Daughter Of Deep Impact Springs Surprise At Hanshin

Marialite | JRA Photo

All eyes were on Duramente (Jpn) (King Kamehameha {Jpn}) in Japan's final Group 1 of the season, the G1 Takarazuka Kinen at Hanshin. However the race did not go to script for supporters of the hot favourite as although he finished with a strong late run it was not enough to get by the gallant winner Marialite (Jpn) (Deep Impact {Jpn}). It was a second top level victory for the 5-year-old following her win in the G1 Queen Elizabeth II Cup at Kyoto last November and in winning she became the third mare to capture the race. Breaking well from an outside draw, the relatively unconsidered Marialite travelled wide in mid-division and edged her way forward while charting a wide trip. Once entering the homestretch, jockey Masayoshi Ebina made his move in his inimitable style, overtaking the defending champion and eventual fourth placed Lovely Day (Jpn) (King Kamehameha {Jpn}) 100 meters out and continued her strong momentum to grab Kitasan Black (Jpn) (Black Tide {Jpn}) just before the wire while holding off the powerful late charge of Duramente for a neck victory. “She was in her best form of her spring campaign and the somewhat soft going and the draw all worked well for her,” said Masayoshi Ebina. “She responded well to my urgings and ran a perfect race. I think that the patience of the connection to wait for her to mature has led to this success,” added the jockey.

There were worrying scenes immediately after the race when Duramente was dismounted by Mirco Demuro on the track and subsequently vanned away. It appeared the colt took a false step after the finishing line and though he appeared sound, officials and connections obviously preferred to examine Duramente more closely to rule out anything sinister. While not badly injured connections were unwilling to speculate until further tests were carried out on Duramente in the coming days, but it would seem that a G1 Prix de l'Arc de Triomphe bid would be in serious jeopardy. There was no such drama for the winner who was winning for the sixth time and more importantly logging her second Group 1 victory. Since her win over Nuovo Record (Jpn) (Heart's Cry {Jpn}) at Kyoto last November Marialite has maintained a high level of form. She followed that with a close fourth to Gold Actor (Jpn) (Screen Hero {Jpn}) in the G1 Arima Kinen at Nakayama in December before finishing third to the same rival in the G2 Nikkei Sho, also at Nakayama in March. She entered Sunday's contest off a neck defeat to Cryptogram (Jpn) (King Kamehameha {Jpn}) in the G2 Meguro Kinen at Tokyo May 29. As the Takarazuka Kinen is a “Win and You're in” qualifier Marialite gains an automatic berth in the GI Longines Breeders' Cup Turf.  Marialite is the third stakes winner but first G1SW produced by her dam Chrysoprase.

TAKARAZUKA KINEN-G1, ¥291,160,000, Hanshin, 6-26, 3yo/up, 2200mT, 2:12.80, gd.
1–MARIALITE (JPN), 123, m, 5, by Deep Impact (Jpn)
1st Dam: Chrysoprase (Jpn), by El Condor Pasa

2nd Dam: Catherine Parr, by Riverman

3rd Dam: Regal Exception, by Ribot (GB)

O-Carrot Farm; B-Northern Farm; T-Takashi Kubota; J-Masayoshi Ebina; ¥153,612,000. Lifetime: 17-6-2-5. *1/2 to Lia Fail (Jpn) (Zenno Rob Roy {Jpn}) GSW-Jpn $1,135,264; 1/2  to Chrysolite (Jpn) (Gold Allure {Jpn}) SW-Jpn, GSP-Jpn $2,628,957. Werk Nick Rating: A+++ *Triple Plus*. Click for the eNicks report & 5-cross pedigree.

2–Duramente (Jpn), 128, c, 4, King Kamehameha (Jpn)-Admire Groove (Jpn), by Sunday Silence. O-Sunday Racing; B-Northern Farm; ¥61,032,000.

3–Kitasan Black (Jpn), 128, c, 4, by Black Tide (Jpn)-Sugar Heart (Jpn), by Sakura Bakushin-Oh (Jpn). O-Ono Shoji Inc.; B-Yanagawa Farm; ¥38,516,000.

Margins: Neck, Nose, 1.1/4; Odds: 24.10, 0.90, 4.00. Also ran: Lovely Day (Jpn), Staphanos (Jpn), Satono Crown (Jpn), Last impact (Jpn), Satono Noblesse (Jpn), Cheval Grand (Jpn), Hit The Target (Jpn), Curren Mirotic (Jpn), Touching Speech {Jpn}) Yamakutsu Ace (Jpn), One And Only (Jpn), Toho Jackal (Jpn), Ambitious (Jpn), Fame Game (Jpn). Click for the JRA chart and video, for the Racing Post result or the free Equineline.com catalogue-style pedigree.

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