Gran Alegria Beats Almond Eye's Record in Oka Sho

Gran Alegria scored an easy victory in the Oka Sho (Japanese One Thousand Guineas, G1) April 7 at Hanshin Racecourse, eclipsing the stakes-record time established a year earlier by Almond Eye.

The emphatic score in the first of the Japanese classic races, taken by such stars as Gentildonna and Buena Vista in previous years, raised the prospect of another in a lengthening line of super Japanese fillies.

It also was some consolation for Shadai Stallion Station, which confirmed last week to Racing Post that Deep Impact will suspend sire duties for the remainder of the season due to soreness in his neck. The nation's dominant stallion, a son of Sunday Silence, is the sire of both Gran Alegria and Danon Fantasy, who finished fourth as the favorite in the Oka Sho.

Gran Alegria, with Christophe Lemaire in the irons, quickly took a stalking position in the 1,600-meter (about one-mile) Oka Sho. As the field rounded the sweeping right-handed turn, she accelerated smoothly around the leaders and drew off through the uphill stretch run to win by 2 1/2 lengths.

Shigeru Pink Dia was flying in the final 100 meters to finish second, a neck in front of Chrono Genesis. Danon Fantasy, handicapped by an outside draw, was just a nose back in fourth.

Gran Alegria finished in 1:32.7 over firm turf, shaving 2/5 of a second off Almond Eye's stakes record in her first start of 2019. As a 2-year-old, Gran Alegria won her first two starts, then capped her year finishing third against colts in the Dec. 16 Asahi Hai Futurity (G1), also at 1,600 meters at Hanshin. She has yet to attempt two turns.

"She certainly won strongly today," Lemaire said. "I was a little bit worried as it was her first time out after a long break. She was unable to make use of her speed in the Asahi Hai Futurity, so I made sure this time to secure a good position early on, and from there I had every confidence in her exceptional speed."

The race is the first in the Japanese Triple Tiara for fillies, followed by the Yushun Himba (Japanese Oaks, G1) at 2,400 meters (about 1 1/2 miles) and the Shuka Sho (G1) at 2,000 meters (about 1 1/4 miles).

"The extended 2,400 meters in the Yushun Himba, though, is going to be a tough race for us," Lemaire said.

Gran Alegria was bred by Northern Farm and races for Sunday Racing. She is out of the Tapit  mare Tapitsfly, a dual grade 1 winner whose victories include the 2009 Breeders' Cup Juvenile Fillies Turf.