Triple threat for Oka Sho winner
Star Anise will likely be placed on a campaign to become the fourth Japanese Triple Tiara winner in nine years after she emphatic won in the opening leg, the Oka Sho, at Hanshin on Sunday.
Star Anise will likely be placed on a campaign to become the fourth Japanese Triple Tiara winner in nine years after she emphatic won in the opening leg, the Oka Sho, at Hanshin on Sunday.
A winner of the Hanshin Juvenile Filles in her two-year-old season, Star Anise has proven herself the benchmark of the three-year-old fillies, romping to a 2.5-length win for trainer Tomokazu Takano and jockey Kohei Matsuyama over the 1600 metres.
Matsuyama was aboard Daring Tact when she swept through the Japanese three-year-old Triple Tiara in 2020 and raised one finger as Star Anise crossed the line on Sunday, indicating it was the first step of her shot at history.
While no definite decision has been made whether to set the daughter of Drefong for the Yushun Himba (Oaks), Takano praised the development Star Anise has made over the break.
Liberty Island won the Triple Tiara in 2023, three years after Daring Tact, who followed in the footsteps of Almond Eye two years prior.
The last Oka Sho winner who didn’t contest the Yushun Himba was 2019 victrix Gran Alegria. She was beaten in the NHK Mile Cup.
