By Alan Carasso
Sunday Racing's Liberty Island (Jpn) (Duramente {Jpn}) all but locked up champion 2-year-old filly honours in Japan with a thoroughly convincing defeat of 17 rivals in Sunday's G1 Hanshin Juvenile Fillies.
Yuga Kawada, who was forced to miss this past Wednesday's Longines International Jockeys' Championship in Hong Kong after testing positive for COVID prior to his departure, was cleared to ride the Sunday feature and settled the 8-5 favourite right in midfield and a few paths off the inside for the opening half-mile. Traveling with cover as they raced around the turn, the homebred was produced wide into the stretch and was a bit late switching her legs, but raced away in the final 200 metres to score by daylight.
Liberty Island got her career off on a higly impressive note, covering her final 600 metres in a near-unfathomable :31.4 at Niigata in late July and had just one start since, a troubled runner-up effort to Ravel (Jpn) (Kitasan Black {Jpn}) in the G3 Artemis S. at Toyko Oct. 29.
“I am happy that the filly was at her best today,” said Kawada. “She cruised along smoothly and her response when asked was just as I had imagined, so I was quite confident that she would make it to the finish line. She has given us a promising view on what to expect and aim for in her coming future.”
Pedigree Notes:
Liberty Island becomes the eighth stakes winner and third Group 1 winner for her sire, who was unfortunately lost to the Japanese breeding industry in August 2021.
Yankee Rose was purchased for a mere A$10,000 by Darby Racing at the 2015 Inglis and was runner-up to Capitalist (Aus) in the 2016 G1 Longines Golden Slipper S. before taking out the G1 Inglis Sires' S. She added the G1 Spring Champion S. at three and was third to Winx (Aus) in the 2016 G1 W. S. Cox Plate before being acquired by Northern Farm.
The second foal for her dam, Liberty Island is also a half-sister to a colt by Lord Kanaloa (Jpn) that fetched ¥370 million (US$3.3 million) to rank as the second-priciest foal at the JRHA Select Sale in 2021. Yankee Rose foaled a filly by Kizuna (Jpn) this past February and was covered by Contrail (Jpn).
Sunday, Hanshin, Japan
HANSHIN JUVENILE FILLIES-G1, ¥125,200,000, Hanshin, 12-11, 2yo, f, 1600mT, 1:33.10, fm.
1–LIBERTY ISLAND (JPN), 119, f, 2, by Duramente (Jpn)
1st Dam: Yankee Rose (Aus) Ch. 2yo Filly, Ch. 3yo Filly & MG1SW-Aus, $1,627,487), by All American (Aus)
2nd Dam: Condesaar (Aus), by Xaar (GB)
3rd Dam: Condescendance, by El Gran Senor
1ST STAKES WIN. 1ST GROUP WIN. 1ST GROUP 1 WIN. O-Sunday Racing; B-Northern Farm; T-Mitsumasa Nakauchida; J-Yuga Kawada; ¥66,330,000. Lifetime Record: 3-2-1-0, ¥85,432,000. Click for the free Equineline.com catalogue-style pedigree. Werk Nick Rating: B. Click for the eNicks report & 5-cross pedigree.
2–Shinryokuka (Jpn), 119, f, 2, Satono Diamond (Jpn)–Lei Carla (Jpn), by King Kamehameha (Jpn). O-Kentaro Yui; B-Shimokobe Farm; ¥26,380,000.
3–Doe Eyes (Jpn), 119, f, 2, Rulership (Jpn)–Roseman Bridge (Jpn), by Deep Impact (Jpn). O-G1 Racing HD; B-Northern Farm; ¥16,190,000.
Margins: 2HF, NK, 3/4. Odds: 1.60, 52.90, 43.50.
Also Ran: Aroma de Rosa (Jpn), Mississippi Tesoro (Jpn), Dura (Jpn), Santee Tesoro (Jpn), Aim in Life, Miss Yokohama (Jpn), Bouton d'Or (Jpn), Ravel (Jpn), Moryana (Jpn), Itinerator (Jpn), Kita Wing (Jpn), Umbrail (Jpn), Haupia (Jpn), Moon Probe (Jpn), Rivara (Jpn). Click for the JRA chart & video.
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