Japan: Joie de Vivre clinches juvenile filly championship

Joie de Vivre, a half-sister to Japan Cup winner Buena Vista, won Sunday’s Group 1 Hanshin Juvenile Fillies in Japan to remain unbeaten and clinch the 2-year-old filly championship.

Ridden by Yuichi Fukunaga for trainer Hiroyoshi Matsuda, Joie de Vivre, a 5-1 shot, closed from the middle of the 18-filly field to win by 2 1/2 lengths over I’m Yours. Sound of Heart, the 7-2 favorite, finished third, a nose behind I’m Yours. The race was worth approximately $1.73 million and was run over about a mile on a right-handed track.

Joie de Vivre, by Deep Impact, races for Sunday Racing Co. The filly won her debut at Kyoto, Japan, on Nov. 12.

Buena Vista won the 2008 Hanshin Juvenile Fillies, and won the Japan Cup last month.