Ireland: Minding easily captures Pretty Polly Stakes

Minding won her third Group 1 race in the last two months with an easy victory in Sunday’s $279,375 Pretty Polly Stakes for fillies and mares at The Curragh in Ireland.

Sent off at 1-5 in a field of five, Minding caught pacesetter Bocca Baciata, a 25-1 shot, in the final furlong and won by 4 1/2 lengths. Bocca Baciata held second in the race at 1 1/4 miles on turf, finishing five lengths clear of 14-1 Lucida.

Minding was ridden by regular rider Ryan Moore for trainer Aidan O’Brien. By Galileo, Minding has won 7 of 9 starts for owners Derrick Smith, Susan Magnier, and Michael Tabor. Minding won the Group 1 English 1000 Guineas at Newmarket, England on May 1 and the Group 1 English Oaks at Epsom on June 2.

She was second in the Group 1 Irish 1000 Guineas on May 2. Minding’s three Group 1 wins this year have been at distances of a mile, 1 1/4 miles, and 1 1/2 miles.

Minding was the only 3-year-old filly in the Pretty Polly Stakes.

Japan: Marialite qualifies for Breeders’ Cup Turf

In Japan, Marialite (25-1) scored an upset win in Sunday’s $3.18 million Takarazuka Kinen at Hanshin Racecourse, beating Duramente, who was second in the $6 million Dubai Sheema Classic in the United Arab Emirates in March.

Duramente slipped after the finish of the turf race at 1 3/8 miles on turf, and was reportedly to be lame in a statement released by the Japan Racing Association. It was unclear how long Duramente would be sidelined, but he is not expected to race in the autumn.

Marialite, who was ridden by Masayoshi Ebina for trainer Takashi Kubota, won the Grade 1 Takarazuka Kinen by a neck over Duramente, the 4-5 favorite. Kitasan Black, the winner of the Grade 1 Tenno Sho at Kyoto Racecourse on May 1, finished third.

Marialite, a 5-year-old mare by Deep Impact, has won 6 of 17 starts. The Takarazuka Kinen was her second Grade 1 win. In 2015, she won the Grade 1 Queen Elizabeth II Cup.

The Grade 1 Takarazuka Kinen is part of the Breeders’ Cup’s Win and You’re In program, offering a fees-paid berth for the Breeders’ Cup Turf at Santa Anita on Nov. 5. There was no immediate indication whether Marialite would be considered for the BC Turf or would more likely stay in Japan for the lucrative races there in the autumn.

Owned by U. Carrot Farm, Marialite won for the first time in 2016 in her third start on Sunday. She was third and second in Grade 2 races in March and May.