Stunning Rose Blooms in the Queen Elizabeth II Cup

Third favorite Stunning Rose claimed her first win since October 2022 in the Shuka Sho and second Grade 1 victory in the Queen Elizabeth II Cup on Sunday, November 10.

The King Kamehameha progeny was clocked in an impressive 2 minutes, 11.1 seconds at Kyoto Racecourse, rewriting the race record set by To the Victory in 2021 (2:11.2).

After being sidelined with peritendinitis in her left foreleg after finishing 12th in the 2023 Victoria Mile (G1, 1,600 meters), she made her comeback in the Osaka Hai (G1, 2,000 meters) in March 2024 and placed eighth.

Stunning Rose, a 5-year-old mare, presented her trainer Tomokazu Takano with his eighth Japan Racing Association G1 title. It was Takano's first G1 victory since Jantar Mantar triumphed in the NHK Mile Cup on May 5.

Italian jockey Cristian Demuro, who is riding under a short-term license and had won the Queen Elizabeth II Cup title with Geraldina in 2022, collected his fifth G1 title in Japan.

How Stunning Rose Secures the Victory

The field broke in front of the stands with Conch Shell (jockey Mirai Iwata's ride) taking the early lead while Harper (Yutaka Take) and Shinryokuka (Hatsuya Kowata) followed in close pursuit.

A bit keen in the backstretch, Stunning Rose chased the frontrunners in fourth before making headway. She swiftly took over the lead while turning the last corner.

First to enter the straight, the King Kamehameha mare romped to the wire unthreatened for an impressive two-length victory. (Watch the full race on the JRA's YouTube Channel.)

"I'm very happy to have won a G1 race which I wanted to achieve here in Japan, especially after finishing second a few times," Demuro said in a post-race interview. "Today after the start, I chose to go behind the leader and the mare just showed a special turn of foot."

Other Top Finishers in the Queen Elizabeth II Cup

Sent off lightly favored as the 12th choice, Ravel (Yuga Kawada), winner of the G3 Artemis Stakes (1,600 meters) as a 2-year-old, settled outside the favorite around eighth and circled wide into the stretch. Although no match for the eventual winner, Ravel dug in well to overhaul Wholeness (Ryusei Sakai) 100 meters out to place two lengths behind Stunning Rose.

Second pick of the 17-horse field, Wholeness saved ground in fifth, angled out for her stretch run and while denied the runner-up seat by the fast-closing Ravel, she shook off her rivals in a fierce rally in the final strides to secure third place by a neck.

Shinryokuka placed fourth.

Heavy favorite and the only 3-year-old runner, Regaleira, ridden by Christophe Lemaire, broke well and settled in mid-pack but found herself in tight quarters in the early stretch. The Hopeful Stakes winner bumped rivals trying to squeeze through aggressively and launched her bid late, finishing fifth.