IN racing today, both domestic and international, speed has become more fashionable than stamina.

Japan is still well behind the other Group 1 accredited countries in terms of the popularity of races run over shorter distances. The Group 1 Mile Championship was first run in 1984 in an attempt to shadow this global trend in what was, and still is, a very much long-distance orientated racing industry.

Run at Hanshin racecourse, open to three-year-olds and above, this year’s Group 1 Mile Championship had €800,000 on offer to the winner. Gran Alegria, a filly by Deep Impact, was sent off as the 4/6 favourite.

Jumping from stall four, Gran Alegria was positioned by her regular race partner, Christophe Lemaire, in an ideal pocket stalking the modest pace being set by Group 1 winner Resistencia.

Enjoying a near perfect trip and very obviously still full of running as the field entered Hanshin’s home straight, she manoeuvred behind a wall of horses in search of a run.

Lemaire found room on the outside of the leaders and, once in the open, the filly quickened powerfully to pass the line a commanding three quarters of a length ahead of Indy Champ. Admire Mars finished a further neck behind in third.

Eyecatcher

A mention must be given to the eventual fifth-place finisher Salios. Slowly away, the three-year-old colt made eye-catching and relentless progress late on from the rear of the field, posting the fastest final three-furlong sectional time.

In the silks of Sunday Racing Co Ltd, Gran Alegria has firmly established herself as one of the leading older fillies in the JRA. Winner of the Oka Sho (1000 Guineas) in 2019, the Kazuo Fujisawa-trained filly’s most notable performance was when lowering the colours of Almond Eye in 2020’s Group 1 Yasuda Kinen.

Her victory marks the 34th JRA Group 1 win and third consecutive Group 1 success for Christophe Lemaire after Almond Eye in the Tenno Sho (autumn) and Lucky Lilac in the Queen Elizabeth II Cup.

The French-born rider looks all but set to retain the leading jockeys’ crown for the fourth year in a row. Lemaire currently sits on 185 winners, a 28-winner lead over Yuga Kawada. He also holds the most wins achieved in a single season in the JRA, winning 215 races in 2018.

Gran Alegria is the first living produce of the dual Grade 1-winning American mare Tapitsfly (by Tapit). She had produced just two living foals from five years as an active broodmare.

Tragically the mare died from complications during foaling in 2018. Her 2017 colt, Blutgang (by Deep Impact), made a winning debut in June 2019 but has yet to return to the track since.

Gran Alegria is now a three-time Group 1 winner and a seven-time winner in total from her 10 career starts, amassing earnings of over €5,700,000. With her Group 1 wins ranging from six furlongs to a mile, she has now has essentially secured the end-of-year title as Japan’s champion sprinter and miler.