'It was like driving a car with two flat tyres' - no luck for Lagoon in Japan

Sunday: Japan

There was no such thing as beginner's luck for Jessica Harrington in Japan on Sunday as Magical Lagoon, her first runner in the country, trailed in last of the 18 runners in the Group 1 Queen Elizabeth II Cup at Hanshin.

The weather went against the Irish Oaks and Ribblesdale winner, who was last seen finishing fifth to subsequent Arc heroine Alpinista in the Yorkshire Oaks, as downpours beforehand meant the ground was softer than ideal for Magical Lagoon.

The prize-fund was a whopping ¥281,800,000 (£1.71 million/€1.96m), but the Irish Oaks is among the European races linked to the race, meaning Magical Lagoon was in line for a $700,000 bonus if she won.

After being prominent early, Shane Foley was sending out distress signals a long way from home and Magical Lagoon faded up the straight.

Harrington felt there was a legitimate excuse for the lacklustre performance.

She explained: "It went soft and if the race had been anywhere else she wouldn't have run. She was out there so she ran. Shane looked after her but he said it was like driving a car with two flat tyres. She hates that ground, but there is nothing we could do about it."

Asked whether Magical Lagoon would be staying in training as a four-year-old, Harrington replied: "I don't know. A decision will have to be made about that. We will see how she comes back from Japan first."

Reflecting on the race, Foley said: "I got a good position after a good break, but she wasn't able to show her best. When push came to shove, there was no response from her.

"She wasn't overly keen to go in the stalls, but that might have been linked to the downpour."

The valuable prize went to the Takashi Saito-trained Geraldina, who was ridden to victory by Cristian Demuro and won by a length and three-quarters from Win Marilyn and Lilac, who dead-heated for second under the winning rider's brother Mirco.

Demuro said: “I didn’t have any race plan, but the stall was the very outside gate and I thought I'd see where we were after the break.

Geraldina and Cristian Demuro win the Queen Elizabeth II Cup at HanshinCredit: Masakazu Takahashi

"Her response was so good, even though she raced in the pack, and her spurt entering the home straight was excellent. I think she likes today’s ground and she was strong."

For the Demuro brothers, this was the second time they had finished 1-2 in a top-level contest, the previous occasion being in the 2013 Oka Sho (Japanese 1,000 Guineas), when Cristian won on Ayusan with Mirco second on Red Oval.

Cristian Demuro added: "It was so good to be able to race with my brother and it's been a very long time since Ayusan.”

His brother said: “Lilac used her wonderful turn of foot. She was nervous in the last race but today she was different. She liked softer ground. I raced looking for Cristian and she was charging in the stretch."

The favourite Daring Tact finished sixth and rider Kohei Matsuyama said: “I'm very sorry but I couldn’t meet the expectations of her being favourite. The winner had an advantage in the outer stall. Her start was good and I was able to get a good position. She did her best and ran a good race.”

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