Star Anise looked every bit the star in the making as the Drefong filly swept to an easy victory in the April 12 Oka Sho (Japanese One Thousand Guineas, G1T) at Hanshin Racecourse while making her first start of the year.
The 1,600-meter (about 1-mile) Oka Sho, first leg of the Japanese filly Triple Crown, had handicapping questions stamped all over it, including whether Star Anise would be at her best without a run since winning the Hanshin Juvenile Fillies (G1T) Dec. 14.
In the end, the simplest answer proved to be correct as Star Anise went to the post as a solid favorite and had no trouble exchanging the 2025 Best 2-Year-Old Filly crown for an excellent start in 2026. And the runner-up in the Juvenile Fillies, Garavogue, bounced back from a ninth-place finish in the Queen Cup (G3T) Feb. 14 to finish second, 2 1/2 lengths back of the winner.
Zippy Tune, at odds just shy of 80-1, snuck up the rail in the final 100 meters to get third but Star Anise showed no signs of flagging during the uphill climb to the finish, stopping the timer at 1:31.5. Sodashi established the course and race record time of 1:31.1 in 2021.
Star Anise started from gate 15 in a field of 18 and established position outside rivals about halfway back. At about the 800-meter mark, she briefly appeared unsettled but jockey Kohei Matsuyama quickly got her back into focus.
She advanced smoothly around rivals into the straight and dominated from 200 meters out.
"The race was said to be a close competition this year," Matsuyama said. "But I had every faith in my filly and while the pressure to run as the 2025 2-year-old champion was great, I am relieved and happy to have been able to show the fans the power that she possesses.
"My main goal during the race was to have her stay in good rhythm and I felt plenty of energy beneath me, so much so that I could keep her back and still trust her to respond powerfully when asked, which she did with great ease."
Matsuyama scored his second Oka Sho win. The first came in 2020 with Daring Tact, who went on to sweep the fillies Triple Crown. With distance questions looming, Star Anise's connections have not indicated whether she will pursue that path.
The next leg of the Triple Crown is the Yushun Himba (Japanese Oaks, G1T) at 2,400 meters (about 1 1/2 miles), which would not seem, on paper, to fit Star Anise's profile. Her sire, Drefong, was the 2016 Breeders' Cup Sprint (G1) winner and Eclipse Award champion male sprinter for trainer Bob Baffert and her dam, Epice Arome, finished 16th in the Yushun Himba in her only effort longer than 1,600 meters.
"I am not certain what plan awaits her after this race," Matsuyama said. "But I think that she has a great future to look forward to."
Both Garavogue and Zippy Tune are by superstar sprinter Lord Kanaloa but their pedigrees show the influence of Japan's relentless acquisition of top North American mares.
Garavogue's dam, Lexie Lou, won the 2014 Queen's Plate, multiple graded stakes, and four Sovereign Awards for owner Gary Barber and trainer Mark Casse. Zippy Tune's dam, Zipessa, won the 2017 First Lady Stakes (G1T) at Keeneland and twice contested the Breeders' Cup Filly & Mare Turf (G1T), finishing fifth in that event in 2016 for Empyrean Stables and Mark Stidham.
Star Anise was produced by Epice Arome, by Daiwa Major. She was bred by Northern Farm and carries the colors of Katsumi Yoshida. Tomokazu Takano is the trainer.
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