Top-level thoroughbred racing action in Japan continues on Sunday, October 19, with the 30th running of the Shuka Sho. The Grade 1 event over 2,000 meters on turf at Kyoto Racecourse wraps up the Triple Crown for 3-year-old fillies.
Twenty-two fillies registered with the Japan Racing Association have been nominated for the race. And with four of them tied for earnings (In Vogue, Canela Fina, Glory Link and Joyful News), a lottery drawing will determine the final lineup and gate positions. The final 18 competitors will vie for the winner's prize of ¥110 million JPY (roughly $730,000 USD) or a share of the total purse of nearly ¥240 million (about $1.6 million).
As in 2024, the first two events in the Fillies' Triple Crown ― the 1,600-meter Oka Sho (Japanese 1000 Guineas) and the 2,400-meter Yushun Himba (Japanese Oaks) ― were claimed this year by different horses. Embroidery won the Oka Sho on April 13 at Hanshin, and Kamunyak was victorious in the Japanese Oaks on May 25 at Tokyo.
Since the race's inauguration in 1995, both winners of the first two filly Classics have met 21 times in the autumn finale. The Oka Sho winner has won the Shuka Sho twice as many times as the Oaks champion, for a score of 14-7.
Information on the Shuka Sho
Kyoto's 2,000-meter inner A course is the venue for the Shuka Sho. The race starts on an upward slope before the grandstand and levels out down the backstretch before the field picks up speed as the track dips into the straight. Then the ground rises sharply again 200 meters before the finish line. Over the race's history, the outer gates have proven relatively advantageous.
All runners will carry 55 kg. Post time for the Shuka Sho is 3:40 PM, and the Shuka Sho is the 11th race on Kyoto's card of 12.
Here's a look at the expected popular picks:
Kamunyak Returns to the Spotlight
On a three-race graded stakes winning streak, Kamunyak returned in the fall from her Oaks win to ace the Grade 2 Kansai Television Co Ltd Sho Rose Stakes. Despite interference as she turned into the straight, the daughter of Black Tide rallied and won the 1,800-meter event at Hanshin by a margin of a length and a half. It was a magnificent display of guts and talent, a performance sure to stand her well on Sunday.
Trainer Yasuo Tomomichi said his prize filly is also much calmer than before, and thinks the extra 200 meters this time will be a plus. Her troubles with taking the bit are also said to have greatly lessened.
Yuga Kawada, who rode in the Rose Stakes and three of her other six starts, is expected up on Sunday.
Embroidery Looks to Regain Winning Form
The Admire Mars-sired Embroidery slid into the spring Oka Sho winner's circle, making it three victories in a row. Only one of her previous five finishes was out of the top 3, and none off the board. The 2,400-meter Oaks, however, proved difficult as she faced her first race over a distance longer than a mile. She finished in ninth place and will return to the track without a prep race for the Shuka Sho.
Her dam Rottenmeier, however, did win the open-class Wasurenagusa Sho in 2016 over 2,000 meters, indicating that Embroidery may be able to handle the distance.
According to trainer Kazutomo Mori, the filly received regular work at the training farm before returning to Miho, Ibaraki Prefecture. She shipped west last week and has been training in Ritto, Shiga Prefecture, since then. Her earlier hoof problems are said to have lessened, but there are concerns about whether she'll be able to settle after not having raced for nearly five months.
Reassuring is the prospect of Christophe Lemaire as her expected partner. Lemaire won the race in 2024. And, having won the race in 2017 and 2018, the Frenchman could clinch back-to-back Shuka Sho victories for the second time.
Sena Style Chasing More Success
The Sottsass-sired Sena Style, with a pair of wins in three starts, is fresh off her third-place finish in the Rose Stakes in mid-September. Following her late debut at Chukyo in January 2025, she suffered a fracture. But she made a triumphant return in early August at Chukyo, then jumped to the Grade 2 Rose Stakes with ease.
Sena Style is a classy filly, whose dam Nuovo Record posted a 3-1-2 in the 2014 Fillies' Triple Crown and also finished second in the 2,000-meter Hong Kong Cup the following year. She showed impressive mental fortitude in the 1,800-meter Rose Stakes at Hanshin, which was her first time racing to the right.
Trainer Shogo Yasuda said, "[Sena Style] has filled out more than I had thought she would, which is a pleasant surprise. Even with the time off due to a fracture, she has grown well."
Veteran jockey Yasunari Iwata, who rode her in the Rose Stakes, is expected up on Sunday.
Read the rest of this article about the Shuka Sho and the Japanese horses in contention on JRA News.
RELATED:
- Sprinters Stakes: Win Carnelian Edges June Blair in Thrilling Finish
- World All-Star Jockeys: German Thore Hammer Hansen Claims Top Prize
- Cervinia Dominates in the 29th Running of the Shuka Sho
Author: JRA News
You must be logged in to post a comment Login