‘Lilac’ Can Stay Perfect In Oka Sho

[Wandering Eyes]

The first Japanese Classic of the year takes place on Sunday when Hanshin hosts the G1 Oka Sho or Japanese 1000 Guineas. A full field of 18 fillies will line up for the 1600m contest and all eyes will be on last year’s champion 2-year-old filly Lucky Lilac (Jpn) (Orfevre {Jpn}) who bids to extend her unbeaten run to five. The filly was three for three last year including when beating a number of Sunday’s rivals in the G1 Hanshin Juvenile Fillies in December and she proved she had trained on nicely as a 3-year-old when making a stylish winning return in the G2 Tulip Sho over the course and distance March 3.

On that occasion she confirmed her dominance over both Mau Lea (Jpn) (Deep Impact {Jpn}) and Lily Noble (Jpn) (Rulership {Jpn}) and her trainer Mikio Matsunaga is hopeful the filly will again prove her class on Sunday. “She looks better for losing her winter coat,” he said. “She’ll probably be about 500kg going into the race and I feel she’s getting stronger as she develops. She’s relaxed and has a good appetite. This time it’s a full field of strong horses, and being a horse race, we don’t know what might happen. Of course I feel some pressure, but I’m really looking forward to her doing her best with the condition she’s in,” he added.

Almond Eye (Jpn) (Lord Kanaloa {Jpn}) is an interesting contender and after a light juvenile campaign that saw her break her maiden on her second start, she reappeared in 2018 at Kyoto in January when she beat Tsuzumimon (Jpn) (Strong Return {Jpn}) in the G3 Shinzan Kinen. Her trainer Sakae Kunieda sent out Apapane (Jpn) (King Kamehameha {Jpn}) to win the Oka Sho in 2010 and he commented, “Everything’s gone well in training. She seems more adult, and I have no worries with her. The jockey’s also happy with her. With a strong favorite in the race, it takes the pressure off a bit. The Hanshin 1600 meters on the outer course is easy to handle, and I think she has what it takes to get a result if the race is run to suit her.”

Liberty Heights (Jpn) (King Kamehameha {Jpn}) also lines up on the back of a last time out stakes win and her performance in the G2 Hochi Hai Fillies’ Revue over seven furlongs at Hanshin on March 11 makes her a serious contender. She also had a number of Sunday’s challengers behind her that day including Encore plus (Jpn) (Deep Impact {Jpn}) and Dernier Or (Jpn) (Stay Gold {Jpn}) and her trainer Tomokazu Takano said, “I think she can adjust to any pace and is capable of producing in a Grade 1. She’s been moving well this past week, and we’re trying not to overdo things with her.”

 

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