Arma Veloce achieved a remarkable feat in her third career start. On Sunday, she won the 76th running of the Grade 1, US$934,324 Hanshin Juvenile Fillies on the turf at Kyoto, earning her first graded-stakes victory and Japan's 2-year-old fillies championship title. This was a significant moment after six years of waiting for jockey Mirai Iwata.

Japan's Racing Star Arma Veloce Shines in Graded-Stakes Victory

Arma Veloce's Journey to Victory

Arma Veloce broke smoothly and chased pacesetter Mistress from mid-pack close behind May Day Ready. The Harbinger filly trained by second-time Grade 1 winner Hiroyuki Uemura showed great determination. She never missed a beat after circling wide into the straight. Her terrific turn of speed along the wide route allowed her to power past her rivals and reach contention in the last sixteenth of a mile. She continued to draw away and won by a comfortable margin.It feels great to be able to stand here as a Grade 1 winner after six years of waiting. Jockey Mirai Iwata had a feeling that the filly had a great potential ever since he started riding her, and today she justified that with great finishing speed. He was too occupied in driving her to the finish that he didn't know until he had crossed the wire, but with no horse next to him then, he felt he had done it. The filly is really easy to ride and responsive when asked, which is her strong point.

May Day Ready's Performance

May Day Ready (8-1), owned by Larry and Karen Doyle's KatieRich Stables, broke sharply from post 17 in the field of 18. She kept pace with the leaders up to the one clockwise turn but appeared to have used up a lot of energy after a wide trip. She faded soon after turning into the homestretch of the roughly one-mile race.Frankie Dettori said she was spinning her wheels trying to get a hold of the turf, so she may have wanted something a little harder. It wasn't the result they wanted, but they tried. They'll give her a little break now and then come back and hopefully run as well as she did before. May Day Ready finished second in the Breeders' Cup Juvenile Fillies Turf at Del Mar on Nov. 1. Before that, she won her first three starts, including her Aug. 4 debut at Saratoga, the Kentucky Downs Juvenile Fillies on Sept. 8 and the Jessamine (G2) on Oct. 4 at Keeneland.

Other Contenders and Results

Vip Daisy (17-1) joined Arma Veloce for the stretch run with matching speed before capitulating to finish second. Teleos La La (15-1) rallied for the lead at the furlong pole before being overtaken late, outdueling Shonan Xanadu (34-1) in a photo finish for third place. Post-time favorite Brown Ratchet (2-1) was a fraction slow out of the gate, having to race a little farther back than her usual position in mid-field. She had little to show after meeting traffic at the top of the stretch and was well beaten in 16th.The winning time for Arma Veloce on the good-to-firm turf was 1:33.4 without a run-up for the 1,600 meters, 10 yards short of a mile. The nearly fractions were 22.7, 46.5 and 1:10.5.Arma Veloce most recently lost by a nose finishing second against males in the 1 1/8-mile Sapporo Nisai (G3) after a win in her career debut in August at Sapporo, also at nine furlongs.Sunday's race was shifted temporarily to Kyoto due to ongoing renovation at Hanshin.