Embroidery Seeks a Third Grade 1 Win in Victoria Mile

Last weekend, it was 3-year-old fillies going 1 mile in the NHK Mile Cup (G1T). This weekend, their elders face the same Tokyo Racecourse distance in the Victoria Mile (G1T). Leading the way is Embroidery (JPN), a daughter of Admire Mars (JPN) who stitched together a satisfying 2025 campaign that included victories in two of the three Japanese filly classics—the Oka Sho (Japanese One Thousand Guineas, G1T) and the Shuka Sho (G1T), sandwiching a ninth-place finish in the Yushun Himba (Japanese Oaks, G1T). She wasn't able to handle the Hong Kong milers in December, finishing 11th in the Hong Kong Mile (G1) as Voyage Bubble (AUS) contributed to local domination. Challenging the stars on their home course on International Day is never a task for the faint of heart or hoof. Embroidery returned in April to win the Hanshin Himba Stakes (G2T) in her 4-year-old debut, both proving her continued development while away from competition and putting trainer Kazutomo Mori in a bit of a scheduling crunch. "It would be ideal if she had a bit more time between races," Mori said. "But I'll have her largely back to the same condition as she was for (the Hanshin race)." Jockey Christophe Lemaire, who won the 2025 Victoria Mile on Ascoli Piceno (JPN), is set to ride, seeking a record fifth victory in the event. Those looking past the likely favorite might focus on Kamunyak (JPN) or Queen's Walk (JPN). Kamunyak, a 4-year-old Black Tide (JPN) filly, won the only 2025 classic Embroidery did not, taking the Yushun Himba with a late charge in the stretch run. All four of her wins have come at distances beyond 1,600 meters (about 1 mile) and she finished second by a neck to front-running Embroidery in the Hanshin Himba, running out of room for her stretch run. Rather than focusing on the last-race stretch effort falling short, Kamunyak's conditioner Yasuo Tomomichi said different conditions could suit his filly's style this time around. "This race is also over 1,600 meters and it's Tokyo with a nice, long stretch. If she can race like her most recent race, I think she'll be able to draw on her late speed," Tomomichi said. A win for Kamunyak would make Yuga Kawada just the fourth jockey ever to have won all six of the Japan Racing Association's current grade 1 races for fillies and mares, after Christophe Lemaire, Masayoshi Ebina, and Yutaka Take. Queen's Walk might have won the 2025 Victoria Mile had she not gotten caught up in some tight quarters in the final 50 meters. After regaining her momentum, the Kizuna (JPN) filly looked on course to victory but was unable to hold off Ascoli Piceno, who flashed up the outside to win by a neck in a five-horse blanket finish. Queen's Walk has four wins from 12 starts, but has yet to get a victory in a grade 1 event. She finished third in a grade 2 start to begin her 5-year-old campaign March 15 at Chukyo Racecourse. The others in the 18-horse field look like longer chances, befitting a race that has had, in the past 10 runnings, more top-three finishers at double-digit odds (four) than winning favorites (three). The Victoria Mile consists of a long run the length of the backstretch, featuring a slight downward slope, followed by a sharp rise heading into the sweeping counterclockwise turn. The runners then face a substantial climb through the early part of the stretch run before leveling off with about 300 meters (about 1 1/2 furlongs) to the finish. The race is also part of the Breeders' Cup Challenge Series. The winner will earn automatic entry into the Breeders' Cup Filly and Mare Turf (G1) Oct. 31 at Keeneland.