Japan: Monroe Walk tries to stay undefeated in Shuka Sho
Since her season began in mid-June, Monroe Walk has progressed through the Japanese 3-year-old filly division with three wins by at least two lengths.
Unbeaten in four career races, Monroe Walk will start in the biggest race of her young career in Sunday’s Grade 1 Shuka Sho at 1 1/4 miles on turf at Kyoto Racecourse for 3-year-old fillies. She will be favored against 16 rivals to extend the winning streak.
Monroe Walk’s wins consist of a race for first-time starters in August 2025, two allowance races at 1 1/8 miles on turf in June and July of this year, and her stakes debut in the Grade 2 Rose Stakes at 1 1/8 miles on turf at Hanshin Racecourse on Sept. 13.
In each of her wins this year, Monroe Walk has raced from a stalking position. It’s quite the record for a filly whose trainer, Hiroyuki Uemara, says weighs approximately 1,000 pounds.
The field for the $1.36 million Shuka Sho does not include Juryoku Pierrot, the winner of the Grade 1 Japanese Oaks in May, who has recently withdrawn from consideration because of illness. Dream Core, second by a neck in the Japanese Oaks, will be the second choice in the betting on Sunday, and may be the only other runner in the field with single-digit odds.
Dream Core has started once since the Japanese Oaks, finishing third by 1 3/4 lengths in the Grade 2 Shion Stakes at 1 1/4 miles on turf at Nakayama Racecourse. Dream Core typically runs from slightly off the pace.
Enne, second to Monroe Walk in the Rose Stakes, and Master Soarer, the winner of the Shion Stakes, are two other well-regarded fillies in the Shuka Sho.
The Shuka Sho is the third race in a Triple Crown for 3-year-old fillies that includes the Grade 1 Japanese 1000 Guineas in April and the Japanese Oaks. Star Anise, winner of the 1000 Guineas, was 12th in the Japanese Oaks and fourth against males in the Grade 1 Sprinters Stakes at Nakayama on Sept. 27.
The Shuka Sho has a post time of 2:40 a.m. Eastern on Sunday or 11:40 p.m. Pacific on Saturday.
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