Marialite Upsets Favorites at Hanshin

U. Carrot Farm's Marialite upstaged heavy favorite Duramente and became just the third female to capture the Japan Racing Association's spring all-star race, the Takarazuka Kinen (Jpn-I), June 26 at Hanshin Racecourse.

With her neck victory in the race, first run in 1960, the 5-year-old Deep Impact mare also earned an automatic starting position into the $4 million Longines Breeders' Cup Turf (gr. IT) Nov. 5 at Santa Anita Park through the Breeders' Cup Challenge series.

Overcoming an outside draw, Marialite traveled wide in midpack in the 17-horse field before going widest of all on the final turn. Accelerating sharply for jockey Masayoshi Ebina, she overhauled defending winner Lovely Day 100 meters out, then caught front-runner Kitasan Black nearing the finishing line. Duramente, who closed fastest of all through the final three furlongs, ranged up but just missed, edging second favorite Kitasan Black by a nose for second.

Marialite, who broke from post 16 as the eighth wagering choice, completed the 1 3/8 miles in 2:12.08 on turf listed as good and earned her second group I win. She has a 6-2-5 record from 17 starts, which includes her victory last year in the Queen Elizabeth Cup (Jpn-I) at Kyoto for trainer Takashi Kubota.

"The somewhat soft going and the draw all worked well for her," Ebina said. "She responded well to my urgings and smoothly advanced forward from the third and fourth corner. She ran a perfect race. I think that the patience of the connections to wait for her to mature has led to this success." 

Duramente, last season's champion 3-year-old male, slipped after crossing the wire and was diagnosed with lameness in his left foreleg. Expectations are that the King Kamehameha colt will miss this year's Prix de l'Arc de Triomphe (Fr-I) as Japan's main hope for Europe's premier middle-distance race.

Marialite, the first mare to win the Takaruzuka Kinen in 11 years since Sweep Tosho in 2005, was bred by Northern Farm. She is out of the winning El Condor Pasa mare Chrysoprase, also the dam of multiple stakes winner Chrysolite (Gold Allure).