Uberleben Scores First Graded Win in Japanese Oaks

In the end, the distance told the story in the Yushun Himba (Japanese Oaks, G1) May 23 at Tokyo Racecourse as Uberleben stayed the course and the favorite, the striking white filly Sodashi, did not.

Uberleben, a daughter of Gold Ship , scored her first graded stakes win and second victory overall in the 2,400-meter (about 1 1/2-mile) classic. Sodashi, by Kurofune , winner of two previous grade 1 events, suffered her first loss in her sixth start.

Cool Cat, under Yutaka Take, jumped out to lead the way in the Yushun Himba and took the field through the backstretch run and into the final, sweeping turn. As the 18 fillies hit the stretch, most still had a chance as they ran in a compact bunch.

Jockey Hayato Yoshida had Sodashi perfectly positioned and found nothing but daylight in front as they approached the 200-meter mark but suddenly could find no more. Uberleben, after dawdling at the back of the field, took the outside route as the frontrunners faded and quickly asserted herself.

Uberleben won by a convincing length, defeating challenges from Akaitorino Musume and Hagino Pilina on the inside and out. Sodashi reported eighth while Cool Cat finished 14th.

Uberleben finished in 2:24.5, nearly four seconds off the course record despite good to firm going and fine weather.

"She broke smoothly today and it did worry me a bit that we were dead last in the backstretch," said winning rider Mirco Demuro. "She responded well when the pace accelerated from the third corner and showed her tenacity in steadily advancing in the straight."

Demuro said the 2,400 meters was not an issue.

"She was strong pulling away and holding off the others. The added distance wasn't a problem for her at all. I'm thrilled. It's always wonderful to win a grade 1 race," said Demuro, who scored his 33rd such triumph.

The dominant influence of Sunday Silence in the Japanese breeding industry continues to cascade through the years as Uberleben was the first grade 1 winner for Gold Ship, a son of Stay Gold, who was sired by the American superstar.

Uberleben, out of the Roses in May mare Meine Theresia, was bred by Big Red Farm and runs in the colors of K Thoroughbred Club Ruffian.

Uberleben won at first asking in June of 2020 at Tokyo Racecourse but had come up short in five intervening races. She was third behind Sodashi in the Hanshin Juvenile Fillies (G1) and third in each of her two earlier starts in 2021. She prepped for the Yushun Himba going 2,000 meters (about 1 1/4 miles) in the Sankei Sports Sho Flora Stakes (G2) April 25 at Tokyo, a race won by Cool Cat.

Sodashi, by contrast, had not run beyond 1,800 meters (about 1 1/8 miles) and her three previous starts were at 1,600 meters (about one mile). Nonetheless, trainer Naosuke Sugai seemed confident before the race that the distinctively colored filly was up to the task, saying, "I know she can handle more ground."

Uberleben's ascent to grade 1 glory was all the more noteworthy as Demuro revealed she had suffered a bout of colic in February "and has shown a slow but steady recovery."

Prevailing over such adversity appropriately reflects the filly's name, which roughly translates from German to mean "Survival" or "To Survive."