Tag: Hanshin Racecourse

Strong Finish Carries Stellenbosch To Oka Sho Glory

Stellenbosch (Jpn) (Epiphaneia {Jpn}) reversed the form with her G1 Hanshin Juvenile Fillies conqueror, Ascoli Piceno (Jpn) Daiwa Major (Jpn), as she ran out an authoritative winner of Sunday's G1 Oka Sho (Japanese 1,000 Guineas) at Hanshin Racecourse, the first leg of the Japanese Triple Tiara.

The hitherto unbeaten Ascoli Piceno was crowned champion Japanese two-year-old filly in 2023, though Stellenbosch didn't have much to find with the favourite on their Hanshin Juvenile Fillies running when she'd finished best of all from the rear of the field to be beaten just a neck at the line.

This time Joao Moreira's mount always had Ascoli Piceno in her sights having recovered quickly from a slow start to race on the immediate inside of her old rival, with the pair finding a slot in mid-division as Shonan Manuela (Jpn) (Just A Way {Jpn}) led the field in the early stages. Swinging wide on the home turn, Stellenbosch quickly moved ahead of Ascoli Piceno and again impressed with her strength at the finish as she powered home to claim brief leader Etes Vous Prets (Jpn) (Too Darn Hot {GB}) in the final 100 metres. Ascoli Piceno tried to match strides with the winner but was still three quarters of a length behind at the line, with another half a length back to the fast-finishing Light Back (Jpn) (Kizuna {Jpn}) in third.

It was a third victory in the Oka Sho for trainer Sakae Kunieda, who was previously successful in 2010 with Apapane (Jpn) (King Kamehameha {Jpn}) and in 2018 with the brilliant Triple Tiara heroine Almond Eye (Jpn) (Lord Kanaloa {Jpn}), while Brazilian-born Moreira was celebrating his first win in the Classic.

“She didn't jump very well, but she did nothing wrong during the race–she was very impressive,” said Moreira. “When we were approaching the home turn, we were trapped but as we passed by the 500-metre marker, we were able to split horses. She went up front a little bit too early and I was worried she couldn't sustain her speed all the way to the end but, as with all good horses, she has proved to be capable and has given me my second Group 1 win in Japan which will be in my heart forever.”

Stellenbosch shares her sire with Daring Tact (Jpn), who also completed the Triple Tiara in 2020, while Liberty Island (Jpn) (Duramente {Jpn}) became the seventh filly to win all three legs in 2023. The next leg, the G1 Yushun Himba (Japanese Oaks), takes place at Tokyo Racecourse on Sunday, May 19.

Prior to filling the runner-up spot in the Hanshin Juvenile Fillies, Stellenbosch won two of her first three starts last year, making a successful debut over nine furlongs at Sapporo in July before bouncing back from her first defeat to double her career tally over a mile at Tokyo in November.

 

Pedigree Notes

Stellenbosch is one of three Classic winners and four Group 1 winners for Epiphaneia, who won the G1 Kikuka Sho (Japanese St Leger) himself in 2013. He later doubled his tally at the top level when also winning the Japan Cup the following year. As well as the Triple Tiara heroine Daring Tact, Epiphaneia is also responsible for the G1 Satsuki Sho (Japanese 2,000 Guineas) winner Efforia (Jpn), who subsequently struck in the G1 Tenno Sho (Autumn) and G1 Arima Kinen in a brilliant three-year-old campaign in 2021. Circle Of Life (Jpn) was the champion two-year-old filly for Epiphaneia the same year when the G1 Hanshin Juvenile Fillies was her standout victory.

Last year's Hanshin Juvenile Fillies runner-up Stellenbosch is the first winner and first runner out of the winning Bloukrans (Jpn), who did her best work at around 10 furlongs on turf. Bloukrans is in turn out of a half-sister to the late Deep Impact (Jpn), the Japanese Triple Crown winner who quickly rose to become one of the world's most influential stallions. Deep Impact and Stellenbosch's grandam, Land's Edge (Jpn), were both out of the blue hen Wind In Her Hair (Ire), herself a Group 1 winner in Germany and runner-up in the G1 Oaks at Epsom.

Sunday, Hanshin, Japan
OKA SHO (JAPANESE 1000 GUINEAS)-G1, ¥304,040,000, Hanshin, 4-7, 3yo, f, 1600mT, 1:32.20, fm.
1–STELLENBOSCH (JPN), 121, f, 3, by Epiphaneia (Jpn)
            1st Dam: Bloukrans (Jpn), by Rulership (Jpn)
            2nd Dam: Land's Edge (Jpn), by Dance in the Dark (Jpn)
            3rd Dam: Wind in Her Hair (Ire), by Alzao
1ST BLACK-TYPE WIN. 1ST GROUP WIN. 1ST GROUP 1 WIN. O-Katsumi Yoshida; B-Northern Farm (Jpn); T-Sakae Kunieda; J-Joao Moreira; ¥166,628,000. Lifetime Record: 5-3-2-0, ¥215,468,000. Werk Nick Rating: A++. Click for the free Equineline.com catalogue-style pedigree. Click for the eNicks report & 5-cross pedigree.
2–Ascoli Piceno (Jpn), 121, f, 3, by Daiwa Major (Jpn)–Ascolti (Jpn), by Danehill Dancer (Ire). O-Sunday Racing; B-Northern Farm (Jpn); ¥63,608,000.
3–Light Back (Jpn), 121, f, 3, by Kizuna (Jpn)–In The Spotlight (Ire), by Exceed And Excel (Aus). 1ST GROUP BLACK TYPE. (¥242,000,000 Ylg '22 HOKJUL). O-Kazuhiro Masuda; B-Lake Villa Farm (Jpn); ¥38,804,000.
Margins: 3/4, NK, HF. Odds: 3.30, 2.50, 13.60.
Also ran: Sweep Feet (Jpn), Etes Vous Prets (Ire), Wide Latour (Jpn), Sekitoba East (Jpn), Queen's Walk (Jpn), Teumessa (Jpn), Hawaian Tiare (Jpn), Ipheion (Jpn), Chicago Sting (Jpn), Cervinia (Jpn), Mask All Win (Jpn), Cecile Plage (Jpn), Corazon Beat (Jpn), Shonan Manuela (Jpn), Catfight (Jpn). Click for the JRA chart & video.

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Championship On The Line In Hanshin Juvenile Fillies

An impeccably credentialed bunch of 18 juvenile fillies line up in the 1600-metre ¥125,200,000 G1 Hanshin Juvenile Fillies on Sunday, and one of the prospective favourites is Sunday Racing's Umbrail (Jpn) (Lord Kanaloa {Jpn}).

Undefeated in a pair of 1400-metre starts at Tokyo and Hanshin in June and October, the daughter of listed-placed L'Archetto (Jpn) (Falbrav {Ire}) is a full-sister to G1 Mile Championship hero Stelvio (Jpn) (Lord Kanaloa {Jpn}), one of three black-type horses for their dam.

“She has had two very strong races and we are having to deal with some mental after-effects of those,” said assistant trainer Yu Ota. “I think her coat is looking much better now than it was before her last race and I'm hoping to see her improve further. She handled the long trip to Hanshin well last time and I'm not concerned about the race distance being a mile. She has a lot of potential and if she can concentrate on her racing, things should go well.”

She faces the similarly undefeated Ravel (Jpn) (Kitasan Black {Jpn}), who bears the Carrot Farm colours and, after a win at Kikura in June, defeated Liberty Island (Jpn) (Duramente {Jpn}) by a neck in the G3 Artemis S. at Tokyo on Oct. 29. Like Umbrail, the daughter of the G3 Fairy S. third Sambre Et Meuse (Jpn) (Daiwa Major {Jpn}) is a half-sister to a group winner, in this case the year-older dual Classic-placed Namur (Jpn) (Harbinger {GB}), successful in the G2 Tulip Sho, second in the G1 Shuka Sho and third in the G1 Japanese Oaks.

“In the Artemis S., despite the slow pace, she stayed very much well in hand, and that was huge,” said assistant trainer Takahide Ando. “As I've always said, she has never been a good eater. She still could do a little better, but compared to earlier, she's better. We were able to give her a good hard workout as planned last week, but we still are aiming to get more muscle on her.”

Also a Sunday Racing colourbearer, Liberty Island will attempt to rebound from her Artemis second. Her dam is the Australia Champion 2-Year-Old and 3-Year-Old Filly Yankee Rose (Aus) (All American {Aus}), who did earn a Group 1 win in the Inglis Sires at two and was also second in the G1 Golden Slipper, before adding a G1 Sprint Champion S. victory at three.

Fumio Takahasi's Moryana (Jpn) (Epiphaneia {Jpn}) has won her first two starts by a combine five lengths. A ¥30,000,000 weaning out of the 2020 JRHA Select Sale, she is the third foal, runner and winner for her dam, the dual winner Garder Le Sourire (Jpn) (Daiwa Major {Jpn}), whose extended family includes the Group 1 winner Wind In Her Hair (Ire) (Alzao), later the dam of Sunday Silence's best sire son Deep Impact (Jpn).

G3 Sapporo Nisai S. heroine Dura (Jpn) (Duramente {Jpn}) does not have an unbeaten record to protect, and she defeated Doe Eyes (Jpn) (Rulership {Jpn}) by a length in the Nisai S. at Sapporo in early September. The same could be said for G3 Hakodate Nisai S. victress Bouton D'Or (Jpn) (Big Arthur {Jpn}), who enters this test on the back of a runner-up effort in the G3 KBS Kyoto Sho Fantasy S. to Rivara (Jpn) (Kinshasa No Kiseki {Aus}).

“She'll be going into the race without a sharpener and we're preparing her with that in mind,” said assistant trainer Atsushi Nishioka. “She has gotten all the base work in and all has gone according to plan. She has no weak points. She has a big stride and I think the spacious course will suit her.”

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Japan: Take Brothers Team Up With Undefeated Water Navillera In Sunday’s Hanshin Juvenile Fillies

While 12 Japan-based horses battle it out in Hong Kong, Hanshin Racecourse hosts the top-level action at home and this time it's not serving as a temporary venue for a Kyoto regular. It's a Hanshin tradition – the Grade 1 Hanshin Juvenile Fillies, and Sunday, Dec. 12 marks the 73rd running of the highlight for 2-year-old fillies, run over one mile on turf and carrying a winner's prize of JPY65 million (about US$570,000).

Twenty-three youngsters have been nominated for 18 berths and 11 of them are tied for earnings, which means a drawing will decide which seven secure the remaining gates.

The field will boast four graded-stakes winners with the unbeaten Water Navillera in the spotlight, having pocketed all three of her wins at different courses, including Hanshin. Circle of Life won the Artemis Stakes in October, and is fielded by Sakae Kunieda, who won this race with Apapane in 2009. And, Namura Lycoris, who clinched the Hakodate Nisai Stakes, returns after five months off. Racing under the same colors is Namura Clair, winner of the Kokura Nisai Stakes.

Water Navillera, the talented daughter of new stallion Silver State, by Deep Impact, won her first start wire to wire and hasn't stopped winning since. She's three for three, with wins over the Sapporo 1,500, the Nakayama 1,600, and the Hanshin 1,400. Her second win was claimed with the field's fastest time over the final three furlongs – 33.6 seconds. Her most recent first was in the Grade 3 Fantasy Stakes where she traveled in second position and held on solidly despite the early high pace.

It was the first graded-stakes win by progeny of Silver State, whose short but successful career (four wins from five starts) ended early due to tendonitis. Of his 53 sons and daughters currently running in JRA races, nine of them have already brought a total of 13 wins. Possessing keen racing sense, Water Navillera's main concern is her excitability. Trained at Ritto by former jockey Koshiro Take and pegged to be ridden by elder brother Yutaka, success on Sunday would bring Koshiro his first G1 victory since opening his stable in 2018. Yutaka has (from 21 bids) only one win of the race, back in 1994 with Yamanin Paradise when the race was known as the Hanshin Sansai Himba Stakes.

Races are run to the right at Hanshin and the 1,600 meters for the Hanshin Juvenile Fillies uses the outer B course (rail is moved in three meters on the straight, four meters on bends). Starting in the backstretch, it's nearly 450 meters to the first turn, then a slight upward slope at the end of the backstretch. With about 600 meters to go, the track dips two meters over the next 400 meters, then rises two meters again over 100 meters before leveling out with less than 100 meters to go.

The pace tends to be relaxed in the Hanshin outer 1,600 meters, and, in Grade 1 competitions especially, it can prove difficult for those making their crucial move turning onto the stretch to reach the top in time. The majority of recent winners have travelled close to the pace.

Generally speaking, unbeaten fillies and the race favorites have fared well in this race, having claimed six of the race's last 10 runnings. Over the same time period, the favorite has made the top three six times, with four wins. However, a surprise upset cannot be ruled out. Double-digit picks finished in the top 3 twice over the last decade. And, in 2012, the top three in finishing order were the fifth, 15th and 10th pick at the window.

Vodka, who clocked 1 minute 33.1 seconds in 2006, still holds the race record.

The main event is the No. 11 race on Hanshin's Sunday card of 12. Post time is 3:40 p.m. All fillies race under 54 kg.

Here's a look at the other expected popular picks:

Sternatia: A Lord Kanaloa filly, Sternatia's dam L'Archetto, by Falbrav, should add some distance to her repertoire. And from her 1-2 in her two starts thus far, both over the mile, it looks like it has. In her debut amid mixed company at Niigata, she won by three lengths and displayed fine speed in the final stage (32.7 seconds over the final 600 meters). Last out, Sternatia raced handily and patiently to finish only half a length behind the colt Command Line in the Oct. 9 Saudi Arabia Royal Cup. Sternatia is full brother to Stelvio, runnerup in the Asahi Futurity Stakes in 2017 and winner of the 2018 Mile Championship at only 3 years of age. Yuichi Fukunaga was up for Sternatia's two starts to date, but with Fukunaga in Hong Kong for the International Races, Christophe Lemaire, out in front of the jockey standings with an incredible 60-race lead, should lend confidence in the filly's first start to the right.

Circle of Life: Winner of the Grade 3 Artemis Stakes at Tokyo, Circle of Life went head-to-head in the stretch with Belle Cresta (eventual runnerup) and Shigeru Iwaizake (third place), but her time of 33.5 seconds over the final three furlongs topped the field and saw her home the winner. The Epiphaneia-sired Circle of Life has matured considerably in her three starts that have brought her a 3-1-1 over the mile and 1,800 meters. It'll be her first time at Hanshin, but her win at Nakayama bodes well, and though she does have to travel from her Miho base, she weathered the trip to Niigata for her debut well.

Trainer Sakae Kunieda said: “Her workout on Dec. 2 was a hard one and since then she's only been breezed. I'd like her to have a bit more distance but with the long stretch of the Hanshin outer course, there shouldn't be any problems.”

Namur: A Harbinger filly with two starts, two wins, both over the mile, Namur has an exceptional late kick. She hasn't yet raced to the right and she's only moving up from the one-win class, but she has race sense, evident from her debut, when, she shifted gears from second position and shot over the last two furlongs in 10.8-10.7 to win by two lengths. Last out Nov. 21, she raced from further back, won by a length and three-quarters and recorded the field best time of 33 seconds over the final 600 meters at Tokyo. There's little time between races but she's closer to her home base this time.

Belle Cresta: The Duramente-sired Belle Cresta is 2-1-2 and lost the Oct. 30 Artemis Stakes to Circle of Life by a mere neck. She'd balked loading and had been agitated in the gate, was a bit keen in the beginning but settled well traveling in third position amid a relaxed pace. She led down the long Tokyo stretch but was overtaken just before the finish line.

“She did well and I could feel that she has matured,” said jockey Kohei Matsuyama, who has ridden all her starts. “I'm looking forward to what's to come.”

It will be her first time to race to the right but she's looking good in work, with a personal best of 51.1 seconds up the hill course last week. Trainer Naosuke Sugai, who won here with Sodashi last year, has notched the race three times in total. He also trained 2017 Victoria Mile winner Admire Lead, a half-sister to Belle Cresta.

Namura Clair: This daughter of champion sprinter and miler Mikki Isle won the Grade 3 Kokura Nisai Stakes and ran second by 3/4 length to winner Water Navillera last out in the Nov. 6 Fantasy Stakes.

She'd been keen over the first half, and trainer Kodai Hasegawa said: “She can react rather strongly to horses coming up from behind, so I've had her wear a hood to calm her. She has let off steam, is looking good, and she improves with a race. I don't think the mile is out of reach. How well she can settle will be key.”

Her third in her debut start over the Niigata mile indicates she has a good chance. Her speed is up to snuff, with lap times of 11-some seconds up the hill in track work.

Namura Lycoris: The other filly running under the pink-and-sky-blue colors of the owner Mutsuhiro Namura, is Namura Lycoris, returning to the track for the first time since her win of the Hakodate Nisai Stakes in July. It will also be her first start over anything but six furlongs. A look at her pedigree, however, reveals the stayer blood of Manhattan Cafe. With her forward running style, Namura Lycoris should be able to go the distance and stave off a late challenge. Nineteen-year-old Fuma Izumiya, who debuted in March 2020 and already ranks No. 25 with 43 wins this year alone, is slated for the ride, the first Grade 1 of his career.

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Japan: Gran Alegria Headlines Sunday’s Mile Championship

This week Japan's top-level racing remains at Hanshin Racecourse with the 38th running of the Mile Championship on Sunday, Nov. 21. 18 horses ranging in age from 3 to 8, including three foreign-breds, four females and five 3-year-olds, have been nominated for the 18 berths of the 1,600-meter turf test, again at Hanshin this year.

The spotlight lingers longest on Gran Alegria, awarded Best Sprinter of Miler for 2020, and now 5-year-old. The Deep Impact mare looking to leave even more of an impression by notching back-to-back wins of the race and her sixth Grade 1 victory. At the same time soon-to-retire trainer Kazuo Fujisawa gets his last chance to add one more feather to his cap and his already-record-setting five wins of the Mile Championship.

Gran Alegria's not the only one in the lights. German-bred Schnell Meister, who captured the 3-year-old showcase NHK Mile Cup in the spring, is seen as Gran Alegria's biggest threat. Back again is Indy Champ, who won the race in 2019 and missed the winner's circle by 0.1 seconds last year. Salios, also a returnee, is looking for a better break and improvement on last year's fifth, while 2020 Grade 1 Hopeful Stakes winner and last year's Best 2-Year-Old Colt Danon the Kid and 2020 Asahi Hai Futurity Stakes winner Grenadier Guards add considerable color and competition to the mix.

The Hanshin outer course over the mile is the usual venue for two Grade 1 fillies-only events, the Hanshin Juvenile Fillies and the Oka Sho (Japanese 1000 Guineas). The race is often clinched by the runner with the fastest time over the final three furlongs. Stamina is also brought into play with Hanshin's sharp hill just before the finish line. From just past 200 meters out, the track rises 1.8 meters over some 100 meters.

Assigned weights for the Mile Championship are 57 kg for males 4 years old and up, with a 1-kg allowance for 3-year-old colts and a 2-kg allowance for fillies and mares. The Mile Championship is the 11th race on the Sunday card of 12 at Hanshin. Post time is 3:40 p.m.

Here's a look at the expected top choices.

Gran Alegria: This daughter of Deep Impact has quite the spectacular record herself. In 14 starts, she has eight wins and has finished out of the top three spots only twice, a fourth in this year's Grade 1 Osaka Hai over 2,000 meters and fifth in the 2019 NHK Mile Cup (she crossed the line in fourth but was demoted for interference). Eleven of her starts have been at the top level and she's competing in her ninth Grade 1 in a row. Following the Osaka Hai in April, she took on the Victoria Mile in May, then returned just three weeks later for the Yasuda Kinen, which she lost to Danon Kingly by a mere head. She returned on Oct. 31 for the 2,000-meter Grade 1 Tenno Sho (Autumn) but finished third, only 0.2 seconds behind this year's Satsuki Sho (Japanese 2000 Guineas) winner Efforia and half that time behind last year's Triple Crown winner Contrail. Now, with only three weeks between races, she's back, but at her best distance, and with jockey Christophe Lemaire expected to be in the saddle, the winning duo of last year is hoping for a repeat winning performance. If she can pull off a repeat, she'll be the first to do it since Daiwa Major in 2006 and '07.

Schnell Meister: A 3-year-old son of Kingman, Schnell Meister was victorious in the NHK Mile Cup in early May and followed that up with a third-place finish half a length behind Gran Alegria in the Yasuda Kinen a month later in his first time competing against older horses. The colt has a number of firsts to conquer, however. It will be his first time at Hanshin and, based at Miho, his first long haul to the track. His assigned weight of 56 kg will not be the most he's carried but it will, unlike the 54kg he shouldered in the Yasuda Kinen, be the most when competing amid older horses. Expected in the saddle is a familiar face, however. The young jockey Takeshi Yokoyama, hungry for his fourth G1 win this year, partnered Schnell Meister twice before, in the colt's winning debut and in the Yasuda Kinen.

Danon the Kid: Top 2-year-old last year with a 3-for-3 record, the Just a Way colt Danon the Kid was handed his first defeat with a third in the Grade 2 Hochi Hai Yayoi Sho Deep Impact Kinen in March. His next start was no better, with him finishing only one off the rear in the Satsuki Sho. He was later diagnosed with a fracture. He returned after 6 months for a fourth in his first mile, the Grade 2 Fuji Stakes on Oct. 23 at Tokyo, and the distance may prove more to his liking. Out of the mare Epic Love, his half-brother Mikki Brillante has five wins, three of them over the mile.

Salios: The 2019 Asahi Hai Futurity Stakes winner Salios finished fifth here last year. The Heart's Cry 4-year-old drew the far outside gate and, traveling from close to the rear, still managed to turn in the field's fastest final three furlongs time of 33.1 seconds to finish only 0.4 seconds behind the winner. He next posted 5-8 in his two starts hence, both at the G1 level. Both were difficult runs, with the Osaka Hai run over heavy ground. Next out only two months later, he encountered interference at the furlong pole in the Yasuda Kinen. Returning straight from the Yasuda Kinen, Salios is to be partnered with jockey Kohei Matsuyama again. Based at Ritto, Matsuyama made the trip last week to the Noriyuki Hori stable at Miho to ride Salios in trackwork. “I put the colt in quarter-cup blinkers with a cross noseband and he ran well,” said Hori. “We were aiming for a good time but he was a bit excited and the time was fast. His breathing wasn't good. He's had enough work so this week we'll work on his weakpoint, his power from behind. I'll have him in good shape for the race. He's a different horse from what he was in the Yasuda Kinen,” Hori claims.

Indy Champ: If ever there's a consistent horse who deserves to win another Grade 1, it's Indy Champ. The 6-year-old son of Stay Gold also returns straight from the Yasuda Kinen (which he won in 2019), finishing fourth only a neck behind Schnell Meister and 0.2 seconds behind winner Danon Kingly. First here in 2019, and second last year, Indy Champ's last win was the Grade 2 Yomiuri Milers Cup in late April 2020. Since then, he's run only in graded races, all in the 1,200-1,600 range, four of them G1s, but has failed to win. One second, three thirds and two fourths. Regular partner Yuichi Fukunaga is set for the ride. Veteran trainer Hidetaka Otonashi, who has won the Mile Championship three times before, says, “He felt too good in the Yasuda Kinen and in hindsight, he made his move too soon and was overtaken with only 50 meters left. It wasn't a bad race at all. We followed the usual routine in getting him ready, with this race as our sole objective.”

Grenadier Guards: First in the Asahi Hai Futurity Stakes last year, the Frankel-sired Grenadier Guards has only figured out of the top three spots once in his seven starts. He missed the winner's circle narrowly in his three starts since his Grade 1 win, all in graded stakes, then lost by a head in the seven-furlong Grade 3 Chunichi Sports Sho Falcon Stakes at Chukyo, and finished third only half a second behind Schnell Meister in the NHK Mile Cup at Tokyo. Trained at Ritto by Japan's current leading trainer for wins MItsumasa Nakauchida and to be paired with jockey Kenichi Ikezoe, the colt returned after four months off to finish third in the Grade 3 Keisei Hai Autumn Handicap on Sept. 12. Both Grenadier Guards' two wins have come at Hanshin, one of them over the mile.

Others to watch are:

Lotus Land has consistently run first or second in all but three of her starts. She captured the Grade 3 Sekiya Kinen in August over the Niigata 1,600 meters, but returned in late October 10 kg heavier for a 10th in the Fuji Stakes at Tokyo. Matured since her 12th in the Hanshin Juvenile Fillies in 2019, and with a sharpened behind her, this American-bred girl could surprise. Third in the 2019 NHK Mile Cup, Catedral takes on his second Mile Championship following his sixth in 2019. Often slow at the break and no different last out in the Keisei Autumn Handicap, he nonetheless won with a final 600-meter time of 33.9 seconds under Keita Tosaki, expected back up on Sunday. The Heart's Cry 5-year-old is 1-2-10 at Hanshin. The 6-year-old Sound Chiara rose consistently from her debut and shone through her second in the Victoria Mile last year. Since then, including a 10th here last year and an 11th in this year's Victoria Mile, she returned after five months off to land a second amid mixed company in the Grade 2 MBS Sho Swan Stakes over the Hanshin 1,400 meters on Oct. 30 and may be on the up and up.

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