Kamunyak Secures Upset Victory in Japanese Oaks

Kamunyak, peaking at just the right time, used every step of Japan's longest filly stakes race to rally from well off the pace to post an upset victory in the Yushun Himba (Japanese Oaks-G1) May 25 at Tokyo Racecourse.

The race shaped up as a showdown involving the 2024 Hanshin Juvenile Fillies (G1) winner Arma Veloce and Embroidery, victorious in the Oka Sho (Japanese One Thousand Guineas-G1) in her previous start. And through much of the 2,400-meter (about 1 1/2-mile) Yushun Himba, that battle unfolded on cue, with those fillies racing virtually side-by-side just behind the early leaders. Things changed as the field completed the sweeping turn into the uphill stretch run.

Arma Veloce picked up quickly for jockey Mirai Iwata and worked her way to the lead inside the 100-meter mark while Embroidery hit the wall and stalled out to finish ninth. As their duel dissolved, visiting rider Andrasch Starke roused Kamunyak from a trailing position, took the wide route into the lane, and steadily gained to beat Arma Veloce by a head.

Tagano Abby raced last of 18 well into the stretch run, then found a seam to rally for third at long odds.

The group wasn't in danger of speed-law violations with Kamunyak finishing in 2:25.7 over good to firm going. The course record is 2:20.6 and the race record in 2:22.8, set by Loves Only You  in 2019.

Most of the Yushun Himba runners were facing a distance test with the two favorites venturing past 1,800 meters (about 1 1/8 miles) for the first time. The race for 3-year-old fillies is the longest filly or mare contest on the Japanese stakes calendar, and Kamunyak had the advantage of a win at 2,000 meters (about 1 1/4 miles) in her previous start, the Flora Stakes (G2) April 27.

"The pace was not so fast in the second half of the race," Starke said. "Before the homestretch, I moved to the outside, where she responded very well. She's an amazing horse. She just won four weeks ago.

"It was important that she was very relaxed today; she put in a sound performance and her ability was amazing," he added.

Starke, riding on a short-term license since March 9, got his first Japanese grade 1 win on his 25th try. His first top-level appearance in Japan was on Caitano, who finished fourth in the 1997 Japan Cup (G1). Starke, at age 51, became the oldest Yushun Himba-winning rider.

"For me, it has been a dream to win a grade 1 race in Japan and I have no words. My dream came true," said Starke.

He added Japan to an extensive list of jurisdictions in which he has achieved that honor. Among them is France, where he won the 2011 Prix de l'Arc de Triomphe (G1) aboard Danedream , who was owned in part by Japanese racing kingpin Teruya Yoshida.

Kamunyak, bred at the Yoshida family's Shadai Farm, is by Black Tide , in turn a son of Sunday Silence. Her dam, Dance Amiga, is by Sakura Bakushin O, a distinguished sprinter who won the Sprinters Stakes (G1) in both 1993 and 1994. She carries the colors of Kaneko Makoto Holdings.

Kamunyak, trained by Yasuo Tomomichi, started her career with a win in a 2,000-meter newcomer race. She then finished sixth in the Artemis Stakes (G3) to finish 2024 and fourth in the listed Elfin Stakes in her 3-year-old debut—both at 1,600 meters (about 1 mile). She returned to the winner's enclosure when stretched back out to 2,000 meters in the Flora Stakes.

"I've had the Oaks marked as a race for her," Tomomichi said before the race. "So I'll look forward to how she does."