Marialite Crowned in QE II Cup

Despite a fairly consistent record of in-the-money finishes, Marialite (Jpn) (Deep Impact {Jpn}) had remained under the radar until a second-place display in the G3 Mermaid S. at Hanshin June 14. The Carrot Farm-owned 4-year-old leveraged that form into a narrow neck-victory over favored Nuovo Record (Jpn) (Heart’s Cry {Jpn}) in her first attempt at the highest level in the G1 Queen Elizabeth II Cup at Kyoto, Japan, Sunday. The win marked the 24th Group 1 for pilot Masayoshi Ebina and the first group race tally for trainer Takashi Kubota in six years, sixth overall.

“I’m so delighted with her achievement because I’ve been training her towards this goal all along and she’s built up into a great filly,” a jubilant Kubota told the Japan Racing Association. “I left all the tactics to Ebina and she ran such a smooth race, I was really excited watching her charging down the homestretch. She held on so well.”

Sunday, Kyoto, Japan
QUEEN ELIZABETH II CUP-G1, ¥177,460,000 (US$1,447,707), Kyoto, 11-15, 3yo/up, f/m, 2200mT, 2:14.90, gd.
1–#@&MARIALITE (JPN), 123, f, 4, by Deep Impact (Jpn)
1st Dam: Chrysoprase (Jpn), by El Condor Pasa
2nd Dam: Catherine Parr, by Riverman
3rd Dam: Regal Exception, by Ribot (GB)
O-Carrot Farm; B-Northern Farm; T-Takashi Kubota;
J-Masayoshi Ebina; ¥93,822,000. Lifetime Record: 13-5-1-4.
*1/2 to Chrysolite (Jpn) (Gold Allure {Jpn}), MSW-Jpn,
$2,212,706; and Lia Fail (Jpn), (Zenno Rob Roy {Jpn}), GSW &
G1SP-Jpn, $1,135,264. Werk Nick Rating: A+. Click for the
eNicks report & 5-cross pedigree.
2–Nuovo Record (Jpn), 123, f, 4, Heart’s Cry (Jpn)–Omega
Spirit (Jpn), by Spinning World. O-Reiko Hara; B-Shadai Farm;
¥37,092,000.
3–Touching Speech (Jpn), 119, f, 3, Deep Impact (Jpn)–
Listen (Ire), by Sadler’s Wells. O-Sunday Racing; B-Northern
Farm; ¥23,546,000.
Margins: NK, NO, HF. Odds: 14.20, 2.00, 5.50.
Also Ran: Rouge Buck (Jpn), Smart Layer (Jpn), Hula Bride (Jpn), Sundarbans (Jpn), Queens Ring (Jpn), Lilavati (Jpn), Chateau Blanche (Jpn), Lachesis (Jpn), Nobori Diana (Jpn), Power Spot (Jpn), Felice Regalo (Jpn), Tagano Etoile (Jpn), Win Liberty (Jpn), Meisho Mambo (Jpn), Remain Silent (Jpn).
Click for the Racing Post result or the free Equineline.com catalogue-style pedigree. JRA VIDEO.

 

“The track condition worked to her advantage,” added Ebina. “She’s easy to ride and was in great shape today. She’s been allowed to mature without much pressure up to now for which I’m grateful and now that she’s won today, I’m looking forward to much more improvement, which she is capable of.”
Finding plenty of cover, Ebina positioned Marialite in ninth three off the rail going into the first turn as Win Liberty (Jpn) (King Kamehameha {Jpn}) cut out steady fractions of :23.7, :48.5 and 1:00.7 for the first 1000 meters, five lengths to the good of Lilavati (Jpn) (Zenno Rob Roy {Jpn}), a similar margin ahead of the bulk of the field. Let out a notch by Ebina, Marialite began to pick off horses still fairly wide and was much closer in sixth through 1600 meters in 1:38.6. Leaving the final bend, Marialite unleashed a wide rally up the middle of the course, hitting the front inside the final furlong, before fending off the late rush of Nuovo Record, who was also runner-up in the 2014 edition won by Lachesis (Jpn) (Deep Impact {Jpn). The 3-year-old filly Touching Speed (Jpn) also made late headway to take third a half-length farther back, while Lachesis (Jpn), with Irishman Ryan Moore aboard, didn’t have the cleanest of trips and was blocked in the home straight, finishing 10th.
Untroubled in the past by ground that is less than firm, Marialite took third in a Tokyo affair on Valentine’s Day and returned to the winner’s circle going 2500 meters at Nakayama Mar. 8. She added Tokyo’s Ryokufu S. May 9, before flashing real talent, when second in the G3 Mermaid S. at Hanshin June 14, her first foray into group company. Materialite was only fifth going this distance in Nakayama’s Sankei Sho All Comers resurfacing after a three month freshening Sept. 27.
Out of the winning Chrysoprase (Jpn) (El Condor Pasa), who is a full to Japan Cup Dirt hero and GSP Alondite (Jpn), Marialite is the second group winner for Chrysoprase. Her year-younger half-brother Lia Fail (Jpn) (Zenno Rob Roy {Jpn}) saluted in the G2 Kobe Shimbun Hai this year and was Classic-placed in the G1 Kikua Sho (Japanese St. Leger).