Queen Elizabeth II Commemorative Cup (G1) - Can Shalanaya become first foreign winner?

Shalanaya (c)JRA

While no foreign horse has ever won the Queen Elizabeth II Commemorative Cup since the race was opened to the outside world 11 years ago, the barren stretch could finally come to an end this year.

Shalanaya, the Aga Khan-owned winner of the Prix de l'Opera on Oct. 4, is the first overseas Grade 1 winner to throw her hat into the ring for the Queen Elizabeth II Commemorative Cup, to be held this Sunday at Kyoto Racecourse. Of the six foreign horses who ran the 2,200-meter race in the past, Tigertail's third-place finish in 2003 was the highest. Ana Marie, who also ran that year, has been the highest pick from abroad at sixth choice; she finished eighth.

The 3-year-old Shalanaya, by Lomitas out of Shalamantika, appears to be a completely different animal, however, winning the 2,000-meter Prix de l'Opera at Longchamp by a length and a half ahead of Board Meeting in a nine-horse field, including defending champion Lady Marian and Midday, the Epsom Oaks runnerup who won the Breeders' Cup Filly and Mare Turf this past weekend at Santa Anita.

Trainer Mikel Delzangles' filly has just five races under her belt, debuting on May 16, but the inexperience probably speaks more about her untapped potential rather than what she hasn't done. Shalanaya won the Prix de Cheffreville a month later for her first victory before capturing the Prix de Liancourt for her second win. She won the Prix de l'Opera as the seventh choice on the day of the Prix de l'Arc de Triomphe under Maxime Guyon, who filled in for an injured Christophe Lemaire on this afternoon.

Shalanaya had been targeting the Breeders' Cup Filly and Mare Turf at one point, but ownership balked at the supplement fee after not being among the original nominations. The Queen Elizabeth II Commemorative Cup was a more lucrative option, with a first-place check of 90 million yen as well as the Japan Autumn International bonus of the same amount if she wins, 36 million yen for finishing second and, 22.5 million yen for taking third.

One of those who pushed for Shalanaya's entry in the 34th running of the Queen Elizabeth II Commemorative Cup was none other than Lemaire, winner of last year's race aboard Little Amapola.

The French rider has three Grade 1 victories in Japan including the Arima Kinen and the Japan Cup Dirt with Heart's Cry and Kane Hekili, respectively, and has been runnerup seven times in 29 mounts at the top flight. Lemaire, the most successful foreign jockey the Japan Racing Association has seen since fellow Frenchman Olivier Peslier, knows Japanese racing firsthand, and he reckons the hard, fast surfaces in Japan will be to Shalanaya's liking, which should be a major vote of confidence for the horse.

The 30-year-old Lemaire, who will primarily ride for the Aga Khan next year, missed out on the Prix de l'Opera victory with a broken collarbone he suffered just days before the race, but has been cleared to ride Shalanaya in the Queen Elizabeth II Commemorative Cup for what will be his personal title defense. Compatriot Christophe Soumillon, who had been the Aga Khan's first choice in the saddle, will jockey the 4-year-old Little Amapola this year.

Japanese fans ought to be somewhat familiar with another member of the Aga Khan family, Delzangles, who looked after Meisho Samson during his Arc challenge last year. Delzangles had also taken care of Satoshi Kobayashi until 2009; Kobayashi became the first Japanese to qualify for a French trainer's license in 2008 and opened his own stable in France earlier this year. Given his ties to Japan, it would not be farfetched if Delzangles were to reach the winner's circle in the country he has embraced, perhaps as a reward for his kind doing.

There's not a lot to say about the Aga Khan that hasn't already been said, the 49th and current Imam of the Shia Imami Ismaili Muslims. The 73-year-old has had tremendous success as an owner breeder in thoroughbred racing since 1960, when he inherited the business.

To name a few of the accolades, the Aga Khan has won the Epsom Derby three times, the Prix de l'Arc de Triomphe four times - including last year with Zarkava, who won with a perfect record through seven races and was immediately retired afterwards - and the Breeders' Cup twice. Sea The Stars, this year's Epsom Derby and Arc winner who went 6-for-6 in Grade 1 races in 2009, will stand stud at the Aga Khan's Gilltown Stud in Ireland. The Aga Khan has said he plans to breed Zarkava to Sea The Stars in what will be a match made in racing heaven.

The Aga Khan is coming off an absolute field day at the Arc meeting last month, winning five Grade 1 races while adding a pair of Grade 2 titles, Shalanaya's Prix de l'Opera victory being one of them. The Queen Elizabeth II Commemorative Cup could very well be another honor for this racing icon.