Three unbeaten fillies head a strong field of 18 in Sunday’s Oka Sho
(Jpn-G1), the first classic on the Japanese racing calendar.
U Carrot Farm, owner of last year’s winner Harp Star (Deep Impact), will once
again be represented by the favorite Rouge Buck (Manhattan Cafe), who beat the
boys in each of her three starts to date. She most recently disposed of a classy
field in the Kisaragi Sho (Jpn-G3) at Kyoto February 8, and previously set a
course record for a juvenile at Tokyo when leaving subsequent Group 3 scorer
Beruf (Harbinger) 2 1/2 lengths adrift.
A potential question mark about her chances is the fact that she will be
tackling the mile for the first time, having raced over 1800 meters and beyond
so far, yet trainer Masahiro Otake has voiced little concern about it.
“She’s matured with each race and has stopped doing anything unnecessary,” he
said. “She’s become a much more efficient runner. Judging by what we saw in her
last race, she should have no problems adjusting to the pace of a mile.”
Cat Coin (Stay Gold) is another who is yet to taste defeat in three outings,
and all her wins have taken place over a mile, including the Daily Hai Queen Cup
(Jpn-G3) at Tokyo last time out February 14.
“It’s obvious she’s getting stronger with each race,” commented jockey
Yoshitomi Shibata. “She’ll be even better for the Oka Sho. She’s fine during the
actual race itself, but she needs to be looked after on her way to the gate. The
key will be to getting her off to a smooth start.”
A regular issue with regards to runners based at the northern training center
of Miho is the 700-kilometer trip south to Hanshin. Seven of the last 10 winners
of the Oka Sho were trained at the nearby Ritto training center, and connections
of Cat Coin are among several who have elected to base their charge there for
the last couple of weeks.
Queens Ring (Manhattan Cafe) is the third filly with an unblemished record
from three starts, and she holds the advantage of having experience over
Hanshin’s right-handed track. She was last seen when winning the 1400-meter
Hochi Hai Fillies’ Revue (Jpn-G2) at this venue, a race in which the re-opposing
Perfica (Zenno Rob Roy) finished three-quarters of a length in second.
“Hanshin that day favored the inside horses so to come through on the far
outside says a lot about her performance,” stressed trainer Keiji Yoshimura.
“She’ll be traveling on the day of the race for the first time so we’ll see how
that goes.”
Let’s Go Donki (King Kamehameha) and Kokorono Ai (Stay Gold) finished second
and third, respectively, in the Hanshin Juvenile Fillies (Jpn-G1), run December
14 over this track and trip and won by the sidelined Shonan Adela (Deep Impact).
They met again on their seasonal bow March 7 in the Tulip Sho (Jpn-G3), the
official trial for Sunday’s race. Kokorono Ai prevailed that time around, with
the re-opposing Andriette (Deep Impact) 1 1/4 lengths in second and Let’s Go
Donki taking third.
Bet Horseracing Free Online at TwinSpires.com