G1 Hanshin Juvenile Fillies

Group winner Ascoli Piceno (Jpn) (Daiwa Major {Jpn}) maintained her unbeaten record with a narrow score in the ¥125,160,000 G1 Hanshin Juvenile Fillies on Sunday. She also set a new stakes record of 1:32.60 for the 1600 metres in the 18-horse affair. The Yoichi Kuroiwa trainee follows in the wake of such horses as dual Japanese Horse of the Year Vodka (Jpn) (Tanino Gimlet {Jpn}) who won this in 2006, fellow Horse of the Year Buena Vista (Jpn) (Special Week {Jpn}) (2008 edition), and 2022 scorer Liberty Island (Jpn) (Duramente...

A fully subscribed field of 18 lines up for Sunday's G1 Hanshin Juvenile Fillies over 1600 metres, and the unbeaten Ascoli Piceno (Jpn) (Daiwa Major {Jpn}) carries the burden of favouritism for trainer Yoichi Kuroiwa in the ¥125,160,000 contest. Normally based at the Miho Training Centre, her trainer is taking every precaution to give his Sunday Racing-owned filly an edge and shipped the G3 Niigata Nisai S. victress to Ritto in the middle of November to reduce her stress from travel. "Thanks to moving her early, her appetite has stabilized...

An impeccably credentialed bunch of 18 juvenile fillies line up in the 1600-metre ¥125,200,000 G1 Hanshin Juvenile Fillies on Sunday, and one of the prospective favourites is Sunday Racing's Umbrail (Jpn) (Lord Kanaloa {Jpn}). Undefeated in a pair of 1400-metre starts at Tokyo and Hanshin in June and October, the daughter of listed-placed L'Archetto (Jpn) (Falbrav {Ire}) is a full-sister to G1 Mile Championship hero Stelvio (Jpn) (Lord Kanaloa {Jpn}), one of three black-type horses for their dam. "She has had two very strong races and we are having to...

Circle of Life (Jpn) (Epiphaneia {Jpn}) became the third Group 1 winner for her sire in the G1 Hanshin Juvenile Fillies at Hanshin on Sunday. A third-generation homebred for Masatake Iida of Chiyoda Farm, the bay was also the race's 4-1 number three pick and likely sewed up 2021 Japanese Champion Juvenile Filly honours. Near the tail of the field as Dark Page (Jpn) (Dark Angel {Ire}) zipped through a solid half-mile in :46.40, she began to make up ground with 1000 metres remaining. Camped six deep as the field...

In the hunt for a first Group 1 badge, a robust field of juveniles line up for the 73rd running of the G1 Hanshin Juvenile Fillies Sunday. The field includes a quartet of group scorers, headed by Water Navillera (Jpn) (Silver State), undefeated in three starts at three different racecourses, including her latest win in the Nov. 6 G3 Kyoto Sho Fantasy S. It was the first graded victory by the progeny of Silver State, whose short but successful career (four wins from five starts) ended early due to tendonitis....

White wonder Sodashi (Jpn) (Kurofune) became the first of her colour to score at the highest level in Japan with a narrow win in the G1 Hanshin Juvenile Fillies on Sunday. Deep Impact (Jpn)'s Satono Reinas (Jpn) was only a nose behind in third with Uberleben (Jpn) (Gold Ship {Jpn}) a neck back in third. The crowd's pick at 2-1, the undefeated filly balked a bit prior to entering the stalls, but soon settled in fifth as Yoka Yoka (Jpn) (Squirtle Squirt) cut out moderate fractions of :23.20 and :46.80,...

Undefeated Sodashi (Jpn) (Kurofune) will try to extend her winning streak in Sunday's G1 Hanshin Juvenile Fillies and in the process, the likely favorite will also try to become the white-colored horse to win a Group 1 race in Japan. "The white really stands out on grass," said trainer Naosuke Sugai. "I think she's turning into a real star." The flashy filly triumphed in her career debut at Hakodate in July before scoring over 1,800-meters in the G3 Sapporo Nisai S. Sept. 5. In her latest start, she took the...

Defending JRA juvenile champion filly Resistencia (Jpn) (Daiwa Major {Jpn}) has done very little wrong in her short career and connections hope to add a second Group 1 notch to her belt in Sunday's G1 Oka Sho at Hanshin. A first out winner at Kyoto last October, the chestnut added a win in the G2 Kyoto Sho Fantasy S. Nov. 2 before capping off her perfect season with a five-length tally in the G1 Hanshin Juvenile Fillies Dec. 8. Given some time off following that championship defining effort, the Takeshi...