Duramente double as Liberty Island lands Japanese Guineas glory

Duramente claimed victory in the Japanese 1,000 Guineas (Oka Sho) for the second year in a row as his daughter Liberty Island looked to be her country's latest equine star.

Twelve months ago it was Stars On Earth who took the victory on the way to doubling up in the Japanese Oaks, and her second in the recent Osaka Hai suggested she too should be a force to be reckoned with this year.

Liberty Island is from the third crop of Duramente, who died very early in his stallion career at the age of nine in 2021. A winner of the Japanese Guineas and Derby himself six years earlier, the son of King Kamehameha has already provided some excellent results from the likes of multiple Grade 1 winner Titleholder.

Like Stars On Earth, bred by Shadai Farm, Liberty Island is also from the Yoshida family's empire, having been bred by Northern Farm, and runs under its Sunday Racing banner. A juvenile top-level winner over the same course and distance at Hanshin in December, the hot favourite came with a crowd-pleasing late charge under Yuga Kawada, who also rode Stars On Earth, to deprive the same ownership group's Kona Coast, a filly by Kitasan Black.

She is yet another example of judicious international purchasing by Japanese breeders. Liberty Island's dam Yankee Rose rose from obscurity in Australia as a A$10,000 yearling purchase to finish second in the Golden Slipper and win the Group 1 Inglis Sires' and the Spring Champion Stakes. The All American mare was bought privately by Northern Farm for what was thought to be a substantial sum after she finished racing.

Yankee Rose's first foal Romneya, by Deep Impact, sold for big money as a foal and has won a couple of races, while in 2021 a Lord Kanaloa colt foal was the second highest price offered at the JRHA Select Sale when bought by Danox Co for ¥370 million (£2.25m/€2.55m), the second top lot of the session.

Kawada said of the Mitsumasa Nakauchida-trained filly: "I feel relieved to have done my job of guiding her to the wire in time. We picked an inside draw and she wasn’t keen to hurry out of the gate so the position (behind) was where it was going to be. But she was relaxed today, was in good rhythm in the race and clicked into gear nicely so this is where she ended up [winning], so I am glad.

"Now that we have accomplished our aim in the first of the Triple Crown, I hope that we can meet expectations in the following title."

Nakauchida added: "I feel relieved that I am allowed to train good horses and able to produce results like this. In terms of management, I had to take care of her legs while promoting body growth, and I was worried about her hooves, so there were some points that were difficult. Still, I was able to make her reach this race safely. I once again thought that she was a great horse.

"The Oaks is one of the options in the future. I would like to consult with the owner and decide. Today's race wasn't very good for my heart, next time I want to do something a little more heart-friendly."