After a one-week break in the JRA Grade 1 action, the big autumn races kick in again, beginning with the Queen Elizabeth II Cup at Kyoto Racecourse on Sunday, November 10. It is a race for fillies and mares, 3-year-olds and up, run over 2,200 meters on the outer turf course at Kyoto.
First run in 1976 to commemorate Queen Elizabeth's visit to Japan in 1975, it was originally for 3-year-old fillies and contested over the distance of the Grade 1 Yushun Himba (Japanese Oaks), which is 2,400 meters. When the Grade 1 Shuka Sho was established in 1996 exclusively for 3-year-old fillies, the Grade 1 Queen Elizabeth II Cup became an all-ages race for fillies and mares.
Three years later in 1999, it became an international Grade 1 race with its first foreign runner in 2003. Snow Fairy became the first overseas winner in 2010, following up again in 2011.
There are 19 nominations for this year's race (no foreign horses are among them). Three-year-olds carry 54 kg, and 4-year-olds and up carry 56 kg. The maximum number of runners is capped at 18.
Information on the Queen Elizabeth II Cup
In 2023, Brede Weg, a 3-year-old daughter of Lord Kanaloa, became just the second favorite to win the race in the last 10 years. Four-year-old fillies dominated in that same period, with seven wins.
The record time for the Queen Elizabeth II Cup was set in 2001 by To the Victory, with a winning time of 2 minutes, 11.2 seconds.
For Sunday's race, the winner's check is ¥130 million JPY (around $850,000 USD).
The 49th running of the Queen Elizabeth II Cup will be Race 11 on the Sunday card at Kyoto Racecourse, with a post time of 3:40 PM.
Here's a look at some of the fillies and mares likely to start in the race.
A New Challenge for Regaleira
Regaleira, a 3-year-old filly, has taken an unusual career path so far, having run in the first two races of the colts' Triple Crown, she now finds herself taking on older horses for the first time in this Sunday's race. Never a particularly fast starter, she saves her best for last and has secured the fastest final three-furlong times in all her races.
Assistant trainer Yu Ota commented, "She showed her characteristic start last time, although she jumped more smoothly, and then went on to finish strongly in her usual way. Since returning to the stable, she's been moving well in training, running in a relaxed way early on, before finishing off her work with a good turn of foot."
Jockey Christophe Lemaire once again rides for the trainer of Regaleira, Tetsuya Kimura.
Wholeness Pursuing 5th Career Victory
Appearing to still be improving, Wholeness, an Irish-bred filly by Lope de Vega, is coming off a win in a Listed Race (Niigata Himba Stakes) over 2,200 meters in October. She has always been in the first three in six career starts and now has four wins to her name.
"The jockey last time managed to ride her in a relaxed way, and the horse came out of the race without any problems," assistant trainer Nobuyuki Tashiro said. "Even though she has only won on left-handed tracks, she has run well racing right-handed, too. We've taken care of her, and she's developing nicely and has a lot more muscle now."
The 4-year-old runs in the Godolphin colors and looks set to be ridden by Ryusei Sakai.
Stunning Rose Striving to Return to Winning Form
Since winning the Shuka Sho and giving Sakai his first top-level win in 2022, the King Kamehameha-sired 5-year-old mare hasn't always been able to show her best. Stunning Rose's two most recent runs, however, have shown that she might be finding some of her old sparkle. And although she finished sixth in the Grade 3 Hokkaido Shimbun Hai Queen Stakes at Sapporo in July, she wasn't far off the winner.
Trainer Tomokazu Takano commented, "I thought she ran well last time in a race where she had to take in four corners. There was a 6-kg difference in the weight she had to carry compared to the winner. This race became her target after that, and she's in good shape on her return to the stable."
Visiting jockey Cristian Demuro is in great form and takes the ride on Stunning Rose.
Read the rest of this article about the Queen Elizabeth II Cup and the Japanese horses in contention on JRA News.
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Author: JRA News
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