Japan: Ascoli Piceno stretches back out for Victoria Mile
?q=100)
Ascoli Piceno, the Japanese champion 2-year-old filly of 2023 and favorite for Sunday’s Grade 1 Victoria Mile for fillies and mares at Tokyo Racecourse, has had a diverse international campaign on two continents since last fall.
Last November, Ascoli Piceno finished worse than second for the first time in her seventh start. She finished 12th in a field of 20 in the $6.57 million Golden Eagle Stakes for 4-year-olds at 7 1/2 furlongs at Rosehill Gardens Racecourse in Sydney, Australia. Ascoli Piceno was beaten 4 1/4 lengths after a wide trip.
Ascoli Piceno rebounded to win her first start of 2025 in the Group 2 1351 Turf Sprint at about 6 3/4 furlongs in Saudi Arabia on Feb. 22, reaching the front in the final stride of the $2 million race.
In the $1.73 million Victoria Mile, Ascoli Piceno was the 5-2 favorite in early betting on Friday. The winner receives a fees-paid berth to the Breeders’ Cup Filly and Mare Turf at Del Mar on Nov. 1.
The Victoria Mile will be Ascoli Piceno’s sixth start at a mile, a distance that has largely defined her career in Japan.
In December 2023, Ascoli Piceno won the Grade 1 Hanshin Juvenile Fillies at a mile, clinching her championship. In 2024, Ascoli Piceno was second by three-quarters of a length to Stellenbosch in the Grade 1 Japanese 1000 Guineas for 3-year-old fillies at a mile, and second by 2 1/2 lengths in the Grade 1 NHK Mile against males despite a troubled trip.
Ascoli Piceno will be ridden on Sunday by Christophe Lemaire, who was aboard the filly in the NHK Mile, a win in a Grade 3 at a mile in Japan last September, and the 1351 Turf Sprint in three of the filly’s recent starts.
Lemaire, the leading rider by wins at Japan Racing Association tracks seven times from 2017 through last year, will need a patient ride to win the Victoria Mile with Ascoli Piceno, who starts from post 17 in a field of 18. Ascoli Piceno tends to run from off the pace, which will give Lemaire an opportunity to save ground in the one-turn race.
In recent weeks, Ascoli Piceno has had two six-furlong workouts, which has left trainer Yoichi Kuroiwa optimistic she can win for the sixth time in her ninth start.
“Her wind is good, she’s forward, and I see no place where she’s lacking,” Kuroiwa told JRA publicity. “Of course, the fact that she was returning from overseas had been a concern, but she recovered as usual at the farm and everything went without a hitch. There was concern that having raced in a sprint she would be overly hyped and hard to settle, but I’ve seen no sign of that.
“Everything has gone as usual. I think she is a strong horse and definitely poses a threat to others. However, she has followed a different path here than many of the others, so it’ll be interesting to see how she measures up.”
Other than Ascoli Piceno, Stellenbosch and Bond Girl are rated as the most likely winners of the Victoria Mile.
Stellenbosch is winless in four starts since the Japanese 1000 Guineas, all Grade 1 or Group 1 races. She was third as the 2-1 favorite in the Group 1 Hong Kong Vase at 1 1/2 miles at Sha Tin Racecourse in Hong Kong in her final start of 2024 but only 13th of 15 in the Grade 1 Osaka Hai at 1 1/4 miles at Hanshin Racecourse in Japan on April 6. Both of those races were against males.
Bond Girl has won once in nine starts, a maiden race in her debut in June 2023, and was fifth by a length as the 3-2 favorite in the Grade 2 Hanshin Himba Stakes for fillies and mares at Hanshin on April 12 behind Safira, who is rated as an outsider in the Victoria Mile.
Last fall, Bond Girl was second by 1 3/4 lengths in the Grade 1 Shuka Sho, a classic for 3-year-old fillies at 1 1/4 miles at Kyoto, finishing in front of Stellenbosch, who was third.
The Victoria Mile has a post time of 2:40 a.m. Eastern or 11:40 p.m. Pacific on Saturday.
:: Want to learn more about handicapping and wagering? Check out DRF's Handicapping 101 and Wagering 101 pages.