Champs meet for first time in Victoria Mile, a Breeders' Cup Win and You're In
?q=100)
Sodashi and Stars on Earth, the champion 3-year-old fillies of Japan the last two years, will meet for the first time in Sunday’s Grade 1 Victoria Mile for older fillies and mares at Tokyo Racecourse, a race with potential Breeders’ Cup implications.
The winner of the $1.86 million Victoria Mile will receive a fees-paid berth to the $2 million BC Filly and Mare Turf at 1 1/4 miles at Santa Anita on Nov. 4.
The 5-year-old Sodashi is a rare white Thoroughbred who was also honored as Japan’s champion 2-year-old filly of 2020. A winner of 7 of 14 starts, Sodashi will have her 2023 debut in the Victoria Mile, a race that marked her only win in five starts in 2022.
A winner of 7 of 14 starts, Sodashi has a tough draw from the outside in a field of 16 in Sunday’s race. Trained by Naosuke Sugai, Sodashi will have a new rider in Damian Lane, who replaces Hayato Yoshida. Sodashi tends to run as a stalker, which should give Lane options to save ground.
:: Get free PPs for racing at Tokyo Racecourse.
Stars on Earth, a winner of 3 of 9 starts, was second as the 2-1 favorite against males in the Grade 1 Osaka Hai at 1 1/4 miles at Hanshin Racecourse on April 2 in her only start this year, losing by a nose to the well regarded multiple graded stakes winner Jack d’Or.
In 2022, Stars on Earth clinched the 3-year-old filly title with spring wins in two Grade 1 races – the Japanese 1000 Guineas at a mile and the Japanese Oaks at 1 1/2 miles. The Victoria Mile will be Stars on Earth’s first start at a mile since the 1000 Guineas.
:: Get selections for racing at Tokyo Racecourse.
Stars on Earth, who runs from off the pace, breaks from post 2 and will be ridden by Christophe Lemaire, who was aboard for the Japanese Oaks and Osaka Hai.
Other contenders in the Victoria Mile are Stunning Rose, who won the Grade 1 Shuka Sho for 3-year-old fillies last October, beating a field that included third-place Stars on Earth; and Songline, who was fifth in the 2022 Victoria Mile.
The Victoria Mile has a post time of 2:40 a.m. Eastern on Sunday or 11:40 p.m. Pacific on Saturday. Wagering is available through DRFBets.com.
:: Want to learn more about handicapping and wagering? Check out DRF's Handicapping 101 and Wagering 101 pages.