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Snow Fairy and Ryan Moore-duo seize the Queen Elizabeth title again this year

Last year's champion Snow Fairy replayed her overwhelming charge from behind when she defended her title in the 36th QUEEN ELIZABETH II COMMEMORATIVE CUP to claim her fifth G1 title and became the first foreign horse to achieve back-to-back G1 victories in the Japanese flat racing. The chemistry between Edward Dunlop-trained filly and Ryan Moore proved perfect as they extended their undefeated streak to five—all G1 victories— since winning the English Oaks together last year.

The race broke off with Shimmei Fuji immediately taking the front from an outer draw and widened the gap from the remaining field led by Whale Capture with Animate Bio on his outside. Fourth pick Apapane tagged behind in fourth along the rails with second choice Aventura at her heels.

Breaking smoothly from the outermost draw, Ryan Moore settled Snow Fairy around fifth from the rear, further back in the field than last year, steered the filly to an inner route coming into the last two corners, while inching forward in preparation for the attack.

With Shimmei Fuji still leading the field by a large margin at the top of the homestretch, Whale Capture, Apapane and Aventura closed in on the leader with every stride, and just when Whale Capture nailed the front just before the 100-meter line, Snow Fairy, responding willingly to the jockey's skillful urging, came flying between horses to overtake the lead with her amazing late charge. The Intikhab filly, with an air of dignity of a defending champion, held off the strong challenge by Aventura in the last few strides to cross the wire a neck in front. Last year's third-place filly, Apapane, demonstrated tenacious effort till the end to finish a length behind in third.

The other English raider, Dancing Rain, was pinched back after breaking slowly from draw 14 and was unable to run her usual style of racing in front to finished 16th.

Other horses:
4th:(3) Whale Capture- led second flight, brief lead 150m out outsprinted soon after
5th:(9) Rainbow Dahlia- hugged rail in mid-division, ran gamely while outrun by rivals 100m out
6th:(5) Walkure- reserved along rail in mid-pack, improved position
8th:(10) Fumino Imagine- saved ground behind winner, accelerated well but belatedly
9th:(2) Italian Red- circled wide from mid-pack, failed to rally
10th:(11) Broad Street- two wide in mid-division, no threat
11th:(8) Reve d'Essor- failed to threaten from mid-division
12th:(15) Erin Court- saved ground in mid-division, even paced
13th:(7) Animate Bio- among leaders of second group, faded after fourth corner
14th:(16) Gullveig- forwardly placed while traveling wide, faded 200m out
15th:(13) All That Jazz- trailed field, never near
16th:(14) Dancing Rain- pinched back soon after break, wide around last turn
17th:(17) Lady Alba Rosa- traveled wide throughout, came up empty
18th:(6) Saint Emilion- never a factor

Post race interview of winning connections

OWNER: Racing Manager, Patrick Cooper (for Anamoine Ltd.)
"We haven't made up our minds yet (about her running in the Japan Cup). Obviously we'll have to see how she comes out of the race. As we said last year, it's a very very short time between now and the Japan Cup—so we'll see in a week or the next ten days."

TRAINER: Edward Dunlop
"I'm very proud of my staff, and I mustn't forget my jockey, Ryan Moore, who has ridden her five times and won five group ones on her—and I shouldn't think many jockeys have done that with any horse, ever—so it's a great day for my stable. This year, she carried more weight as a four-year-old, we were drawn 18, we were a long way back, and I thought it was amazing how much she quickened to even win—as Mr. Cooper had said, we were resigned to not winning—and it was a sensational performance. I paid little attention to the distance (margin being closer than last year). It was the way she had won that was amazing."

JOCKEY: Ryan Moore
"It's always very nice to win any big race in Japan. She tries very hard and she has class. Last year, we had a nice draw at six. This year out in 18, we would have had to be much closer to the pace. But they went very hard so we had to just get in and do the race as we found it. She quickened up very well, and she won as she always does."

1. Snow Fairy (IRE), bay, filly, 4-year-old
   Intikhab / Woodland Dream (Charnwood Forest)

   Breeder: Windflower Overseas Holdings Inc	Owner: Anamoine Ltd.
   Trainer: Edward Dunlop	Jockey: Ryan Moore
   19 Starts, 7 Wins
   Added money: ¥93,948,000	Career earnings: ¥467,348,000
   Principal Race Performances:	’10 Hong Kong Cup (G1)	1st
   	’10 Queen Elizabeth II Commemorative Cup (G1)	1st
   	’10 Irish Oaks (G1)	1st
   	’10 Epsom Oaks (G1)	1st

   
   
2. Aventura (JPN), bay, filly, 3-year-old
   Jungle Pocket / Admire Sunday (Sunday Silence)

   Breeder: Northern Farm	Owner: U. Carrot Farm
   Trainer: Katsuhiko Sumii	Jockey: Yasunari Iwata

   
   
3. Apapane (JPN), bay, filly, 4-year-old
   King Kamehameha / Salty Bid (Salt Lake)
   

   Breeder: Kaneko Makoto Holdings Inc.	Owner: Kaneko Makoto Holdings Co., Ltd.
   Trainer: Sakae Kunieda	Jockey: Masayoshi Ebina

* Queen Elizabeth II Commemorative Cup
The QUEEN ELIZABETH II COMMEMORATIVE CUP was established in 1976 to facilitate friendly relations between Japan and England, in commemoration of Her Excellency's visit to Japan in 1975. The race initially started as a 2,400-meter race for three-year-old fillies but became a 2,200-meter race for fillies and mares of three-year-old and up from 1996.
Tigertail (FR, by Priolo) and Ana Marie (FR, by Anabaa) were the first two foreign contestants to run in 2003—four years after its designation as an international event in 1999—and finished third and eighth, respectively. Whortleberry (FR, by Starborough) finished 15th in the following year and Summitville (GB, by Grand Lodge) was 16th in 2005. Shalanaya (IRE, by Lomitas) finished fourth in 2009 before Edward Dunlop-trained Snow Fairy (IRE) gave a stunning performance last year, marking an overwhelming four-length victory and becoming the first foreign runner to win at the highest G1 level for fillies and mares.
Snow Fairy (IRE) returned again this year after subsequent G1 success in Hong Kong in the Cathay Pacific Hong Kong Cup (G1, turf, 2,000m) last year and coming off third-place efforts in the Prix de l'Arc de Triomphe (G1, turf, 2,400m) and the English Champion Stakes (G1, turf, 2,000m) last month. She was joined by Dancing Rain (IRE), winner of the Oaks in England and Germany, who came into the race with a career record of four wins and two seconds out of seven starts. Meanwhile, the Japanese field included last year's winner of all three triple crown G1 titles for three-year-old fillies, Apapane (JPN), who finished third in this race last year. The King Kamehameha filly added another G1 title this spring in the Victoria Mile (G1, turf, 1,600m) but came off a 14th in her last start in October. Aventura (JPN) was undefeated in all three starts this season leading up to this race, coming off a G1 victory in the last leg of the fillies triple crown G1, the Shuka Sho (G1, turf, 2,000m), run over the same course at Kyoto. JRA's 2010 Best Two-Year-Old Filly Reve d'Essor blew her chances in this year's G1 series for three-year-old fillies with a fracturing leg during training following a victory in her only start this spring in the Tulip Sho (G3, turf, 1,600m). This race was her first in over eight months and her fifth start overall. Italian Red (JPN) came off three consecutive wins in G2 and G3 events towards her bid to claim her first G1 title in the race.
The race record has not been broken since To the Victory (JPN, by Sunday Silence) covered the 2,200-meter distance in 2:11.2 in 2001.