Fifth favorite Arma Veloce claimed her first grade-race victory in the Hanshin Juvenile Fillies in only her third career start on Sunday, December 8 at Kyoto Racecourse.
Arma Veloce was coming off a runner-up finish against colts, placing second by a nose in the Sapporo Nisai Stakes (Grade 3, 1,800 meters) on August 31. She won her career debut on August 4 at Sapporo, also at 1,800 meters.
Trainer Hiroyuki Uemura claimed his second Japan Racing Association Grade 1 title after this year's Osaka Hai with Bellagio Opera while Mirai Iwata, now in his sixth season as a jockey, celebrated his much-awaited first G1 victory and 12th graded title in the race.
Arma Veloce broke smoothly and chased pacesetter Mistress in mid-division, close behind American-born filly May Day Ready (Frankie Dettori's ride). The Harbinger filly never missed a beat after circling wide into the straight and turned in a terrific turn of speed along the outside route, powering past her rivals to reach contention in the last 100 meters. She then continued to draw away to win by a comfortable 1¼ lengths. (Watch the full race on the JRA's YouTube channel.)
Iwata Reacts to Victory in the 76th Hanshin Juvenile Fillies
"It feels great to be able to stand here as a G1 winner after six years of waiting," Iwata said after the race. "I had a feeling that the filly had a great potential ever since I started riding her, and today, she justified that with great finishing speed."
The 24-year-old jockey added, "I was too occupied in driving her to the finish so I didn't know until I had crossed the wire, but with no horse next to me then, I felt I had done it. The filly is really easy to ride and responsive when asked so this is her strong point."
How the Hanshin Juvenile Fillies Unfolded
Vip Daisy (Hideaki Miyuki), starting from the innermost stall in the 18-horse race, was unhurried and rated off the pace further back than midfield early. She increased speed impressively rounding the fourth corner and angled out, joining Arma Veloce for the stretch run with matching speed as the two runners overtook the leaders passing the 100-meter marker. But the Satono Diamond progeny, who was the eighth favorite, was unable to keep up with the winner thereafter and had to settle for second.
Seventh favorite Teleos La La (Mirco Demuro) raced along the rails in mid-pack, improved position in the last two corners and reached contention entering the straight. Rallying for the lead from the furlong pole (200 meters to go) as the early leaders began to fade and the eventual winner and runner-up closed in strongly on the outside, the Siskin filly was overtaken in the last 100 meters while outdueling second favorite Shonan Xanadu (Kenichi Ikezoe) in a photo finish for third place.
Sourire Mignon (Manami Nagashima) was the fifth-place finisher.
Race favorite Brown Ratchet, guided by two-time Hanshin Juvenile Fillies winner Christophe Lemaire, was a fraction slow out of the gate. As a result, she was a little further back than her usual position in mid-field, had little to show after meeting traffic in the early stretch and placed 16th.
Making History at the Hanshin Juvenile Fillies
In the 76th running of the Hanshin Juvenile Fillies, fourth favorite May Day Ready became the first foreign entrant in the race on Sunday. She broke sharply from stall 17 and, while keeping pace with the leaders up to the last corner, the Tapit filly appeared to have used up much energy after traveling wide throughout and faded soon after the final corner.
"Frankie said she was spinning her wheels trying to get a hold of the turf, so she may have wanted something a little harder. It wasn't the result we wanted of course but we tried," trainer Joseph Lee said. "We'll give her a little break now and then come back and hopefully run as well as she did before."
What was Dettori's assessment of May Day Ready's performance?
"The race was good, I had a good position, but the filly had a long season," the legendary Italian jockey said. "She prefers really fast ground — it was a little bit loose, and the first time [racing] right-handed confused her a little bit. So, the combination of the three things was why she ran no race today. And also, it's the fifth run in four months so she's tired, it was a long way here."
A Look Ahead
The Asahi Futurity Stakes, on Sunday, December 15 at Kyoto Racecourse, is the next G1 race on the JRA's 2024 calendar.
Read the full report, including details on each of the Hanshin Juvenile Fillies entrants, on JRA News.
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Author: JRA News
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