Liberty Island wins Shuka Sho, sweeps Japan fillies triple crown
Overwhelming favorite Liberty Island (1-10) claimed the Grade 1, US$1.6 million Shuka Sho on Sunday at Kyoto to sweep the Japan fillies triple crown after wins in the Oka Sho 1,000 Guineas (G1) and the Yushun Himba Japan Oaks during the spring.
Liberty Island broke smoothly and settled two wide in good position behind the leaders. She was seventh on the backstretch and made headway three furlongs while turning the last turn wide.
After taking command around the quarter pole, the Duramente filly found another gear to exert a strong drive along the stretch and, although threatened by the fast-closing chase by Masked Diva before the wire, managed to hold off the Rulership filly by a length margin for the victory.
“I’m grateful that we were able to achieve the triple crown,” winning jockey Yuga Kawada said. “She is a horse with great ability, so I placed top priority on letting her run comfortably and finding a good path for her. I was confident of her victory when we had an open space (in the second turn). She has great potential, and her dreams for the future are wide open, but first of all, I would like to praise her for achieving the triple crown.”
Owned by Sunday Racing, Liberty Island was the seventh filly to sweep the Japan fillies triple-crown races following Mejiro Ramonu in 1986, Still in Love in 2003, Apapane in 2010, Gentildonna in 2012, Almond Eye in 2018 and Daring Tact in 2020. She extended her Grade 1 winning streak to four including the 2022 Hanshin Juvenile Fillies, which made her the Japan Racing Association’s champion 2-year-old filly.
Liberty Island’s winning time was 2:01.1 for the 2,000 meters, which are 13 yards short of 1 1/4 miles. The two-turn, right-handed turf course was rated good.
On her way to finishing second, Masked Diva (12-1) broke sharply and eased back to settle around 13th. Though meeting traffic at the top of the stretch, the filly found an opening three-sixteenths out and dislodged a powerful late charge. Despite a 33.5-second final three furlongs that allowed her to close in on Liberty Island, Masked Diva was a length short at the wire.
Harper (11-1) finished another 2 1/2 lengths back in third. Early on she sat around fifth in front of the winner, angled out slightly turning into the stretch and, while unable to keep up with the winner’s speed, managed to pass the tiring frontrunners in the final sixteenth.
With this race, trainer Mitsumasa Nakauchida captured his eighth Japan Grade 1 victory following his Yushun Himba title with this filly. Kawada marked his 25th Japan Grade 1 win following the Sprinters Stakes with Mama Cocha two weeks ago. He also conquered all seven Grade 1 races for 3-year-olds.
Starting this year a Japan-bred horse who achieves the fillies triple-crown title receives a bonus of US$669,120.