Soul Stirring provides Frankel with his first Classic winner

The search for the first Classic winner from the debut crop of dual world champion Frankel ended on Sunday, as his daughter Soul Stirring recorded a resounding success in the Grade 1 Japanese Oaks at Tokyo.

Breaking smartly from the stalls, Soul Stirring was kept handy by her jockey Christophe Lemaire in the early stages. As they swung for home, she was challenged by Mozu Katchan but battled on gamely to win by one and a three-quarter lengths.

After the race Lemaire said: "It's such a thrill for me as I also won the Oaks back home with her mother. Soul Stirring certainly has inherited the power from her sire [Frankel] and her dam. I was quite confident coming into this race.

"I wasn't sure yet about the distance as it was her first time [at 2,400m] so I wanted her in a good position which I did because she is quick out of the gate. She also has good lasting speed so I was able to give her the go from early at the stretch and sustain our bid right up to the finish."

The filly is no stranger to providing her sire with notable firsts, as last December she became his first top-level winner when landing the Hanshin Juvenile Fillies, and prior to that had become Frankel's first winner outside of Europe when she made a successful debut at Sapporo last July.

A Shadai Farm homebred, Soul Stirring boasts an impressive pedigree being out of the Monsun mare Stacelita. Under the care of Jean-Claude Rouget, Stacelita won four Group 1 races, the Prix Saint-Alary, Prix de Diane, Prix Vermeille and Prix Jean Romanet.

Transferred to Chad Brown in the summer of 2011 she added two further top-level victories to her haul in the Beverly D Stakes and Flower Bowl Invitational Stakes.

Since retiring to the paddocks she is also the dam of Southern Stars, a four-year-old daughter of Smart Strike who won a 1m2f maiden at Sandown last April.

Frankel's first Classic winner may have come on shores that he himself did not race on, but Soul Stirring's victory is bound to have given confidence to those connected with Investec Derby hope Cracksman.

The John Gosden-trained colt missed Thursday's Dante Stakes, won by Permian, due to the ground, but looks to hold every chance of providing his sire with another Classic winner when lining up at Epsom next month.

Japanese Oaks result