2024 Hanshin Juvenile Fillies: Group 1 Review
Venue: Kyoto Racecourse
Distance: 1600m
Value: ¥259,200,000 (US$1,730,943)
Arma Veloce has emerged as Japan’s number one filly after she won the G1 Hanshin Juvenile Fillies (1600m) at Kyoto Racecourse on Sunday and gave Mirai Iwata his first Group 1 victory.
Usually run at Hanshin Racecourse in Hyogo, it was staged at Kyoto for the first time since 1990 because Hanshin is undergoing renovations.
It was already a historic feature as it was the first time an international contender had run in any two-year-old Group 1 race in Japan. The Joseph Lee-prepared May Day Ready, winner of the G2 Jessamine Stakes (8.5f) at Keeneland in October and runner-up in the G1 Breeders’ Cup Juvenile Fillies Turf (1m) at Del Mar last month, tackled 17 local rivals.
Arma Veloce joined stars like Vodka, Buena Vista, Sodashi and Liberty Island on the Hanshin Juvenile Fillies honour roll.
The Race
The visitor May Day Ready was fastest to begin for Frankie Dettori, highlighting an advantage Americans have against their rivals – in theory at least – due to their ability to break rapidly from the stalls. Given she was drawn out in 17, a brisk start was crucial to her chances.
Quickly though it was another legend in Yutaka Take who kicked up underneath her on outsider Lily Field. Mistress, Mozu Nana Star and Shonan Xanadu also pushed forward, leaving May Day Ready trapped five wide. It may not have been the worst position, given eventual winner Arma Veloce was immediately to her inside, but it made her job much harder.
The pressure continued through the first 500 metres before the tempo steadied and Ryusei Sakai on Mistress assumed the front-running role.
On turning for home the field used much of the width of the Kyoto straight. In particular, Hideaki Miyuki aboard Vip Daisy shifted from a one-off position on the apex of the turn to a 12-wide berth to challenge in the space of a furlong. She sprinted stoutly, but Arma Veloce had already built up a head of steam and that momentum proved crucial as she scored by a length.
The Winner
Arma Veloce entered with fair credentials but hardly seemed the most likely winner. Now, she is Japan’s champion two-year-old filly in waiting.
An all-the-way winner on debut over 1800m at Sapporo in August, she stepped out later that month over the same course and distance to finish second by a nose to Magic Sands in the G3 Sapporo Nisai Stakes.
Sold for 33 million yen (USD$220,000) as a foal at the 2022 Hokkaido Select Sale, she is out of a half-sister to Monde Can Know who finished second in the colts’ equivalent – the G1 Asahi Hai Futurity Stakes (1600m) – in 2016.
Arma Veloce became Harbinger’s eighth Group 1 winner and she looks another mile to middle distance filly in the mould of some of the 2010 King George VI and Queen Elizabeth Stakes winner’s other daughters in Deirdre, Normcore, Cervinia and Namur.
The Winning Jockey
Expectations have long surrounded Mirai Iwata as the son of the legendary Yasunari Iwata, winner of races like the Melbourne Cup, the Hong Kong Sprint twice and the Japan Cup three times.
In 2023 Iwata managed to claim the World All Star Jockeys title, with riders like Rachel King, Yutaka Take, Christophe Lemaire, Umberto Rispoli, Ryusei Sakai, Yuga Kawada and Joao Moreira among the beaten brigade.
However, a JRA Group 1 win still eluded the 24-year-old after 60 rides at the highest level, having claimed the NAR G1 JBC Ladies Classic aboard Valle De La Luna in 2022.
That changed at ride 61 and, although it wasn’t the most pretty effort to watch, it was extremely effective in getting the job done.
Trapped wide and between horses, Iwata eased from his early position of sixth on Arma Veloce to take the trail behind May Day Ready. He maintained that spot despite pressure from all sides; fortunately, when the American filly raised the white flag, he was able to switch off heels and build into the race.
Iwata still has 34 Group 1 wins, including five abroad, before he matches his father’s total. He has taken the first step, though, and he has the opportunity to forge his own legacy over the next three decades.
The Raider
Despite a tough run, May Day Ready still disappointed with how tamely she faded away from the 500m.
Lee and Dettori felt that the ground was slightly too soft for the filly while she was also thrown off by racing right-handed for the first time. They also said their ambitious campaign for the Tapit filly might have been a bridge too far.
Even in defeat, Lee and his owners deserve credit for attempting something not tried before. She will likely be seen in the summer in New York targeting Grade 1 features on turf.
The Beaten Favourite
Brown Ratchet, the half-sister to Forever Young, was sent out as favourite after beginning her career with two terrific wins – a newcomer over 1800m at Nakayama and the G3 Artemis Stakes (1600m) at Tokyo.
However, she ended up back in the pack and was unable to quicken into the race.
She is better than that effort and it is a run best forgotten.
The Quote
Mirai Iwata (Arma Veloce, 1st): “It feels great to be able to stand here as a G1 winner after six years of waiting. I had a feeling that the filly had great potential ever since I started riding her, and today, she justified that with great finishing speed. I was too occupied in driving her to the finish so I didn’t know until I had crossed the wire, but with no horse next to me then, I felt I had done it. The filly is really easy to ride and responsive when asked so this is her strong point.”
The Future
Usually, the Hanshin Juvenile Fillies winner will next be seen in the following season’s G1 Oka Sho (1600m) – the first leg of the Triple Tiara and usually at the same course and distance as the Hanshin Juvenile Fillies.
That should prove the case with Arma Veloce, although she will be making her debut at Hanshin with racing set to return at the track in March ∎
