Japan: Filly champs Daring Tact, Sodashi square off in Victoria Mile

At the beginning of their careers, Daring Tact and Sodashi were unbeatable, each compiling five-race winning streaks that included multiple Grade 1 wins in Japan and led to titles as Japan’s champion 3-year-old filly of 2020 and 2021, respectively.

Racing against older horses that has been more difficult. Both are winless in their last three starts in advance of a first-ever meeting in Sunday’s Grade 1 Victoria Mile for fillies and mares at Tokyo Racecourse.

The winner receives a fees-paid berth to the Breeders’ Cup Filly and Mare Turf at Keeneland on Nov. 5.

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The $1.95 million Victoria Mile drew a full field of 18 and a strong one, including Songline, who beat males in the 1351 Sprint in Saudi Arabia on the same program as the Saudi Cup in February, and Akai Ito, who won the Grade 1 Queen Elizabeth II Cup at 1 3/8 miles at Hanshin Racecourse last November. There will also be support for Lei Papale, who was second against males in the Grade 1 Osaka Hai at 1 1/4 miles at Hanshin in April.

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Sodashi has started once this year, finishing third in the Grade 1 February Stakes against males at a mile on a sloppy dirt track at Tokyo Racecourse. A rare white Thoroughbred, Sodashi has won 6 of 10 starts, but has lost her last three races since the Grade 2 Sapporo Kinen last August. Sodashi tends to run on the lead or from a stalking position.

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Daring Tact, who swept the Triple Crown for 3-year-old fillies in 2020, has been raced sparingly in the last 18 months. She was third in the Grade 1 Japan Cup against males in November 2020, her first defeat in her sixth start, and started twice in early 2021, finishing second in the Grade 2 Kinko Sho in Japan in March and third in the Group 1 Queen Elizabeth II Cup at Hong Kong in April.

The Victoria Mile will be Daring Tact’s first start in nearly 13 months, and first at the one-mile distance since a win in the Grade 1 Japanese 1000 Guineas in April 2020.

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.