Sunday Racing Co.'s Geraldina, a 4-year-old daughter of their two-time Japan Horse of the Year and Fillies' Triple Crown winner Gentildonna, captured the $2,451,000 Queen Elizabeth II Cup (G1) on Sunday at Hanshin Racecourse in Japan, earning her first win at the highest level.
Trained by Takashi Saito, Geraldina broke her maiden in her third start as a 2-year-old and, though unable to run in the classics in her 3-year-old spring campaign, notched three consecutive wins from July. She entered Sunday's race off her first graded win in the All Comers (G2) on Sept. 25, which was her sixth graded challenge.
Breaking out from the outermost post in the field of 18 fillies and mares, Geraldina traveled wide toward the rear and advanced rounding the last corners as the widest. Displaying her powerful late drive that timed the fastest last three furlongs in the field, the Maurice filly caught up with the front-runner after passing the 200-meter pole, dueled briefly with Win Marilyn 100 meters out, then pulled away for jockey Cristian Demuro in the last 50 meters for a 1 ¾ length win.
Time for the 11 furlongs (about 1 3/8 miles) was 2:13 on a turf course rated as yielding.
“The filly was traveling very well in the last corner, came out and gave a good turn of foot,” Demuro said of Geralina, a daughter of Maurice who was sent off the fourth choice abd returned $20.20 in North American pools. “The last time when she won, it was a good race, so I was pretty confident with her. Gentildonna was a good filly and I think Geraldina can be like her dam.”
Traveling three-wide around sixth, fifth pick Win Marilyn made headway after the third corner and briefly took command 200 meters out. The Screen Hero chestnut, however, was overtaken by fast-closing eventual winner after a brief duel in the last 100 meters and was then challenged by 12th choice Lilac, who launched the second fastest late kick after racing in 17th position. The two dueled strongly nearing the wire to share the runner-up spot.
Race favorite Daring Tact settled in mid-division around eighth and was unable to pull out from the pack at the stretch to finish sixth.
Juddmonte Irish Oaks (G1) victress Magical Lagoon pressed the pace in second but was unable to make use of her late kick due to the heavy going and finished 18th.
“We were able to race in good position, but she likes quick ground and the rain, unfortunately, took her chance away,” jockey Shane Foley said. “I urged her to go from the third corner but she didn't respond.”
Like her dam, Geraldina was bred by Northern Racing. Gentildonna, by Deep Impact, won all three legs of the 2012 Japanese Fillies Triple Crown en route to a unanimously voted Best 3-Year-Old Filly Award from the Japanese Racing Association as well as the Horse of the Year Award. A string of defeats led to a rider change in 2013, from Yasunari Iwata to Ryan Moore, at the end of which Gentildonna became the first horse to win the Japan Cup (G1) twice (2012, 2013).
In her 5-year-old season, Gentildonna won her second Horse of the Year Award from the JRA, as well as the Older Filly and Mare Award. She defeated males in the 2014 Dubai Sheema Classic (G1), including Breeders' Cup Turf (G1) winner Magician. Gentildonna finished fourth in her third consecutive Japan Cup but rebounded with a victory in the Arima Kinen (G1) over the same horses in the final start of her career.
Overall, Gentildonna, whose dam Donna Blini (by Bertolini) was also a Group 1 winner, won 10 races from 19 career starts, including seven Group 1 events, and earned ¥1,726,030,400 (about $14.3 million).
The post Geraldina, Daughter Of Iconic Japanese Racemare Gentildonna, Wins Queen Elizabeth II Cup, Irish Oaks Winner Magical Lagoon Last appeared first on Horse Racing News | Paulick Report.
