Japanese horsemen returned from the Breeders' Cup with only a handful of minor placings to show from their large squad of runners, but life goes on as a deep field of fillies and mares lines up for the Nov. 10 Queen Elizabeth II Cup (G1) at Kyoto.
The starting gate in the Queen Elizabeth II has some promising types, but if there is star power, it is potential rather than demonstrated.
Regaleira is a case in point. The Suave Richard 3-year-old won the 2023 Hopeful Stakes (G1) over colts, emboldening her connections to send her down the Triple Crown trail. That did not work out well, as Regaleira finished sixth in the Satsuki Sho (Japanese Two Thousand Guineas, G1) and fifth in the Tokyo Yushun (Japanese Derby, G1).
She returned to the 3-year-old filly ranks in the Sho Rose Stakes (G2), finishing fifth as the favorite while starting slowly from gate 15. Last year's winning jockey, Christophe Lemaire, again rides Regaleira for trainer Tetsuya Kimura.
"Her weak point is her start," Lemaire said. "So I'd like to get a better early position this time and hope things go smoothly. She has great closing speed and she should be able to win another grade 1 race. She's been a bit unlucky, with things like the slow pace in the Derby and the widest gate in the Rose Stakes. So I'm hoping things go her way this time."
Regaleira and Lemaire got a boost when the filly drew post 7 in the field of 17.
Wholeness enters the fray with four wins from six starts. However, she finished third in her only graded race start, the Mermaid Stakes (G3) June 16 at Kyoto. After the summer break, the 4-year-old Lope de Vega filly returned with a victory in a listed contest at Niigata.
Others are looking for a way to recapture past glory in the turf race over 2,200 meters (about 1 3/8 miles).
Stunning Rose won the 2022 Shuka Sho (G1) but finished 14th in the Queen Elizabeth II just one month later. She has not done better than fifth in five starts since, primarily in shorter races, but trainer Tomokazu Takano said he's optimistic.
"I thought in her last race she was starting to find her old form, and she is a grade 1 winner, after all," Takano said. "I'm hoping she'll show her best this time."
Harper was second to Liberty Island in the 2023 Yushun Himba (Japanese Oaks, G1) and returned in the autumn to finish third in both the Shuka Sho and the Queen Elizabeth II. She has been badly beaten in four subsequent starts, including a 15th-place showing in the Ireland Trophy Fuchu Himba Stakes (G2) Oct. 14.
Ryan Moore returns to Japan to take the mount on Saliera, a 5-year-old Deep Impact mare who also needs a turnaround. She was sixth in the 2023 Queen Elizabeth II but finished 12th in her last two starts. Moore won the race in 2010 and 2011 aboard Snow Fairy.
