Japan Horse Racing Tips-Umanity.jp|MILE CHAMPIONSHIP(G1) is held this weekend

Following on from last Sunday’s Queen Elizabeth II Cup, the second leg of the Japan Autumn International Series of races will take place on Sunday, Nov. 17, at Kyoto Racecourse, namely the Grade 1 Mile Championship. Seventeen horses have been nominated for the race, and a quick glance through the list reveals what a star-studded race it is going to be.

The Mile Championship is for 3-year-olds and up, and is run over the outer turf course at Kyoto, with a fairly flat run for home of about 400 meters from the final corner. This year will be the 36th running of the race, having been established in 1984, and it became an international race in 1998. This year’s winner’s check is JPY110 million, with other prize or incentive money being paid down to 10th place. Danon Shark holds the record time for the race, when he won it in 1 minute, 31.5 seconds in 2014. Winning favorites have been in short supply over the last 10 years, with just one hitting the line first, that being the 8-year-old Company in 2009. Third, fourth or fifth favorites, however, have scored a total of six times during that same period. In the last two years, 3-year-olds have shown their superiority by winning.

Lead-up races to this year’s Mile Championship have included the Grade 2 Mainichi Broadcast Swan Stakes over 1,400 meters at Kyoto, Grade 3 Fuji Stakes over a mile at Tokyo, and Grade 2 Mainichi Okan over 1,800 meters, also at Tokyo. All these races were run in October. Another feature of the big race this week will be the number of foreign jockeys booked to take rides, as the number of top-level races around the world comes thick and fast at this time of year.

The Grade 1 Mile Championship will be Race 11 on this Sunday’s card at Kyoto, with a post time of 15:40 local time. Final declarations and the barrier draw will be available later in the week. Here’s a look at some of the runners expected to be in the lineup:

Danon Premium: The 4-year-old colt by Deep Impact bounced back last time when finishing second behind Almond Eye in the Tenno Sho (Autumn). Despite that three-length loss, it was encouraging to see the horse do well, and among his six career wins, three have come over a mile. Assistant trainer Teruhiko Saruhashi said, “The winner last time is a very strong horse, so it was an impressive performance in what was a tough race. Only at the end did he not quite have enough left, and he was coming back from a layoff. There’s still room for improvement.”

Diatonic: One of a few possible runners for Silk Racing Co. Ltd., Diatonic has won four out of his last five races, and he’s coming off a win in the Grade 2 Mainichi Broadcast Swan Stakes at Kyoto last month. Jockey Christophe Soumillon rode him that day and has been booked again for the ride in the Mile Championship. Trained by leading trainer Takayuki Yasuda, the 4-year-old by Lord Kanaloa looks a good prospect. “Even though I’ve had expectations for him, and the ability of the jockey in his last race helped, I was a little surprised when he won his first Grade 2 last time. He did everything right and it was a good win,” the trainer said recently.

Danon Kingly: This year’s Tokyo Yushun (Japanese Derby) second has won four times from six career starts, and has never finished outside of the first three. The colt by Deep Impact is coming off a win in the Grade 2 Mainichi Okan over 1,800 meters at Tokyo. Trainer Kiyoshi Hagiwara said, “Compared to how he was for the Derby, I think last time he wasn’t at his best, but I could evaluate him highly after he won the race. He’s since been to the farm where he’s trained and came back to the stable on Oct. 30.”

Indy Champ: This year’s Grade 1 Yasuda Kinen winner got back into the swing of things last time when he finished third in the Mainichi Okan at Tokyo in October. The Stay Gold colt has pleased his trainer, Hidetaka Otonashi, who recently said, “When he ran last time, he might have been a little heavy, as we allowed for some possible weight loss in transporting him to the track. That and the race distance of 1,800 meters were things to consider, but he managed to run a good race, keeping well up with the pace and giving it his best.”

Al Ain: This year’s Grade 1 Osaka Hai winner might have found things tough in the recent Tenno Sho (Autumn), where he was unable to post a good result, but he could easily bounce back from that defeat and put in a run similar to what he did in last year’s Mile Championship, when he finished third. His trainer, Yasutoshi Ikee, is also not worried by his recent loss. “The first two home in the Tenno Sho (Autumn) were very strong, as well as it being a strong field generally. It was the first race back for the horse and he drew the widest gate, so these things went against him.” Al Ain looks set to be ridden by Ryan Moore on Sunday.

Mozu Ascot: The 5-year-old American bred by Frankel is trained by Yoshito Yahagi, and is looking to recapture some of his old sparkle after finishing second in his last race, the Grade 2 Mainichi Broadcast Swan Stakes. He won the Yasuda Kinen in 2018, but was the beaten favorite in last year’s Mile Championship. Assistant trainer Shigeki Miyauchi said, “He was second last year as well in the Swan Stakes, and the 1,400 meters is probably a bit sharp for him. Taking this into account, the mile trip should suit him better.”

Leyenda: Hailing from the all-powerful stable of trainer Kazuo Fujisawa, the 4-year-old colt by King Kamehameha has managed to win or finish second six times from his 10-race career, and finished second in his latest race, the Grade 3 Fuji Stakes in October. “He showed what he can do last time in the Fuji Stakes, almost matching strides with the winner before going down by half a length. He’s been at the stable training as usual since,” said assistant trainer Daisuke Tsumagari. Jockey Christophe Lemaire looks likely to team up with the trainer for another big race.

Primo Scene: A mile is arguably the 4-year-old filly’s best distance, and after a disappointing run last time when favorite in the Grade 2 Ireland Trophy Fuchu Himba Stakes over 1,800 meters at Tokyo, she’s looking to get back on track here. Assistant trainer Yu Ota said, “She raced well throughout her last race after jumping from the gates a little slowly, but in the home straight she didn’t run on, and I didn’t think that was her true effort. It possibly had something to do with the race having to be run on a different day.” The winning jockey in last year’s Mile Championship, William Buick, will most likely take the ride.
My Style: A horse that usually goes over a mile, this will be his first Grade 1 since 2017, but trainer Mitsugu Kon thinks that things might just be coming right for the 5-year-old. “He managed to win at Hakodate recently, and since four starts ago, I’ve thought it’s best to run him over a mile. In his last two races he’s run a lot better and concentrated more with blinkers on,” the trainer said.

Lucky Lilac bounced back from a long struggle since her first G1 victory as a two-year-old in the Hanshin Juvenile Fillies (G1, 1,600m), turning in a strong performance in the Queen Elizabeth II Cup. The 2017 Best Two-Year-Old Filly was winless during her three-year-old season, while finishing second in the Oka Sho (Japanese 1000 Guineas, G1, 1,600m), third in the Yushun Himba (Japanese Oaks, G1, 2,400m) and then ninth in the Shuka Sho (G1, 2,000m). She was fourth this year in the Victoria Mile (G1, 1,600m) and had come off a third-place finish in the prep Fuchu Himba Stakes (G2, 1,800m). Trainer Mikio Matsunaga, who was winning jockey with Phalaenopsis to victory in the 2000 Queen Elizabeth II Cup, landed his fourth career G1 title including one G1 title over obstacles and the first since with Lucky Lilac in the 2017 Hanshin Juvenile Fillies. Jockey Christophe Soumillon, who is riding under a short term license from October 19, landed his first JRA-G1 title in five years since the 2014 Japan Cup with Epiphaneia and third overall—his first was in 2010 in the Tenno Sho (Autumn, Buena Vista).

Lucky Lilac broke sharply from stall No.2 but allowed the early leaders pass and settled along the rails in mid-pack in sixth or seventh position. As the field spread rounding the last corner, Christophe Soumillon kept the filly straight in the inside and skillfully coaxed her to spring forward into the stretch, pinned race favorite Loves Only You at the furlong pole and then Crocosmia at the 100-meter marker after which she continued to draw away to a 1-1/4-length victory.

“I was very confident when I saw how good she was in training but today she was even better. She was really concentrating and I saw she was reacting very fast. In the race, I would have preferred to have her another position closer, the pace was not very fast so I thought it would be a little bit hard to make up ground, but finally I took the option to stay in the inside and she really quickened well and at the 200-meter marker when I saw the gap was still open I was confident that I had won,” commented winning jockey Christophe Soumillon after the race.

Crocosmia broke smoothly and was allowed to dictate a moderate pace without pressure as she opened the margin to two to three lengths for most of the trip. The Stay Gold mare made most of the early advantage and continued to maintain her lead but was unable to keep up with the increasing speed of the winner while holding off the rest for second place.

Race favorite Loves Only You secured a forward position with good speed coming out of gate 11 and tracked the leader in second with the rest of the field keeping close watch of the favorite and trailing another length behind. As the field closed in and entered the stretch, the Deep Impact filly was slow coming into gear as the winner overtook her inside the furlong pole but found her best strides to close in on Crocosmia for third.

Other Horses:
4th: (12) Centelleo—advanced to 3rd in backstretch, ran gamely but failed to threaten top 3 finishers
5th: (8) Chrono Genesis—took economic trip 5th in front of eventual winner, lacked needed kick
6th: (17) Salacia—advanced to 4th from wide draw, found little room at early stretch, accelerated in last 200m
7th: (16) Scarlet Color—ran in 5-6th, willingly until 200m marker, weakened thereafter
8th: (9) Armeria Bloom—settled in 11th behind winner, quickened but belatedly inside 200m pole
9th: (13) Satono Garnet—traveled in 9th, best strides late while timed 2nd fastest over last 3 furlongs
10th: (10) Frontier Queen—sat in 3rd, ran gamely until 200m pole, outrun thereafter
11th: (4) Uranus Charm—positioned in 15th early, gradually advanced, showed belated charge
12th: (14) Gorgeous Lunch—was off slow, ran 3-wide 2nd from rear, passed tired rivals at stretch
13th: (7) Reiho Romance—raced around 14th, unable to reach contention
14th: (18) Red Landini—traveled 3-wide in 12th, even paced at stretch
15th: (3) Shadow Diva—saved ground in 13th, showed little after turning final corner
16th: (5) Pont des Arts—hugged rails around 10th, never fired at stretch
17th: (15) Miss Mamma Mia—trailed in rear, no factor throughout
18th: (1) Bright Moon—settled 3rd from rear along rails, faded after final corner

The Japan Racing Association (JRA) announced that a short-term riding jockey’s license has been issued to the following jockey:

Oisin MURPHY
License term: Nov. 9 thru Dec. 31, 2019
Past Licenses (since 2017):
-Dec. 15 thru Dec. 29, 2018
-Jan. 1 thru Jan. 28, 2019
Overall record (JRA races): 25 wins/126 rides (1 graded race)
Sponsor trainer: Sakae Kunieda (JRA Miho Training Center)
Contract owner: Satomi Horse Company Co. Ltd.

It was filly Almond Eye that captured the top-level prize at Tokyo on Oct. 27, and this week again the girls are sure to take home the money. Grade 1 action moves to Kyoto for the 44th running of the all-female Queen Elizabeth II Cup on Sunday, Nov. 10.

The QE2 is a 2,200-meter Grade 1 turf event at the right-handed Kyoto Racecourse open to fillies and mares 3 years old and up. It’s a perennial favorite that carries a JPY105 million winner’s prize and a total purse of nearly JPY227 million.

Originally for 3-year-old fillies only, the race was opened to older female horses from 1996 and became an international race three years later. Though no foreign-based entrants have been nominated this year, they have shone bright in the past, the brightest being Snow Fairy from England, who won the race in 2010 and came back in 2011 to win it again.

Nineteen fillies and mares ranging in age from 3 to 6 have been nominated this year and 18 will go to the gate Sunday. Current headliners in the lineup are two youngsters, the unbeaten Grade 1 Japanese Oaks champion Loves Only You, who is gunning to become only the second 3-year-old filly to capture the race unbeaten, and Chrono Genesis, just off a win of the Grade 1 Shuka Sho. They will see how they measure up to the older, more experienced runners, including veterans of the race back again for their second or even third time.

It’s not easy finding the winner in the QE2, at least not for those who like to back the favorite. In the past 23 runnings since the race was opened to older horses, only four favorites have made it to the winner’s circle. Nonetheless, the favorite has figured in the top three finishers for seven of the past 10 runnings and Grade 1 winners have won for the last five years straight.

Older fillies and mares will carry 56kg, 3-year-olds run under 54kg. The Queen Elizabeth II Cup is the 11th race on Kyoto’s Sunday card of 12 races. Post time is 15:40 local time. Here are some of the expected top choices.

Chrono Genesis: The 3-year-old daughter of Bago returned last out on Oct. 13 from her third-place finish in the Japanese Oaks and scooped her first Grade 1 victory (after three previous bids) with a splendid run in the 2,000-meter Shuka Sho at Kyoto. Yet to figure out of the top three finishers in her seven starts thus far, the Shuka Sho was her longest win thus far, but she lost the Yushun Himba (Japanese Oaks) by only 0.4 seconds to Loves Only You and an extra furlong is considered well within her reach. She’ll meet older horses for the first time and be up against rival Loves Only You, who sat out the Shuka Sho, but Chrono Genesis is a different horse from the spring. She was much calmer in the Shuka Sho, and no energy was wasted making a fuss in the preliminaries. “She matured over the summer and, because of that, we were able to give her a lot of work, which was a big factor in her win of the Shuka Sho,” Ritto-based trainer Takashi Saito said. “She’s kept her condition and I think with the race being an all-female one, she should be able to hold her own against the older horses.”

Loves Only You: Debuting late last year, the Deep Impact-sired Loves Only You swept the first three races of her career and leapt from the lower ranks to the Grade 1 level on her fourth start to capture the Japanese Oaks (2,400m, Tokyo) on May 19. She was the first horse to win the Classic with so few prior starts. Hoof trouble, however, reared its head while she was at the farm and forced her to sit out the Shuka Sho, which Yoshito Yahagi (trainer of last year’s QE2 winner Lys Gracieux) had planned as her prep. Work has been ample, as her now-stable appetite has given her the energy to take on an increased workload. Mirco Demuro gave her a hard workout over seven furlongs on Oct. 30 and found her improved but still “a bit heavy,” but moving well. “Her wind is good and with her work this week she should be ready,” assistant trainer Shigeki Miyauchi said.

Lucky Lilac: Four-year-old Lucky Lilac, who takes after her sire Orfevre in both color and bulk, weighed in for her QE2 prep Oct. 14 at a hefty 522kg. She finished nearly two lengths off the winner in third place in that race, the Fuchu Himba Stakes (G2, 1,800m, Tokyo), a promising result considering it was her first race in five months. Lucky Lilac swept her three starts as a 2-year-old (all over the mile), including the Grade 1 Hanshin Juvenile Fillies, but has failed to make the winner’s circle since early 2018. Raced primarily in the range of 1,600-1,800 meters, the extra distance may be what she is looking for. The 2,200 meters is certainly within her reach considering her pedigree and as indicated by her third-place finish in the Oaks last year. Her time in work Oct. 30 was excellent, 78.3 seconds over six furlongs. “Her movement was good and I expect that to sharpen her up more than adequately,” trainer Mikio Matsunaga said.

Scarlet Color: A 4-year-old filly by Victoire Pisa, Scarlet Color came from far off the rear and claimed the Fuchu Himba Stakes (1,800m, G2) last out for her third win in 15 career starts. It was her fourth finish in the top three in four starts straight this year, three of them at the graded-stakes level. She has visibly put on muscle and is up a good 30kg since last autumn. Her last two starts saw her clock 33.2 seconds and 33.4 seconds over the final three furlongs, late speed that could serve her well in the long stretch of the Kyoto outer 2,200 meters. Her longest distance to date has only been 2,000 meters, with a best third-place finish in the Grade 3 Mermaid Stakes at Hanshin in June. Distance will be a concern but trainer Ryo Takahashi, hoping for his first big win, said, “With the late speed she’s been showing recently, I’m looking forward to it.”

Crocosmia: A close second here both last year and the year before, the 6-year-old Crocosmia returns for her third bid and looking for that little bit more that will get her over the line a winner. Since her third in the Victoria Mile this spring, this daughter of Stay Gold has scored a seventh in the Sapporo Kinen (G2, 2,000m) and a fifth last out in the Fuchu Himba Stakes, which was the same as her result in the prep race last year. Often the pacesetter in her races through last year, Crocosmia has raced from a bit further back in her five starts this year but is still considered well in the running for the money.

Among other horses of interest is Uranus Charm, with a 4th, 2nd, 4th, 7th from her last four starts, all graded stakes. It will be her first Grade 1 but she is experienced at longer distance and her bid in the Kyoto Daishoten up against older male horses proved her to be competitive. Based at Miho Training Center, she has been stabled at Ritto in preparation for this race. Another interesting prospect is Frontier Queen, seventh here last year after finishing third in the Fuchu Himba Stakes. Had she gotten a clear stretch run in the QE2 last year, she’d likely have done better. This year the same rotation brought her a second in the Fuchu Himba Stakes and improvement is expected.