Queens Ring (Jpn) (Manhattan Cafe {Jpn}) won a key prep for the G1 Queen Elizabeth II Cup in the G2 Fuchu Himba S. Oct. 15, and she followed up in the main event on Sunday to earn her first Group 1 score. Fractious in gate three, Queens Ring broke in the air and found herself near the back of the pack heading into the first turn, saving ground on the fence. The bay made up some ground to sit midpack under Mirco Demuro down the backstretch, and was about four lengths off the lead when the field straightened for home. Moving off the fence, Queens Ring was set down for a drive and, under mostly hand urging, hit the lead in the dying strides and got to the wire a neck in front of longshot Sing With Joy (Jpn) (Manhattan Cafe {Jpn}), with last year's dual Classic winner Mikki Queen (Jpn) (Deep Impact {Jpn}) taking third.
Sunday, Kyoto, Japan
QUEEN ELIZABETH II CUP-G1, ¥180,860,000, Kyoto, 11-13, 3yo/up, f/m, 2200mT, 2:12.90, fm.
1–&QUEENS RING (JPN), 123, f, 4, by Manhattan Cafe (Jpn)
1st Dam: Aqua Ring (Jpn), by Anabaa
2nd Dam: Sea Ring (Fr), by Bering (GB)
3rd Dam: Blue River (Fr), by Riverman
O-Chizu Yoshida; B-Shadai Farm; T-Keiji Yoshimura; J-Mirco
Demuro; ¥96,192,000. Lifetime Record: 13-6-2-0. Werk Nick
Rating: C. Click for the eNicks report & 5-cross pedigree.
2–Sing With Joy (Jpn), 123, f, 4, Manhattan Cafe (Jpn)–Sing Like
Bird (Jpn), by Symboli Kris S. O-Shadai Race Horse; B-Shadai
Farm; ¥37,912,000.
3–Mikki Queen (Jpn), 123, f, 4, Deep Impact (Jpn)–Musical Way
(Fr), by Gold Away (Ire). (¥100,000,000 yrl '13 JRHAJUL)
O-Mizuki Noda; B-Northern Farm; ¥23,456,000.
Margins: NK, 1 1/4, 3/4. Odds: 5.10, 60.60, 2.60.
Also Ran: Pear Code (Jpn), Primera Azul (Jpn), Marialite (Jpn), Sundarbans (Jpn) (DH), Touching Speech (Jpn) (DH), Maximum de Paris (Jpn), Asuka Biren (Jpn), Denko Ange (Jpn), Meisho Mambo (Jpn), Hiruno Matera (Jpn), Proletariat (Jpn), Chaleur
(Jpn).
Click for the JRA chart and video or the free Equineline.com catalogue-style pedigree.
The winner of her lone outing as a 2-year-old in 2014, a nine furlong Nakayama maiden, Queens Ring went into last year's G1 Oka Sho (Japanese 1000 Guineas) a perfect three-for-three, including a score in the G2 Hoichi Hai Fillies' Revue, but had to settle for fourth behind Let's Go Donki (Jpn) (King Kamehameha {Jpn}) in the Classic. She dropped back to ninth in the G1 Yushun Himba (Japanese Oaks) six weeks later, and missed the G1 Shuka Sho by a neck when second. A troubled eighth in this race last year, Queens Ring returned to the winner's enclosure on seasonal debut in the G3 Kyoto Himba S. over seven furlongs Feb. 20, but could manage no better than eighth in the May 15 G1 Victoria Mile. Second in a Hanshin allowance over that same mile trip June 19, Queens Ring returned from a summer holiday to take the Fuchu Himba back up to nine furlongs Oct. 15, and appeared to relish every step of the added distance on Sunday.
“She missed her break and I would have liked her to race a little more in front, but since the distance was over 2200 metres, I knew we had time to make up the loss,” said rider Mirco Demuro. “I wanted to take her out a little more for the stretch run, but there was a horse outside of us so I had her go inside. She has a terrific turn of speed and quickened really well.”
Pedigree Notes…
Queens Ring is the first foal out of Aqua Ring, who is herself a half-sister to G1 Poule d'Essai des Pouliches winner Torrestrella (Ire) (Orpen), who has also made a successful start at stud with Group 3 winners Farmah (Speightstown) and Intilaaq (Dynaformer) already to her credit. Two of their other sisters are stakes producers: the stakes-placed Torrealta (GB) (In The Wings {GB}) is responsible for the stakes-placed Seal Bay (Ire) (Hernando {Fr}), who is also a stakes producer; and Summer Sea (GB) (Bahhare), the dam of Spanish Horse of the Year Diego Valor (Fr) (Le Havre {Ire}) and the French stakes-placed La Mouche (GB) (Dubawi {Ire}).
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