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Cervinia Dominates in Shuka Sho-Last Gem of Triple Crown for Fillies

Cervinia wins this year’s Shuka Sho at Kyoto.

CERVINIA winning the Shuka Sho at Kyoto in Japan.
CERVINIA winning the Shuka Sho at Kyoto in Japan. Picture: Japan Racing Association

Race favorite Cervinia claimed this year's Shuka Sho, the last jewel of the Triple Crown, becoming the fifth filly since Mikki Queen in 2015 to dominate both this and the Yushun Himba (Japanese Oaks, G1, 2,400m). The Harbinger filly registered her third grade-race title following the Artemis Stakes (G3, 1,600m) as a two-year-old and her latest Yushun Himba triumph in May. Both trainer Tetsuya Kimura and jockey Christophe Lemaire won their first JRA-G1 title since the Yushun Himba, and as for Lemaire, this is his third Shuka Sho victory—the other two was with Deirdre (2017) and Almond Eye (2018). This marks the third consecutive Shuka Sho title for owner Sunday Racing Co., Ltd. following their successes with Stunning Rose in 2022 and Liberty Island last year.

The field was on its way in front of the Kyoto stands with Sekitoba East gunning for the lead while Cervinia was unhurried in a mid-pack position. After the pacemaker extended her huge lead down the backstretch setting a rapid pace, the field gradually started making their bids after the third corner. Still surrounded by her rivals turning for home, the Yushun Himba victor readily responded before the 200-meter pole and easily kicked clear, stretching away to a 1-3/4-length victory.

"As always, it's not easy to win a G1 race but Cervinia ran an incredible race today and everything went smoothly. The distance was right for her, we were able to sit in a good position, she found her own rhythm and was very calm throughout. The fast pace was also a good factor and she responded beautifully," commented Christophe Lemaire after the race.

A touch late out of the gate, fifth pick Bond Girl was eased back near the rear early before making a wide bid into the lane. With the fastest late speed, the Daiwa Major filly closed strongly but had too much ground to make up and was second.

Second favorite and Oka Sho (Japanese 1000 Guineas, G1, 1,600m) champion Stellenbosch was off slow and traveled around 10th. After slightly angling out rounding the last corners, the bay filly switched to an inside path for running room 200 meters out and quickened willingly, improving to second but was pinned by Bond Girl just before the wire and finished third.

Other Horses:

4th: (12) Lavanda—raced around 4th, showed tenacity after overtaken by winner, weakened in
                final strides
5th: (13) Christmas Parade—tracked distant leader in 2nd, took brief lead passing 200m pole,
                outrun thereafter
6th: (2) Mi Anhelo—positioned around 10th, showed response until 100m out on inner stretch
7th: (4) Tagano Elpida—chased leaders in 3rd, rallied for lead 200m out, weakened in last 100m
8th: (7) Chilcano—saved ground in 13th, showed effort but had too much ground to make up
9th: (8) Koganeno Sora—sat 3-wide around 5th, lacked needed kick at stretch
10th: (1) Hohelied—hugged rails around 9th, even paced
11th: (6) Rabbiteye—trailed in rear, circled wide, showed good effort to pass tired rivals
12th: (9) Admire Belle—settled around 6th on rails, checked at 200m pole, failed to respond
13th: (15) Sekitoba East—set fast pace, faded after 200m pole
14th: (11) Lance of Queen—raced 4-wide around 6th, unable to reach contention
15th: (3) Queen's Walk—stumbled at break, raced 2nd from rear, advanced in backstretch to enter
                lane around 7th, showed little at stretch


Japan Racing Association

Kyoto

Sunday, 13th October 2024

11
ET

THE SHUKA SHO (G1)

Age: 3yo Sex: F Type: OPEN
1 ¼ m TURF GOOD
11

(local)
JPY ¥214,620,000
1 ¼ m GOOD

THE SHUKA SHO (G1)

Age: 3yo Sex: F Type: OPEN


FP Silk Horse, Age & Sex
Sire & Dam
Jockey
Trainer
SP
WT
1st 5. CERVINIA (JPN) 3yo F
HARBINGER (GB) - CECCHINO (JPN)
CHRISTOPHE LEMAIRE
TETSUYA KIMURA
$2.3
55kg
Sunday Racing Co. Ltd.
2nd 10. BOND GIRL (JPN) 3yo F
DAIWA MAJOR (JPN) - COASTED (USA)
YUTAKA TAKE
T TEZUKA
$14.6
55kg
Susumu Fujita
3rd 14. STELLENBOSCH (JPN) 3yo F
EPIPHANEIA (JPN) - BLOUKRANS (JPN)
K TOSAKI
SAKAE KUNIEDA
$3.9
55kg
Katsumi Yoshida
4th 12. LAVANDA (JPN) 3yo F
SILVER STATE (JPN) - GOD PIRATES (JPN)
MIRAI IWATA
NAOYA NAKAMURA
$123.2
55kg
5th 13. CHRISTMAS PARADE (JPN) 3yo F
KITASAN BLACK (JPN) - MISS ERIKA (USA)
YUKITO ISHIKAWA
SHIZUYA KATO
$19.7
55kg
6th 2. MI ANHELO (JPN) 3yo F
DURAMENTE (JPN) - MI SUENO (USA)
AKIHIDE TSUMURA
TORU HAYASHI
$13.5
55kg
7th 4. TAGANO ELPIDA (JPN) 3yo F
KIZUNA (JPN) - TAGANO REVENTON (JPN)
TAISEI DANNO
TAKASHI SAITO
$18.1
55kg
8th 7. CHILCANO (JPN) 3yo F
HARBINGER (GB) - AROMATICO (JPN)
KATSUMA SAMESHIMA
TOMOKAZU TAKANO
$55.5
55kg
9th 8. KOGANENO SORA (JPN) 3yo F
GOLD SHIP (JPN) - MEINE HIMMEL (JPN)
RYUSEI SAKAI
K TAKE
$27.4
55kg
10th 1. HOHELIED (JPN) 3yo F
RULERSHIP (JPN) - GOLDEN HARP (JPN)
YUICHI KITAMURA
TOSHIAKI TAJIMA
$125.7
55kg
11th 6. RABBITEYE (JPN) 3yo F
EPIPHANEIA (JPN) - T S BERRY (IRE)
N YOKOYAMA
TAKASHI SUZUKI
$145.2
55kg
12th 9. ADMIRE BELLE (JPN) 3yo F
SUAVE RICHARD (JPN) - BELLE ALLURE (IRE)
TAKESHI YOKOYAMA
Y KATO
$51.5
55kg
13th 15. SEKITOBA EAST (JPN) 3yo F
DECLARATION OF WAR (USA) - BAREFOOT LADY (IRE)
Y FUJIOKA
HIROFUMI SHII
$33
55kg
14th 11. LANCE OF QUEEN (JPN) 3yo F
TALISMANIC (GB) - MY PURAANA (JPN)
KOHEI MATSUYAMA
Yutaka Okumura
$16.7
55kg
15th 3. QUEEN'S WALK (JPN) 3yo F
KIZUNA (JPN) - WAVELL AVENUE (CAN)
YUGA KAWADA
MITSUMASA NAKAUCHIDA
$6.8
55kg