2024 Queen Elizabeth II Cup: Group 1 Review
Venue: Kyoto Racecourse
Distance: 2200m
Value: ¥281,800,000 (US$1,845,993)
There aren’t many races in Japan that can be considered soft Group 1 contests, but the Queen Elizabeth II Cup may be the closest to earning that tag – especially in 2024 – and Stunning Rose took advantage with a convincing victory.
The fillies and mares take to the 2200m outside course at Kyoto for the feature, but this year saw distaffers like Stars On Earth, Liberty Island, Cervinia, Stellenbosch, Brede Weg, Bond Girl, Ascoli Piceno, Light Back and Masked Diva either targeting other races or on the sidelines.
That left a field that contained just two Group 1 winners among 17 contenders: the Tomokazu Takano-trained Stunning Rose, who took out the 2022 Shuka Sho (defeating Namur and Stars On Earth), and Tetsuya Kimura’s Regaleira, who overcame Shin Emperor to win the Hopeful Stakes last year.
Stunning Rose hadn’t so much as placed in six starts since her Shuka Sho success, but the five-year-old put her name back up in lights at Kyoto.
The Race
A charge to the first turn suggested a potentially quick tempo was in the offing as Conch Shell booted up under Mirai Iwata and Harper, partnered by Yutaka Take, pushed across from out wide. A 10.6s furlong from the 2000m to 1800m, taking them out of the Kyoto straight, seemed to be setting the race up as a test of stamina.
Iwata, who has become renowned as a handy judge of pace, slowed the speed significantly although to the eye it still appeared like he was running them along. From the 1800m to the 600m, he averaged 12.3-second furlongs aboard Conch Shell and the Group 3 winner looked in a prime position to take the prize.
But when she came under a ride at the 600m she found little and eyes switched to the outside where Stunning Rose and Cristian Demuro were quickly accelerating. Demuro had kept his mare in an ideal spot to capitalise on the slow tempo in fourth, one off the fence, and upon straightening she was full of running – clear of a scrimmage behind that halted momentum for a number of key chances.
That proved decisive as she came home two lengths clear of last year’s Yushun Himba fourth Ravel with the lightly-raced Wholeness in third.
The Beaten Favourite
Christophe Lemaire would likely wish he could take the ride again on Regaleira.
Jumping from gate seven, she was slightly squeezed at the start and ended up midfield with the classy but enigmatic Ravel (and Yuga Kawada) to her outside.
Shuffled back at different times throughout, she still managed to get back into position and was in the right spot to be able to capitalise upon turning. However, whereas Kawada was able to bring Ravel to the outside to build momentum, Lemaire decided to send Regaleira through a gap between the weakening Harper and fourth favourite Scintillation.
At that moment, Take and Harper drifted in while Tom Marquand on Scintillation rolled out in a bid to get around another fader, Conch Shell. That left Regaleira as the proverbial meat in the sandwich and the filly’s momentum was halted.
If Lemaire had held his line to the outside of Harper, he would have had a four-horse gap to charge through right next to second favourite and eventual third placegetter Wholeness. Her effort to get going again for fifth was commendable.
Meanwhile, Ravel was able to build through the line to get within two lengths of Stunning Rose in second.
The Statistic
Three may not be such a lucky number for jockey Ryusei Sakai.
In 2024, he has finished third in seven Group 1 races worldwide: in the Oka Sho (Light Back), Kentucky Derby (Forever Young), Yushun Himba (Light Back), Tokyo Yushun (Shin Emperor), Irish Champion Stakes (Shin Emperor), Breeders’ Cup Classic (Forever Young) and Queen Elizabeth II Cup (Wholeness). He was also third in the JPN1 Tokyo Derby on Ammothyella.
Having ridden both Stunning Rose and Ravel in the past, he will be hoping to snap that run of placings in the weeks ahead aboard horses like Shin Emperor in the Japan Cup and Lemon Pop in the Champions Cup.
The Quote
Cristian Demuro (Stunning Rose, 1st): “I’m very happy because I’d come to Japan this year with an ambition to win a Group 1. This year has been a little bit strange for me, I broke my hand and I kept finishing second in Group 1s.
“I didn’t go in with a plan, I waited to see what happened at the start and managed to get behind the leaders. I travelled well and she showed a special turn of foot today.”
Christophe Lemaire (Regaleira, 5th): “I couldn’t get my preferred position. If I had been behind Cristian, I could have had a better race. I got bumped in the stretch and couldn’t run smoothly. It was unlucky. She’s definitely G1 level, but I couldn’t ride well. I’m sorry.”
The Future
Stunning Rose is expected to retire at the end of the year, but she will likely make one more appearance before the breeding barn beckons.
That could come in either the G1 Hong Kong Cup or G1 Hong Kong Vase or potentially in the season-ending G1 Arima Kinen at Nakayama.
