G1 Victoria Mile

In a wild upset of the G1 Victoria Mile on Sunday at Tokyo Racecourse, Ten Happy Rose (Jpn) (Epiphaneia {Jpn}) rocketed home late to secure her first win at the highest level and an automatic berth into the GI Maker's Mark Breeders' Cup Filly & Mare Turf at eye-popping 208-1 odds. Having finished sixth in her most recent appearance on track in the G2 Sankei Sports Hai Hanshin Himba S. Apr. 6 and seventh before that Feb. 17 when trying the G3 Kyoto Himba S., her last time in the...

The in-form Namur (Jpn) (Harbinger {GB}) faces only 14 foes in the G1 Victoria Mile at Tokyo on Sunday, a "Win And You're In" qualifier for the GI Breeders' Cup Filly & Mare Turf at Del Mar in November. There won't be any safety nets for her rivals either, as the Carrot Farm runner has been extremely consistent of late, taking last October's G2 Fuji S. over her pet distance before showing her heels in open company in Kyoto's G1 Mile Championship a month later. A solid third to impressive...

Last year after earning a spot in the GI Breeders' Cup Mile via her win in June's G1 Yasuda Kinen over this course--a Breeders' Cup Challenge qualifying event--Songline (Jpn) (Kizuna) was headed to America before a throat issue found after a fifth-place finish in September's G2 Centaur S. sent her to the sidelines for five months. Back in action on the G1 Saudi Cup undercard in February, she was a distant 10th in the G3 1351 Turf Sprint at King Abdulaziz Racetrack, a race she won in 2022, and sent...

Juvenile filly champion Sodashi (Jpn) (Kurofune) punched her ticket to this fall's GI Breeders' Cup Filly & Mare Turf with a victory in Sunday's G1 Victoria Mile at Tokyo Racecourse. The top three finishers in Sunday's race also earned automatic berths in the G1 Prix du Moulin de Longchamp as well as the G1 Prix Jacques le Marois. Breaking alertly from stall 5, the fourth betting choice settled in along the inside in a close-up fourth before moving slightly outward for the stretch run. Emerging from the pack passing the...

Gran Alegria (Jpn) (Deep Impact {Jpn}) put her stamp on the G1 Victoria Mile at Tokyo on Sunday, a "Win and You're In" for the GI Breeders' Cup Filly & Mare Turf. The 2020 Japanese Champion Sprinter/Miler was winning her fifth Group 1 race when drawing off to win by four lengths over the good to firm ground. Bet down to 30 cents on the dollar, Gran Alegria perched in midfield as Christie (Jpn) (Kizuna {Jpn}) set a demanding tempo. Beginning to make inroads toward the front inside the final...

Japanese Horse of the Year Almond Eye (Jpn) (Lord Kanaloa {Jpn}) made it seven Group 1 wins, after a tour-de-force in Sunday's G1 Victoria Mile at Tokyo. Now a "Win and You're In" for the GI Maker's Mark Breeders' Cup Filly & Mare Turf, the Victoria Mile was the second time the bay has won at the top level going 1600 metres since her win in the 2018 G1 Oka Sho (Japanese 1000 Guineas). It was four lengths back to Sound Chiara (Jpn) (Deep Impact {Jpn}), who was a neck...

The focus turns to older fillies and mares for Sunday's G1 Victoria Mile at Tokyo Racecourse, and six-time Group 1 winner Almond Eye (Jpn) (Lord Kanaloa {Jpn}) looks to make her 2020 return a triumphant one in this Breeders' Cup Challenge series qualifier for the GI Maker's Mark Breeders' Cup Filly & Mare Turf. Winner of the 2018 G1 Japan Cup, the Sakae Kunieda trainee added a win in the 2019 G1 Dubai Turf at Meydan before finishing a close-up third in Tokyo's G1 Yasuda Kinen. Back on top in...