Daring Tact Rallies to Win Japanese Oaks

Midway down the stretch run in the Yushun Himba (Japanese Oaks, G1) Daring Tact still had lots to do and enough traffic in front of her to clog the Ginza on a busy shopping day.

After weaving out, then back in, then squeezing through a closing hole, the Epiphaneia filly just got the job done, winning the May 24 renewal of the second leg of the Japanese Triple Tiara by a half-length and keeping an undefeated record intact.

Win Marilyn and Win Mighty were second and third, both at long odds, as Daring Tact finished the 2,400 meters (about 1 1/2 miles) in 2:24.4 over firm Tokyo Racecourse turf. The final time was well short of the stakes record of 2:22.8, set last year by Loves Only You.

Daring Tact now has four wins from four starts and is only the second filly, after Miss Onward in 1957, to win the first two legs of the Triple Crown while undefeated.

The victory was in serious question as the field crested the homestretch rise with Daring Tact and jockey Kohei Matsuyama still well back in the 18-filly field and well off the rail. Daring Tact first looked to her outside but Matsuyama instead chose an inside path with some 300 meters left.

As Daring Tact steered for that hole between rivals, the opening quickly started to vanish and she just squeezed through. Seeing daylight, she found her best stride late, as she had in her previous three outings.

Matsuyama scored his third grade 1 win but the first on a favorite.

"I admit I felt the pressure," he said. "So I'm relieved."

Matsuyama said the race certainly did not unfold to plan.

"After a good break, we were bumped a few times, so I decided to keep her relaxed in a lower position than planned," the rider said. "She instantly kicked into gear once out of traffic in the straight and showed another amazing run down the middle of the lane. Her tremendous burst of speed was extraordinary."

Win Mighty, a daughter of Gold Ship, seized the lead at mid-stretch while Daring Tact was looking for running room. Win Marilyn, by Screen Hero, shadowed the early speed in the race and appeared to have victory in hand after passing her stablemate until Daring Tact flashed by on her outside. Both are owned by Win Co.

Daring Tact, bred by Hasegawa Bokujo and racing for Normandy Thoroughbred Racing Co., started her career with a win at Kyoto Nov. 16 and scored again in the Elfin Sakes Feb. 8 in her 3-year-old debut. The Elfin win earned her a spot in the Oka Sho (Japanese One Thousand Guineas, G1) April 12, where she won by 1 1/2 lengths.

Her first three starts all came at 1,600 meters (about one mile) but Matsuyama and trainer Haruki Sugiyama both accurately predicted she would have no trouble stretching out.

"I think she's gotten better with each race, as she has with each workout," Matsuyama said after the filly drew gate No. 4. "She has matured as well. I think she'll be able to handle the distance but, with the two turns, key will be how well she can settle."

Daring Tact represents the first crop produced by Epiphaneia, winner of the 2014 Japan Cup (G1). Her dam, Daring Bird, is by King Kamehameha, winner of the 2004 Tokyo Yushun (Japanese Derby, G1).

Eight of the 18 starters in the Yushun Himba were sired by the late Deep Impact. The best showing was by Ria Amelia, who finished fourth, also with a good turn of foot after a late start. Ria Amelia, out of the 2013 Breeders' Cup Juvenile Fillies (G1) winner Ria Antonia, improved from a 10th place showing in the Oka Sho, which was contested on a soft course at Hanshin.