Shuka Sho (Group 1)

JAPANESE racing has had many star fillies over the last decades and the latest, Liberty Island, won last Sunday’s Group 1 Shuka Sho to sweep the Japanese fillies’ Triple Crown races.

She had already won the Oka Sho (Japanese 1000 Guineas) and the Yushun Himba (Japanese Oaks) held in the spring.

She is the seventh filly to dominate all fillies’ Triple Crown races following some famous winners: Apapane (2010), Gentildonna (2012), Almond Eye (2018) and Daring Tact (2020).

The win was her fourth Group 1 in a row including last year’s Hanshin Juvenile Fillies which earned her the JRA Awards best two-year-old filly title.

Jockey Yuga Kawada settled his mount two-wide in a good position behind the leaders, around seventh racing along the backstretch, and made headway three furlongs out on the outside.

After taking command around the two-furlong marker, the Duramente filly, out of the dual Group 1 winner Yankee Rose, and in the Sunday Racing colours, found another gear and quickened clear.

Masked Diva (timed with the fastest last three furlongs) came with a late run from far back but was still a length in arrears at the line.

“I’m grateful that we were able to achieve the Triple Crown. She is a horse with great ability, so I placed top priority on letting her run comfortably and finding a good path for her,” Yuga Kawada said to JRA reporters.

“She has great potential, and her dreams for the future are wide open, but first of all, I would like to praise her for achieving the Triple Crown,” he added.

Second favourite Harper passed the tiring front runners to finish in third place.

France

Iresine warms up

THERE was one group race in France at the weekend and the Group 2 Prix du Conseil de Paris over a mile and three furlongs went to Iresine and jockey Marie Velon. The six-year-old gelding had won last year’s Prix Royal-Oak and this spring’s Prix Ganay.

He came with his customary late run to score by a length over the Fabre/Godolphin runner Marquisat, winning for trainer Jean-Pierre Gauvin. The Japan Cup is his end of season target.

Italy

IN Milan on Sunday, the Group 2 Gran Premio del Jockey Club was won in comfortable style by Que Tempesta, a four-year-old Irish-bred gelding by Territories bred by Mount Coote Estates.

He beat German raider Best Of Lips by four lengths over the mile and a half at San Siro for jockey Salvatore Sulas and trainer Ricardo Biondi.