JESSICA Harrington’s Irish Oaks winner Magical Lagoon faces a tough task against some of the best fillies in Japan when she lines up tomorrow in the Queen Elizabeth II Cup at Hanshin (6.40am).

She is the first runner from overseas since the great Snow Fairy won the race for a second time in 2011.

With Shane Foley on board, she will face the five-year-old Daring Tact, who won the Fillies’ Triple Crown back in 2020, and this season’s top three-year-old Stunning Rose who was narrowly beaten in the Yushun Himba (Japanese Oaks) and won the Group 1 Shuka Sho last time out.

It’s a maximum field size of 18 runners and is a difficult race to predict the outcome of, with just one first favourite winning in the past 10 years.

Daring Tact was the champion filly of 2020 and is looking for her first win since those great days. She was a beaten favourite last time when she finished sixth in the Grade 2 Sankei Sho All Comers in September, but trainer Haruki Sugiyama remains upbeat on the JRA site this week.

“In recent work since returning to the stable, she’s worked well uphill and is better for her training. I thought she ran well in her last race, but she should improve on that this time,” the trainer said.

The three-year-old Stunning Rose ran a strong race to claim the Grade 1 Shuka Sho last time, and has the three-year-old allowance. With four wins from her last five starts she comes in top form.

Geraldina, a four-year-old filly by Maurice, could be on the upgrade and demonstrated her ability last time when winning the Grade 2 Sankei Sho All Comers at Nakayama in September. It’s her second start in a Grade 1, with Cristian Demuro on board.

Another three-year-old, Namur has big runs in the Grade 1 Yushun Himba (Japanese Oaks) and the Grade 1 Shuka Sho, where she finished third and second respectively, the filly by Harbinger seems to be improving with racing.

Izu Jo no Kiseki has won her last two races, the latest being the Grade 2 Ireland Trophy Fuchu Himba Stakes, when she got up to beat Sodashi right on the line.

She will be looking to improve on her fifth-place finish in this race last year, with Christophe Lemaire in the saddle.