Oka Sho Preview: The Fillies' Triple Crown Kicks Off with the Shortest of the 3 Races

Japan's racing season for the Classics is here again. Hanshin Racecourse hosts the 86th running of the Oka Sho (Japanese 1000 Guineas), the first leg of the Fillies' Triple Crown, on Sunday, April 12.

The event kicks off the once-in-a-lifetime race for 3-year-old fillies, with 19 nominees for 18 berths in the 1,600-meter turf contest. And the purse is just shy of ¥304 million JPY ($1.9 million USD), with the winner taking home ¥140 million (nearly $900,000).

The Oka Sho is the shortest of the three races that make up Japan's Triple Crown for fillies. It is followed on May 24 by the Yushun Himba (Japanese Oaks), which is the longest of the three races at 2,400 meters at Tokyo Racecourse. The final race is the 2,000-meter Shuka Sho, to be held on October 18 at Kyoto.

Eighteen of the nominated fillies have secured a berth either through their earnings or having finished in the top spots in any of three trials ― the March 1 Tulip Sho at Hanshin, the Fillies Revue on March 7, also at Hanshin, or the Anemone Stakes on March 14 at Nakayama.

Expected top picks for the Oka Sho will likely revolve around three fillies, none of whom competed in the aforementioned trials. They are Star Anise, winner of the Grade 1 Hanshin Juvenile Fillies, Alankar, the fifth-place finisher in the same race, and Grade 3 Queen Cup winner Dream Core.

About the 86th Oka Sho

The past 10 runnings of the Oka Sho have seen the top 5 picks of the day consistently finish in the top 3. And the past five years have seen the Oka Sho winner coming from a first- or second-place finish in either the Hanshin Juvenile Fillies (Star Anise) or the Queen Cup (Dream Core and Zippy Tune) immediately prior to the Oka Sho.

The Oka Sho is held on the outer Hanshin course and starts in the backstretch. There is about 450 meters to the first turn and a downhill slope into the homestretch, which extends about 470 meters to the finish. The track rises shortly past the final furlong pole and flattens over the remaining 80 meters.

Furthermore, the pace is often slow in the Oka Sho and inside gates are not thought to be advantageous. However, those fillies racing close to the pace tend to do well.

All runners will carry 55 kg. The Oka Sho is the 11th race on Hanshin's Sunday card of 12. Post time is 3:40 PM.

Here's a look at some of the expected popular picks:

*Dream Core wins the Grade 3 Queen Cup on February 14 at Tokyo Racecourse. (©SANKEI)*

Dream Core Chasing 3rd Straight Win

Sired by Kizuna, Dream Core is out of Normcore, who won two G1s in her career ― the 2019 Victoria Mile and the 2020 Hong Kong Cup. Dream Core has yet to figure out of the top 3 in her four career starts. She is coming off a victory in the 1,600-meter Queen Cup at Tokyo, where she displayed not only a blistering turn of foot but also a keen competitiveness. And now, she's looking to scoop her third straight win.

However, all three of her wins have been at the left-handed Tokyo Racecourse. Her third-place finish at Nakayama was her only trip to the right.

Based at the Miho, Ibaraki Prefecture, stable of Kiyoshi Hagiwara (whose last G1 win was the 2021 Yasuda Kinen), Dream Core was shipped west early to train closer to the race venue. Her strength lies in her versatility. Being able to maintain a high speed while keeping something in reserve should stand her well in the Oka Sho, a race often decided by the fastest late speed.

If she wins, Dream Core will extend an Oka Sho winning streak by Miho-based fillies to three.

Star Anise Exhibits Versatility on the Track

After notching her first win in her second race, the Drefong-sired Star Anise posted two wins and a second as she leapt from her maiden over six furlongs to a Grade 3 (the Chukyo Nisai Stakes) a furlong longer.

She then went on to display her versatility by winning the Grade 1 Hanshin Juvenile Fillies over a mile at Hanshin. Star Anise topped runner-up Garavogue by a length and a quarter, and tied the record set by Ascoli Piceno two years earlier. The G1 victory won Star Anise JRA's title of Best 2-Year-Old Filly for 2025. And the big chestnut filly goes to the Oka Sho gate without a prep, a route that took Sodashi in 2020 and Liberty Island in 2022 to the Oka Sho winner's circle.

Star Anise is trained in Ritto, Shiga Prefecture, by Tomokazu Takano, who has 11 G1 wins, but none of them in the Classics. She races under the colors of Northern Farm's Katsumi Yoshida, who has four fillies nominated for this race.

On April 1, Star Anise worked up the hill course under her regular rider Kohei Matsuyama, who won this race aboard Daring Tact in 2020. Star Anise covered the heavy ground in 54.2 seconds over four furlongs, and looked well filled out and very much on her toes.

Alankar Back Again at Hanshin Racecourse

The Ritto-based, Epiphaneia-sired Alankar finished fifth in the Hanshin Juvenile Fillies, the third start of her career. She followed that up by placing third in the Grade 2 Tulip Sho on March 1, landing her a spot here. Her last three starts have all been over the Hanshin mile, where she has posted 1-5-3.

In the Tulip Sho, Alankar raced slightly rear of midfield under Yutaka Take, finished only two neck lengths behind the winner and turned in the fastest final three-furlong time. Looking fine in trackwork, Alankar is expected to be paired once again with Take. Her dam Sinhalite was runner-up by a nose in the 2016 Oka Sho, followed by the win in the Japanese Oaks after that.

Read the rest of this article about the Oka Sho and the Japanese horses in contention on JRA News.

Author: JRA News