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The 49th running of the Queen Elizabeth II Cup will be held on Sunday, 10th November and it is a 2,200m outer turf event at Kyoto Racecourse.
After a one-week break in the JRA Grade 1 action, the big autumn races kick in once again, with this week's Queen Elizabeth II Cup to be run at Kyoto Racecourse on Sunday (November 10). It is a race for fillies and mares, run over 2,200 meters on the outer turf course at Kyoto, and is for 3-year-olds and up.
First run in 1976 to commemorate Queen Elizabeth's visit to Japan in 1975, it was originally for 3-year-old fillies and run over the distance of the Grade 1 Yushun Himba (Japanese Oaks), which is 2,400 meters. When the Grade 1 Shuka Sho was established in 1996 exclusively for 3-year-old fillies, the Grade 1 Queen Elizabeth II Cup became an all-aged race for fillies and mares. It became an international Grade 1 race in 1999, with its first foreign runner in 2003, and Snow Fairy became the first overseas winner in 2010, following up again in 2011.
This year sees 19 nominations for the race (no foreign horses are among them), in which 3-year-olds carry 54kg, and 4-year-olds and up carry 56kg. The maximum number of runners is capped at 18. The race last year was won by Brede Weg, a 3-year-old daughter of Lord Kanaloa, who became just the second first favorite to win in the last 10 years. Four-year-old fillies have dominated in that same time period, with seven wins in the race. Record time for the Grade 1 Queen Elizabeth II Cup was set by To the Victory, winning in a time of 2 minutes, 11.2 seconds back in 2001. This year's winner's check is JPY130 million (just under USD1 million). The Grade 2 Ireland Trophy Fuchu Himba Stakes has been one of the lead-up races to this week's big race, and it was run over 1,800 meters at Tokyo in October.
The 49th running of the Grade 1 Queen Elizabeth II Cup will be Race 11 on the Sunday card at Kyoto, with a post time locally of 15:40, and final declarations, together with the barrier draw, will be available later in the week.
Here's a look at some of the fillies and mares likely to start in the race:
Regaleira: The 3-year-old filly has taken an unusual career path so far, having run in the first two races of the colts' Triple Crown, and now finds herself taking on older horses for the first time in this Sunday's race. Never a particularly fast starter, she saves her best for last, and has secured the fastest final three-furlong times in all her races. Assistant trainer Yu Ota commented: "She showed her characteristic start last time, although she jumped more smoothly, and then went on to finish strongly in her usual way. Since returning to the stable, she's been moving well in training, running in a relaxed way early on, before finishing off her work with a good turn of foot." Jockey Christophe Lemaire once again rides for the trainer of Regaleira, Tetsuya Kimura.
Wholeness: The Irish-bred filly by Lope de Vega looks to be still improving, and is coming off a win in a Listed Race (Niigata Himba Stakes) over 2,200 meters in October. She has always been in the first three from six starts, and now has four wins to her name. Assistant trainer Nobuyuki Tashiro said: "The jockey last time managed to ride her in a relaxed way, and the horse came out of the race without any problems. Even though she has only won on left-handed tracks, she has run well racing right-handed too. We've taken care with her, and she's developing nicely and has a lot more muscle now." The 4-year-old runs in the Godolphin colors and looks set to be ridden by Ryusei Sakai.
Stunning Rose: Since winning the Grade 1 Shuka Sho and giving jockey Ryusei Sakai his first top-level win in 2022, the 5-year-old mare by King Kamehameha hasn't always been able to show her best. Her two most recent runs, however, have shown that she might be finding some of her old sparkle, and although she finished sixth last time in the Grade 3 Hokkaido Shimbun Hai Queen Stakes at Sapporo in July, she wasn't far off the winner. Trainer Tomokazu Takano commented: "I thought she ran well last time in a race where she had to take in four corners. There was a 6kg difference in the weight she had to carry compared to the winner. This race became her target after that, and she's in good shape on her return to the stable." Visiting jockey Cristian Demuro is in great form and takes the ride on Stunning Rose.
Harper: The daughter of Heart's Cry is another horse trying to regain her best form, and having finished third in the Grade 1 QEII Cup last year, the distance of the race looks better than that of her last two starts, where she ran over a shorter trip in both of them. "She's moving well and looks to be in very good condition," said trainer Yasuo Tomomichi. "She gets into good positions in her races, but sometimes can't produce in the homestretch. It just seems to be a bit of a mental thing with her." Jockey Yutaka Take teams up again with the trainer, and both of them will be hoping for another big win here after their recent success with Do Deuce.
Shinryokuka: The filly by Satono Diamond is now a 4-year-old, and she won her first graded race last time in the Grade 3 Niigata Kinen over 2,000 meters in September. It was just her second career win, so hopes are high again after previous setbacks. Comments from assistant training staff were: "Two starts ago, she stumbled and fell in the race, so we've had to get her back after that, but it was a relief that she came back well in her last race and was able to win at graded level for the first time. She seems more relaxed now and should improve some more ahead of this next race."
Moryana: The Northern Farm-bred filly has run in four Grade 1 races, and her best finish was fifth in last year's Shuka Sho. She finished seventh in this year's Victoria Mile, and earlier this year, she managed a fourth-place finish in her only race over 2,200 meters, the Grade 2 American Jockey Club Cup at Nakayama back in January. Trainer Yoshinori Muto said: "She showed her weak point in her last race by not running with a good rhythm early to get a good position. Having to make up ground from the rear, and not being able to switch to the outside, she got a run on the inside, where she ran on well to finish eighth. The distance of this next race will be the key."
Scintillation: The lightly raced 5-year-old mare by Lord Kanaloa runs in the Silk Racing Co. Ltd. Colors, and impressed last time when finishing second to Brede Weg in the Grade 2 Ireland Trophy Fuchu Himba Stakes over 1,800 meters at Tokyo in October. That run pleased her trainer, Masakazu Ikegami. "She was up in class last time, and while I thought it might be tough for her, she was able to chase the eventual winner right up until the finish. It shows that her condition is good, and that run should lead her into this next race nicely," the trainer said. Jockey Tom Marquand is back on another visit to Japan and takes the ride on Scintillation.
Costa Bonita: Another runner coming into the race from a run in the Grade 2 Ireland Trophy Fuchu Himba Stakes, the 5-year-old mare was unable to keep things up to the finish in that race, but she ran a lot better than her eleventh-place finish might suggest. Trainer Yoshiaki Sugiyama also believes she can do better: "She matched up quite well with the good horses in her last race, but the pace didn't really suit her, and although she got a handy position and found a good rhythm, it became difficult for her to sustain things at the end of the race. I think the distance this time will be better for her." Jockey Kohei Matsuyama will once again ride Costa Bonita, and he's looking for just his sixth JRA Grade 1 win, and his first since winning the Champions Cup in 2021 on T O Keynes. He brought up his 100th JRA win of the year last weekend.
Another horse to note is Saliera, a 5-year-old mare trained by Sakae Kunieda. Although unplaced in her last two starts, she was sixth in last year's Grade 1 Queen Elizabeth II Cup, and jockey Ryan Moore returns to Japan this week and will take the ride on Saliera.