The upcoming weekend offers some high-class action at the Japanese Race Tracks. On Saturday, three-year-old and older fillies and mares will line up for the G2 Fuchu Himba Stakes in Tokyo, where white Sodashi will attempt to bag her eighth Graded win. On Sunday, Stars On Earth faces a bid for the Japanese Triple Crown for fillies in the G1 2022 Shuka Sho. Because she won both the Japanese 1000 Guineas and Oaks, she could become the sixth filly who achieved it in its current form.
Fuchu Himba Stakes
The G2 turf race boasts a purse of 106,340,000 Yen, attracting a field of fifteen three-year-old and older fillies and mares. They will cover the distance of a mile and a furlong, with Sodashi being the main star of the event. The four-year-old filly has bagged six Graded wins so far.
The Hayato Yoshida bound white also scored a G1 race every year of her career as she won the Hanshin Juvenile Fillies, then delivered in the Japanese 1000 Guineas, while in May 2022, Sodashi was the best in the G1 Victoria Mile.
Soadashi showed up twice on the dirt surface, on which she achieved third place in the G1 February Stakes but lately, she’s been preferring the turf ground again. After winning the mentioned Victoria Mile, she rested for a few months to return with fifth place in the G2 Sapporo Kinen in August. Her performance might’ve been a tad disappointing, but the company isn’t that strong on Saturday, so she should score the race even if she’s not in the best form ever.
Andvaranaut is another four-year-old filly in the field. The Manabu Ikezoe trained bay celebrated her most treasured victory in September 2021 upon winning the G2 Rose Stakes over a mile and a quarter. Subsequently, she finished third in the G1 Shuka Sho; however, she hasn’t really managed to draw on the last year’s efforts in 2022.
Out of three outings, she placed only in the G2 Hanshin Himba Stakes in April. There is something about her, but the question is whether she’s currently capable of showing it.
In terms of older mares, Akai Ito always needs to be mentioned, as she delivered in the last year’s G1 Queen Elizabeth II Cup despite failing to impress in the Fuchu Himba Stakes before that. Still, her results in the ongoing season aren’t interesting, as she placed only in her 2022 debut when finishing third in the G2 Kinko Sho in March. Since then, she twice affirmed not to be a G1 mare, so the drop in the class should help her.
Shadow Diva won the last year’s Fuchu Himba Stakes and recorded her premiere Graded triumph. Her performances have never been consistent, while in 2022, she seems out of form entirely. The last to talk about is Satono Cecil, a six-year-old daughter of Frankel, who hasn’t scored a Graded win yet; however, she was very close last time out.
Among G3 company, she finished second, and with Christophe Lemaire aboard, she simply needs to be considered to make another step forward.
Fuchu Himba Stakes Prediction
Our pick for the Fuchu Himba Stakes is Sodashi, who has accomplished the most in the ongoing season and her entire career.
| HORSE | JOCKEY | ODDS BY JAZZSPORTS |
| Akai Ito | H.Miyuki | +1200 |
| Ablaze | T.Ono | +1700 |
| Andvaranaut | Y.Fukunaga | +800 |
| Izu Jo no Kiseki | Y.Iwata | +3700 |
| Kurino Premium | M.Matsuoka | +1800 |
| Cool Cat | T.Danno | +5000 |
| Gold Berg | Y.Ishikawa | +12500 |
| Satono Cecil | C.Lemaire | +700 |
| Shadow Diva | Y.Kitamura | +1700 |
| Sodashi | H.Yoshida | -125 |
| Ho O Peaceful | K.Maruta | +2300 |
| Wrightia | R.Sakai | +3000 |
| Love You Live | K.Tosaki | +2500 |
| Ria Amelia | Y.Fujioka | +1800 |
| Rosa Noir | K.Tanaka | +2300 |
Shuka Sho
The final leg of the Japanese Triple Crown for three-year-old fillies lured in sixteen of them. They will cover the distance of a mile and a quarter, while the G1 turf race offers a purse of 214,800,000 Yen.
Stars on Earth is the leading victory candidate, given she scored both previous parts of the Triple Crown. The Mizuki Takayanagi has seven starts under her belt. As a junior, she didn’t give a sign of being anything special upon winning only a maiden.
She commenced the ongoing season with a couple of solid second places at the G3 stage; still, the efforts didn’t suggest she should become another filly to achieve the Triple Crown, following in the footsteps of Almond Eye or Daring Tact.
However, Stars on Earth delivered a superb finish in the Japanese 1000 Guineas and bagged her first Graded win narrowly, upon which she smoothly triumphed also in the G1 Japanese Oaks in May. She has been on a hiatus since, which might hamper her performance on Sunday; still, she is the rightful favorite in this field.
Besides the Duramente daughter, the field comprises several fillies who finished the Oaks behind her. Stunning Rose was the best of the rest back then, as expected. The Tomokazu Takano bound bay is quite stunning, as her name suggests, because she suggested some class as a two-year-old, while in 2022, she kicked the season off with two victories.
After a Stakes win, she triumphed at the G3 level, upon which she managed to step up her game tremendously as she lost only to Stars On Earth in the Japanese Oaks. She rested until September when Stunning Rose narrowly prevailed in the G3 Shion Stakes over Sound Vivace. The distance should suit her, she’s classy, and when looking at the race card, Stunning Rose is probably the one who could prevent the favorite from reaching the Triple Crown.
Namur took third place in the Oaks, making amends for her lacklustre performance in the Japanese 1000 Guineas. She was the leading chance back then thanks to her fine win in the G2 trial. She is respected for Sunday’s race by all means, while Erika Vita needs to deliver something similar Namur did last time. The chestnut won a trial for the Japanese Oaks but failed to repeat the effort in the Classic race, and we’ll see whether she can bounce back.
The last to mention is Art House, a chestnut filly who was seventh in the Japanese Oaks, but in her most recent start, she ran a great race in the G2 Rose Stakes and won it easily. She’s in form, and her class could be enough to snatch up a place on Sunday.
2022 Shuka Sho Prediction
Our pick for the Shuka Sho is Stars On Earth because we believe she can achieve the Triple Crown for fillies. Still, Stunning Rose looks dangerous.
| HORSE | JOCKEY | ODDS BY JAZZSPORTS |
| Art House | Y.Kawada | +375 |
| Win Eclair | M.Matsuoka | +1400 |
| Water Navillera | Y.Take | +5500 |
| Eglantyne | K.Ikezoe | scratched |
| Erika Vita | Y.Fukunaga | +2100 |
| Sound Vivace | M.Iwata | +12000 |
| Stunning Rose | R.Sakai | +350 |
| Stars on Earth | C.Lemaire | +100 |
| Storia | K.Matsuyama | +3700 |
| Tagano Finale | K.Sameshima | +12000 |
| Namur | T.Yokoyama | +400 |
| Bright on Base | S.Akiyama | scratched |
| Presage Lift | K.Tosaki | +3700 |
| Memory Raison | Y.Furukawa | scratched |
| Lilac | M.Demuro | +3700 |
| Love Pyro | M.Sakai | scratched |
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