Second pick Meisho Mambo partnered with Koshiro Take captured their third G1 victory in the three-year-old filly’s first challenge against older fillies and mares. The pair seems to have discovered the knack of winning, as the two sailed past rivals in the homestretch with an imposing late charge, with which the pair claimed the final two legs of the fillies’ Triple Crown, the Yushun Himba (Japanese Oaks) and the Shuka Sho. This victory marks the third JRA G1 win for her trainer Akihiro Iida and sixth JRA G1 victory for her jockey Koshiro Take.

Making a good break, Meisho Mambo was eased back to mid-division as Etain and other frontrunners rushed out to set the pace. The Suzuka Mambo filly settled around seventh from the front, leading the second group of runners through the backstretch, and taking a wide route rounding the final turn, found a clear path on the outside to dislodge a powerful burst of speed. Taking the front 200 meters out, the three-year-old filly easily held off the challenges from behind to cross the wire 1-1/4 lengths in front. “This race was much tougher than the previous race, but she’s a really strong filly. We raced while marking Verxina on the inside, and the filly responded well to my urging,” commented jockey Koshiro Take.
Breaking smoothly from the outermost stall, Lachesis traveled wide, tracking the pace-setter in fourth. Steadily advancing forward rounding the last two corners, the Deep Impact filly made bid at the top of the stretch in an attempt to inherit the lead from the tiring frontrunner and, although overtaken by Meisho Mambo 200 meters out, chased persistently behind the winner to cross the wire in second.
Four-year-old Aromatico, after traveling 3-4th from the rear, also took a wide route through the final turn, rushed out right behind the winner, and although displaying an impressive late charge, which was equivalent to that of the winner, the King Kamehameha filly was a neck short of the runner-up to finish third.
Race favorite Verxina could not avenge last year’s neck defeat as she was unable to find space at the straight and finished a disappointing tenth.
Other Horses:
4th: (17) Tosen Arnica—raced in 6th, found little space at early stretch but held on well
5th: (14) Denim and Ruby—trailed in rear, advanced after 3rd corner, showed impressive speed
6th: (5) Whale Capture—traveled wide in mid-pack, charged well from outside on stretch
7th: (1) All That Jazz—reserved along rail in rear pack, showed good effort and finished strongly
8th: (6) Hana's Goal—sat in mid-division, quickened on inner stretch but outrun in final strides
9th: (2) Dia de la Madre—hugged rail in mid-group, turned home 2nd from last and responded well
11th: (4) Midsummer Fair—back in mid-pack, showed effort but weakened in last 100m
12th: (10) Etain—set pace, nailed at last furlong and dropped back thereafter
13th: (13) Rainbow Dahlia—traveled toward rear, passed tired rivals at straight
14th: (16) Sekisho—chased leader, sustained bid but used up 100m out
15th: (8) Marcellina—settled almost rear, showed belated charge
16th: (12) Celebrity Model—stalked in 3rd, ran gamely but faded after passing 200m-marker
17th: (11) Tagano Innocence—3w in mid-division, angled wide to lane but even paced
18th: (15) Speed Ripper—raced in 5th, no factor at stretch