Vivlos Accelerates to Shuka Sho Win

Coming into her own over the summer, Vivlos struck for a classic victory Oct. 16, when she took the Shuka Sho (Jpn-I), the third jewel in Japan's Triple Crown for fillies, at Kyoto. 

Vivlos rated in midpack early for Yuichi Fukunaga, advanced passing the 1,000-meter mark, and then went wide entering the stretch. She had an abundance of stamina in reserve and swept past rivals with good acceleration before catching front-runner Pearl Code for the win.

"We were in a perfect position, and the trip was smooth and in good rhythm," Fukunaga said. 

Unable to qualify for the first two races of the classic series, the Oka Sho (Jpn-I Japanese One Thousand Guineas) and Yushun Himba (Jpn-I, Japanese Oaks) earlier this year, the daughter of leading Japanese sire Deep Impact progressed through the summer to land the elite-level victory in her group I debut. She is a full sister to Verxina, a runner-up in all three filly classics behind Gentildonna.

"(Verxina) had a lot of speed and staying power, but this filly has a tremendous burst of speed," Fukunaga said.

Runner-up Pearl Code also traveled in mid-division in the early running, a few lengths ahead of the eventual winner. She came out slightly and tracked third-place finisher Kaiserball into the stretch and then overhauled that rival to lead, but could not withstand Vivlos, who won by a half-length. 

Japanese Oaks third and favorite Biche came in 10th in the field of 18 3-year-old fillies after missing the break and racing at the back of the field.

Vivlos, the third favorite, finished 2,000 meters (about 1 1/4 miles) in 1:58.60 on firm turf.

Trained by Yasuo Tomoichi for owner Kazuhiro Sasaki, Vivlos came in second to Biche in the Shion Stakes (Jpn-III) Sept. 10 at Nakayama in her previous start, after a four-length allowance triumph at Chukyo July 24.

A product of Japan's Northern Farm, Vivlos is out of the Machiavellian mare Halwa Sweet, who, in addition to Vivlos and Verxina, is the dam of Japanese group II winner Cheval Grand (Heart's Cry). This is the family of French group I winner Mezzo Soprano.