen at year begin, but gave a smart performance next out in mid March to win the Anemone Stakes over 1,600 meters atNakayama. It is her first time at Hanshin but it’s also the first week of the meeting for the B course and the going should be easier.
Garavogue has talent, as her second place in the Juvenile Fillies demonstrates. However, immaturity was cited in the Queen Cup, which saw her lugging in down the straight and relegating her to a ninth-place finish. With newfound maturity, she could turn the tables.
Black Chalice aced her debut, then posted a second and a fouth in Grade 3 company before notching her first graded race, the Grade 3 Fairy Stakes, which was her longest trip thus far and first time over 1,600 meters. She has packed on 30kg since her June debut and could surprise.