Hanshin Juvenile Fillies (Group 1)

JAPAN’S two-year-old filly scene looked wide open before the Group 1 Hanshin Juvenile Fillies but Liberty Island took centre stage with an impressive, stretch-running win.

The Duramente filly came into the race with only a win in a maiden and a second, behind Ravel, in the Group 3 Artemis Stakes in October.

With Yuga Kawada in the irons, Liberty Island broke well, raced in mid-pack and was still well behind the leaders around the turn.

Kawada found plenty of room from there, outside rivals, and was challenging for the lead a furlong from the finish.

Outsiders

From there, it was all Liberty Island. She won in a hand ride, two and a half lengths in front of a pair of outsiders, Shinryokuka and Doe Eyes.

“I am happy that the filly was able to show her performance at its best today,” Kawada reported by the JRA. “I just let the filly choose the position within the field that she felt comfortable in. 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.”

“The Artemis Stakes was a tough race for her and she couldn’t get a clear run in the stretch,” assistant trainer Fukunaga said. “She’s still quite immature physically and also has some quirks that make riding a bit difficult.”

Kawada added: “She has progressed well, including her loss last time out, towards winning this big championship race, and she has given us a promising view on what to expect and aim for in her coming future,” he said.

Ravel, the winner of the Artemis broke poorly, trailed the field and was unable to make up much ground, finishing 11th. Second favourite Moryana got home 12th, and third choice Umbrail was 15th.

Success

Liberty Island, bred by Northern Racing and carrying the familiar colours of Sunday Racing Co. Ltd., was produced by the Australian-bred mare Yankee Rose (by All American). She won the Group 1 Moet & Chandon Spring Champion Stakes at Randwick in 2016 among her successes and was third to Winx in the Cox Plate. Her pedigree and Irish links are discussed in Breeding Insights.