Daring Tact, ridden by Kohei Matsuyama, races towards the finish line to win Oka Sho – the Japanese 1000 Guineas – at Hanshin racecourse on Sunday. Courtesy: HorseRacingInJapan Twitter

Daring Tact emerged as a potential star on Sunday with victory in the Oka Sho – the Japanese 1000 Guineas – at Hanshin racecourse. Unbeaten in three starts, the Haruki Sugiyama-trained daughter of 2014 Japan Cup winner Epiphaneia produced an extraordinary burst of speed from way back to pick off her rivals, catching favourite Resistencia a few strides before the line, in a race run behind closed doors, the Racing TV reported.

Similar to her previous outing in the Listed Elfin Stakes in February, Daring Tact was ridden patiently by Kohei Matsuyama to come home strongly, although early keenness gave cause for concern in rain-softened yielding ground, which had reportedly been described as firm overnight, according to a Racing Post news.

Daring Tact was a bit keen after breaking from stall nine but settled in a rearward position in 11th to 12th cruising down the backstretch in the heavy rain. Making rapid headway in a wide sweeping move around the final turn, the Epiphaneia filly kicked into gear showcasing a strong and tenacious charge with the fastest late speed and after picking off the tiring field, finally caught Resistencia a few strides before the wire for the win.

Race favorite Resistencia broke well from a wide stall and promptly sat behindpacesetter Smile Kana on her outside by the third corner. The pair battled it out down the straight, way ahead of the rest of the field, but Resistencia finally wore out the Deep Impact filly in the last half furlong only to give in to the intimidating speed of the winner in the final strides and was a 1-1/2-length second. Breaking sharply from an inner stall, ninth pick Smile Kana led the field with good speed over the yielding going with Nine to Five briefly and then Resistencia, on her heels. After a long and heavy duel from the top of the stretch with the eventual runner-up, the gray filly ran out of steam and was beaten in the last 50 meters to finish 1-3/4 lengths from the runner-up in third.

She is now expected to tackle the Yushun Himba – Japanese Oaks – on May 24, before hopefully the final leg of the Japanese Fillies’ Triple Crown, the Shuka Sho, in October.

Winning rider Matsuyama said:  concentrated on her rhythm more than where to position her today. We were far behind the leaders and desperate in catching up, but she responded beautifully and stretched incredibly all the way to the line.

“I’m not worried about the added distance in the coming Japanese Oaks, but she does have issues to work on such as being relaxed. I’m praying that the day we can race in front of the crowd again will come soon.”

The Japanese Fillies’ Triple Crown has been claimed by five fillies in the past, including Gentildonna and Almond Eye, both of whom went on to capture the Japan Cup and be victorious on on Dubai World Cup night.

The Japanese Racing Association (JRA) has been holding its races without spectators since the end of February in response to the coronavirus outbreak. Next Sunday’s Satsuki-sho will also be held behind closed doors.

Earlier this week, the JRA announced that the racing would continue behind closed doors under strict measures, adjusting to new restrictions introduced under a state of emergency announced by Prime Minister Shinzo Abe.

The Oka Sho, which is the first of the five JRA Classics held during the year, determines the champion three-year-old filly possessing the fastest speed running over 1,600 meters and serves as an opportunity to scout potential broodmare talents.

The Japanese equivalent to the One Thousand Guineas originated in England, the Oka Sho was first held at Nakayama Racecourse in Chiba, run over 1,800 meters and under the name ‘Nakayama Yonsai Himba Tokubetsu’, then changed its distance and venue under the new name, ‘Oka Sho’

(Oka, meaning cherry flower which is in full bloom at this time of the season). With the entire graded races opening its doors to foreign-trained horses in 2010, the three-year-old classics including this race entered a new phase with international G1 status.

The Oka Sho, together with the Yushun Himba (Japanese Oaks, G1, 2,400m) and the Shuka Sho (G1, 2,000m), is also widely considered as the fillies’ version of the ‘Triple Crown’, a title which has been claimed by five fillies in the past including Gentildonna (JPN) and Almond Eye (JPN) both of who completed the sweep and went on to capture the Japan Cup (G1, 2,400m) and Horse of the Year title in 2012 and 2018, respectively.