Lucky Lilac Heads Japan's Queen Elizabeth II Cup

Three group 1 winners, including the 2019 Japanese Oaks (G1) champion, look to get back to winning ways against some promising younger rivals Nov. 15 in the Queen Elizabeth II Cup (G1).

The 2,200-meter (about 1 5/8-mile) event for fillies and mares is run this year at Hanshin Racecourse while its normal home in Kyoto undergoes a massive reconstruction. Public attendance is limited to 2,919 fans with reserved seats.

The group 1 title holders in the QE II are last year's winner, Lucky Lilac; Loves Only You, the winner of the 2019 Yushun Himba (Japanese Oaks); and Normcore, the winner of the 2019 Victoria Mile (G1).

All have something to prove after recent disappointments.

Lucky Lilac, a 5-year-old Orfevre mare out of the Flower Alley mare Lilacs and Lace, went on from the 2019 QE II to finish second behind Glory Vase in the Longines Hong Kong Vase (G1) at Sha Tin Racecourse in December. This year, she won the Osaka Hai (G1) but then finished up the track in the Takarasuka Kinen (G1) and third in the Sapporo Kinen (G2) in her most recent start Aug. 23.

"She went to the farm after her last race and was back at Ritto (training center) on Oct. 9," said trainer Mikio Matsunaga. "She didn't quite meet expectations in her work Nov. 4, though (she) still moved well. She has come along well, though, and this time, I think it'll be ideal if she can hold back and race from midfield like she did last year."

Japan's top rider, Christophe Lemaire, will get Lucky Lilac going from the outside gate in a field of 18.

Loves Only You, a 4-year-old daughter of Deep Impact from the Storm Cat mare Loves Only Me, was 4-for-4 after winning the Oaks in May 2019. Since then, she is 0-for-4 and recently returned from a four-month vacation to finish fifth in a group 2 at Tokyo Racecourse.

Trainer Yoshito Yahagi admitted before drawing gate 11 that the task with Loves Only You always has been to get her strong enough for her races—and that the struggle continues.

"She is maturing, but the issue has always been trying to get a weak constitution stronger. And that's our focus," Yahagi said. "If you give her a 100 for her best race, the Yushun Himba, she's now able to go from an 85 to a 90. With the remaining few days to the race, I'm doing my best to get her there."

Normcore, a 5-year-old, light gray daughter of Harbinger, struggled at races of one mile or less since the Victoria Mile triumph and returned to the winner's enclosure Aug. 23 in the Sapporo Kinen, going 2,000 meters (about 1 1/4 miles). Trainer Kiyoshi Hagiwara said he is not concerned about the trip.

"Her Sapporo Kinen run was a very good one, and things have all gone well since," Hagiwara said. "It's been two years since she raced over 2,200 meters, but I don't have any worries about the distance."

The 3-year-olds nibbling at the heels of their elders include Win Marilyn and Win Mighty, the second- and third-place finishers in the Yushun Himba, and Soft Fruit, who was third in the Shuka Sho (G1) behind Japanese filly Triple Crown winner Daring Tact in her most recent start when a better trip could have produced a stunning upset.

Yuichi Fukunaga gets the mount on Soft Fruit, a Godolphin homebred filly by Deep Impact out of the Kingmambo mare Strawberry Fair. The filly's trainer, Kunihide Matsuda, said Soft Fruit will benefit from both the added distance and the rider.

"She has a sharp turn of foot, so I'm expecting a good race," Matsuda said. "And I'm looking for the Triple Crown jockey to bring out her best."

Fukunaga, currently third in the JRA jockey standings behind Lemaire and Yuga Kawada, rode Contrail to victory Oct. 25 in the Kikuka Sho (Japanese St. Leger, G1), wrapping up the colts' Japanese Triple Crown. Kawada rides the relative outsider Ria Amelia.