Japan: 207-1 long shot stuns field in Breeders’ Cup qualifier
Ten Happy Rose, sent off at odds of 207-1, passed nine rivals in the stretch Sunday in her shocking, 1 1/4-length upset win in the Grade 1, US$1,807,975 Victoria Mile, a one-turn turf race for older fillies and mares at Tokyo Racecourse.
Coming off a sixth-place finish last out April 6 in the Hanshin Himba (G2), the 6-year-old mare was sent to the post as the second longest shot in the field of 15. Owned by Yasushi Tenpaku, Ten Happy Rose landed her first graded-stakes victory in Sunday’s automatic qualifier for the Breeders’ Cup Filly & Mare Turf on Nov. 2 at Del Mar.
Trainer Daisuke Takayanagi, who looked after T O Password’s fifth-place finish last weekend in the Kentucky Derby, scored his second Grade 1 win after saddling T O Keynes to victory in the 2021 Champions Cup. Akihide Tsumura celebrated his first Grade 1 victory in his 21st season as a jockey.
Ten Happy Rose broke sharply but soon was eased back to settle fourth from the rear. Gradually making up ground along the outside approaching the turn and securing a clear path into the homestretch, she showed terrific acceleration going uphill in the last quarter-mile. She took the lead inside the eighth pole and drew away.
“I had long been waiting and working hard to be able to stand on this podium as a Grade 1 winner, and it feels really great that I have finally made it,” Tsumura said. “From the start up until the end of the turn, the race unfolded beyond my imagination, and it was just a matter of how much the mare could extend her strides from there. When we were actually leading in the last (furlong), it was almost unbelievable.”
Fierce Pride (11-1) chased the leaders just off the rail in fourth place early. She angled out entering the stretch to overtake the early leaders who began to run out of steam going uphill. She assumed command before the furlong pole, but she was outrun by the powerful charge from the outside by Ten Happy Rose. The 6-year-old mare ridden by Christophe Lemaire still held on for second.
Post-time favorite Masked Diva (6-5), a 4-year-old filly who won the Hanshin Himba, broke smoothly under João Moreira and was taken back to mid-pack. Tipping wide for the stretch run, she was blocked by horses in front. Although she showed a good turn of foot after finding some space inside the furlong pole, it was too late for her to make up enough ground to catch the leaders. Masked Diva finished third, missing second by a neck.
Ten Happy Rose’s winning time was 1:31.8 without a run-up on the left-handed course rated good to firm. The early splits were 22.7, 45.4 and 1:07.4.
After winning her 2-year-old debut over six furlongs, Ten Happy Rose went winless in her next five starts at a mile. The mare by Epiphaneia scored four wins after cutting back to seven furlongs in 15 of her next 17 starts, which included a win in the listed Toki Stakes.
“I am grateful for the fans that have been rooting for me,” Tsumura said. “I hope this is just the start of more victories like this.”
The top three finishers earned automatic berths in the Prix Jacques le Marois (G1) on Aug. 11 and the Prix du Moulin de Longchamp (G1) on Sept. 8, both in France.
If Ten Happy Rose is committed to Del Mar this fall, the Breeders’ Cup will pay her entry fees and provide a travel allowance. She must be nominated to the Breeders’ Cup program by the pre-entry deadline of Oct. 21 to receive the rewards.