By Heather Anderson
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 and she has maintained her condition,” said Kuroiwa of his charge, who defeated colts in that 1600-metre Group 3. “The jockey [Hiroshi Kitamura] rode her last week and got a reading on her.
“She's not overly tense, was easily maneuverable and picked it up nicely in the finish. I think the sweeping turn over the Hanshin outer course is very attractive.”
One of her main rivals is MMS Holding's Culture Day (Jpn) (Fine Needle {Jpn}), who is looking for her third win on the bounce. She defeated two-time winners Dona Betty (Jpn) (Real Steel {Jpn}) and Chicago Sting (Jpn) (Logotype {Jpn}) in the G3 Fantasy S. on Nov. 4, but the competition is much tougher in Sunday's contest.
Although she lost her debut, Corazon Beat (Jpn) (Suave Richard {Jpn}) has since rattled off a trio of victories in June, August and November. Her latest tally in the colours of Thoroughbred Club Ruffian was in the G2 Keio Hai Nisai S. versus males in a record time of 1:20.60 for the 1400m at Tokyo on the same day as Culture Day's Fantasy S. victory. She leaves from stall 10 and is known for her early speed.
A winner in three starts, Silk Racing's Safira (Jpn) (Heart's Cry {Jpn}) is exiting a second-place run in the 1600-metre G3 Artemis S. at Tokyo on Oct. 28. She is a full-sister to 2019 G1 Asahi Hai Futurity S. hero Salios (Jpn), but is drawn in stall 14.
Trainer Manabu Ikezoe said, “Of course, we'll start to see real fruit at three-four years old, and I think she'll be able to race better, but I think the conditions will be much better for her this time than they were in the Artemis S. I didn't see any stiffness in her movement last time and I'm hoping she'll maintain a good mental state this time.”
The dual winner Catfight (Jpn) exits a record-setting performance in Nakayama's Aster Sho in September, where she covered the 1600-metre journey in a sharp 1:33.10. However, the flyweight daughter of Discreet Cat, who competes for Godolphin, must ship in for the race and she has little weight to spare to the rigors of travel.
Kazuhiro Masuda's Nanao (Jpn) (Lord Kanaloa {Jpn}) also sports a group placing on her record, running second in the G3 Hakodate Nisai S. versus colts, before returning to the winner's enclosure with a front-running 1 1/2-length score against the boys at equal weights in the Momiji S. at Kyoto in October. Lucifer (Jpn) (Heart's Cry {Jpn}), who represents Carrot Farm, could step up, as she stalked and pounced to win the 1800-metre Listed Hagi S. at Kyoto in open company on Oct. 28, her second win in three starts.
Not a subscriber? Click here to sign up for the daily PDF or alerts.
