Saturday's G2 Tulip Sho, a prep for the upcoming G1 Japanese 1000 Guineas next month, resulted in a dead heat between Nagoya Keiba's Meikei Yell (Jpn) (Mikki Isle {Jpn}) and Shadai Race Horse's Elizabeth Tower (GB) (Kingman {GB}), with the latter the first black-type winner in Japan for her sire.
Very headstrong through the early stages against the fence, Meikei Yell raced just inside a tugging Elizabeth Tower. Yutaka Take gave the signal and Meikei Yell burst through the field to decisively take command with a half-mile remaining and entered the lane with a narrow lead. Elizabeth Tower joined her on the inside 250 metres from home and the duo were inseparable at the wire, with Stutti (Jpn) (Maurice {Jpn}) a neck back in third.
As a juvenile, Meikei Yell landed a Kokura newcomer affair on Aug. 22 and followed up in the G3 Kokura Nisai S. over 1200 metres on Sept. 6. She added the G3 KBS Kyoto Sho Fantasy S. that November and ended her season with a fourth in the G1 Hanshin Juvenile Fillies to her maternal relative Sodashi (Jpn) (Kurofune) on Dec. 13. The Tulip Sho was her 3-year-old bow.
More lightly raced than her rival, Elizabeth Tower saluted at Hanshin versus newcomers on Dec. 19 and was ninth in the Feb. 6 Elfin S. over this trip at Chukyo.
Pedigree Notes
Although unplaced on the racecourse, Shiroinger has hit the jackpot with Meikei Yell, who was winning her third group race on Saturday. She has foaled a juvenile colt by Just a Way and, although her date with Real Impact (Jpn) did not produce a foal, she was covered by Suave Richard (Jpn) last term. Meikei Yell's second dam is the MSW Yukichan (Jpn) (Kurfune), who is a half-sister to Buchiko (Jpn) (King Kamehameha {Jpn}), the dam of last year's Japanese Champion 2-Year-Old Filly, the aforementioned Sodashi.
A daughter of the G1 German Oaks heroine Turfdonna, Elizabeth Tower is her first foal and the 30th black-type winner for her Juddmonte sire. She has a juvenile half-sister by Postponed (Ire) and a yearling half-brother by Kizuna (Jpn). Turfdonna was bred to Kizuna (Jpn) last spring. This is the extended family of Italian champion and Group 1 winner Turfrose (Ger) (Big Shuffle), who is also the dam of Japanese dual Group 2 winner Rosa Gigantea (Jpn) (Fuji Kiseki {Jpn}) and Japanese listed winner Star of Persia (Jpn) (Daiwa Major {Jpn}), who was also group placed. German champion and sire Turfkonig (Ger) (Anfield {Ire}) is under the fourth dam.
Saturday, Hanshin, Japan
TULIP SHO-G2, ¥100,200,000, Hanshin, 3-6, 3yo, f, 1600mT, 1:33.80, gd.
1–MEIKEI YELL (JPN), 119, f, 3, by Mikki Isle(Jpn)
1st Dam: Shiroinger (Jpn), by Harbinger (GB)
2nd Dam: Yukichan (Jpn), by Kurofune
3rd Dam: I Shirayukihime (Jpn), by Sunday Silence
(¥26,000,000 Ylg '19 JRHAJUL). O-Nagoya Keiba; B-Northern
Farm (Jpn); T-Hidenori Take; J-Yutaka Take. ¥37,040,000.
Lifetime Record: 5-4-0-0. Werk Nick Rating: A+. Click for the
eNicks report & 5-cross pedigree. Click for the
free Equineline.com catalogue-style pedigree.
1–ELIZABETH TOWER (GB), 119, f, 3, Kingman (GB)
1st Dam: Turfdonna (Ger) (G1SW-Ger, $343,824),
by Doyen (Ire)
2nd Dam: Turfaue (Ger), by Big Shuffle
3rd Dam: Turfquelle (Ire), by Shaadi
1ST BLACK-TYPE WIN. 1ST GROUP WIN. O-Shadai Race Horse;
B-Shadai Farm (Jpn); T-Tomokazu Takano; J-Yuga Kawada.
¥37,040,000. Lifetime Record: 3-2-0-0. Click for the
free Equineline.com catalogue-style pedigree. Werk Nick
Rating: B+. Click for the eNicks report & 5-cross pedigree.
3–Stutti(Jpn), 119, f, 3, Maurice (Jpn)–Lilavati (Jpn), by Zenno
Rob Roy (Jpn). O-Carrot Farm; B-Northern Farm (Jpn);
¥13,120,000.
Margins: DH, NK, NO. Odds: 0.60, 7.00, 7.40.
Also Ran: Tagano Diana (Jpn), Shirley Poppy (Jpn), Shadow Eris (Jpn), Tiny Romance (Jpn), Malina (Jpn), Rare Champagne (Jpn), Ten Happy Rose (Jpn), Barikono Yume (Jpn), A Shin Pixel (Jpn).
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