Kyoto Racecourse hosts the next big Japan Autumn International Racing event this weekend with the 38th running of the Queen Elizabeth II Cup. The Group I all-female event kicks off seven straight weekends featuring top-level racing at one of four JRA tracks.
The QEII field has once again attracted the best of the fillies and mares, making it one of the most exciting female events of the year. 2013 version sees not only double classic winner Meisho Mambo comes up against some blue-blooded older females, but has the added attraction of some thrilling new talent that could turn the tables on the champions, young and old.
The QEII also serves as the opener for the Japan Autumn International, a series of four Grade 1 races in as many weekends – with total prize money of nearly 1.2 billion yen. Following the QEII in the Japan Autumn International is the Mile Championship at Kyoto on Nov. 17, the Japan Cup (2,400 meters, Tokyo, Nov. 24) and the Japan Cup Dirt (1,800 meters, Hanshin, Dec. 1).
Japan Racing on TwinSpires gets started with the Queen Elizabeth II Cup card on Saturday, post time is 8:05pm ET/5:05pm PT. The 11th and featured Queen Elizabeth II Cup Stakes is set to go to post at approximately at 1:40am ET/10:40pm PT.
Queen Elizabeth II Cup Wagering
Win, Place, Show, Exacta, Trifecta, Superfecta and Daily Double wagering available.
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Field and ods for the 2013 Queen Elizabeth II Cup
| Post | Horse | Trainer | Jockey | Odds |
| 1 | All That Jazz(JPN) | Katsuhiko Sumii | Mickael Barzalona | 20/1 |
| 2 | Dia de la Madre(JPN) | Katsuhiko Sumii | Kota Fujioka | 20/1 |
| 3 | Meisho Mambo(JPN) | Akihiro Iida | Koshiro Take | 3/1 |
| 4 | Midsummer Fair(JPN) | Futoshi Kojima | Yuichi Fukunaga | 40/1 |
| 5 | Whale Capture(JPN) | Kiyotaka Tanaka | Masayoshi Ebina | 12/1 |
| 6 | Hana’s Goal(JPN) | Kazuhiro Kato | Yutaka Take | 20/1 |
| 7 | Aromatico(JPN) | Shozo Sasaki | Kosei Miura | 12/1 |
| 8 | Marcellina(JPN) | Hiroyoshi Matsuda | Mirco Demuro | 30/1 |
| 9 | Verxina(JPN) | Yasuo Tomomichi | Yasunari Iwata | 3/1 |
| 10 | Etain(JPN) | Toshiaki Shirai | Shinji Fujita | 12/1 |
| 11 | Tagano Innocence(JPN) | Inao Okada | Hideaki Miyuki | 99/1 |
| 12 | Celebrity Model(JPN) | Kazuya Makita | Daisaku Matsuda | 99/1 |
| 13 | Rainbow Dahlia(JPN) | Yoshitaka Ninomiya | Yoshitomi Shibata | 45/1 |
| 14 | Denim and Ruby(JPN) | Katsuhiko Sumii | Hiroyuki Uchida | 4/1 |
| 15 | Speed Ripper(JPN) | Yuichi Shikato | Shinichiro Akiyama | 99/1 |
| 16 | Sekisho(JPN) | Hiroaki Sugiura | Yutaka Yoshida | 50/1 |
| 17 | Tosen Arnica(JPN) | Tetsuya Kimura | Kenichi Ikezoe | 45/1 |
| 18 | Lachesis(JPN) | Katsuhiko Sumii | Yuga Kawada | 15/1 |
2013 Queen Elizabeth II Cup Information
Date: Saturday, November 9
Where: Kyoto Racecourse, Japan
Distance: 2,200 meters, Turf (about 11 furlongs)
Conditions: 3-Year-Olds & Up, fillies & mares
Purse: about US $2,091,000
About the Queen Elizabeth II Cup
The Queen Elizabeth II Cup originated as the Victoria Cup in 1970 and represented the final leg of the fillies’ Triple Crown. The race was renamed to the Queen Elizabeth II Commemorative Cup in 1976 following Queen Elizabeth’s visit to Japan in 1975 and it was shortened a furlong to 2,200 meters in 1996. The race was opened to all female horses over the age of 3. The race has since become a stage where many of the best of the 3-year-old fillies compete alongside older females for the first time in a Grade 1 race. The Shuka Sho (2,000 meters, Kyoto) replaced the Queen Elizabeth II Commemorative Cup as the third race of the “Triple Tiara.” The race was renamed to the Queen Elizabeth II Cup in 2013.
The Queen Elizabeth II Cup allowed a maximum of five foreign horses in 1999, but the overseas allotment was increased to nine in 2007, when Japan was promoted to a Part I Country of the International Cataloging Standards. After a number of bids from overseas, Snow Fairy in 2011 landed the first win for the foreign raiders. There are no foreign-based runners in this year’s field.
The QEII also serves as the opener for the Japan Autumn International, a series of four Grade 1 races in as many weekends – with total prize money of nearly 1.2 billion yen. Following the QEII in the Japan Autumn International is the Mile Championship at Kyoto on Nov. 17, the Japan Cup (2,400 meters, Tokyo, Nov. 24) and the Japan Cup Dirt (1,800 meters, Hanshin, Dec. 1).
The race is 2,200 meters of turf on the outside course of Kyoto Racecourse, where races are run to the right. The race starts from the homestretch and right-center of the main stand, travels flat for 1,020 meters before heading uphill at a 0.9 percent grade for 400 meters and the start of the bend. This point, 800 meters out, is the highest point of the track. From here there is a steep 2.28 percent downward grade for 140 meters leading into the homestretch. The 404-meter homestretch is flat throughout.
The race record is held by To the Victory, who clocked 2 minutes, 11.2 seconds in 2001. Tosen Homareboshi holds the course record of 2 minutes 10.0 seconds from his run in last year’s Kyoto Shimbun Hai.
Weights for the QEII are set at 54 kilograms for 3-year-olds, 56 kg for 4-year-olds and above. The first place prize money is 90 million yen, and the maximum number of starters is 18.
Over the past decade, 3-year-olds have captured the Queen Elizabeth II Cup five times making the race for many youngsters their second G1 bid in a row on the heels of the Shuka Sho. Maintaining top condition for the two races is a challenge, however, and the results have reflected this. Two wins in a row for any horse has been rare in the past 10 runnings of the QEII. Only one winner (Daiwa Scarlet in 2007) of any age that was coming off a win of her previous start has gone on to win the QEII.
Seven horses did, however, make the money. In fact, four horses who had turned in double-digit finishes in their race prior to the QEII were able to make the top three slots in the big event. The race does tend to favor the top picks, with two favorites scoring the win, three second picks and two fourth choices. Again, in the past 10 runnings, although three horses who went to the gates with odds of 10th pick or higher made the top three slots in the QEII, only one has won – Queen Spumante in 2009 as 11th choice.
Some of the key stepping stones to the QEII are the G1 Victoria Mile in May, the G3 Mermaid Stakes in June and the G3 Hokkaido Shimbun Hai Queen Stakes at the end of July. After the summer, come the top-level Shuka Sho and the G2 Fuchu Himba Stakes, both held in mid October. Four of the five winners of those races – Verxina, Marcellina, Meisho Mambo and Whale Capture — are expected to be in the lineup come Sunday, as are the top two finishers from last year’s QEII – Rainbow Dahlia and Verxina.
About Kyoto Racecourse
