With three winners on the card, Damian Lane might have stolen the show at Tokyo racecourse on Sunday however he had to play second fiddle in the day’s feature, The Sankei Sports Sho Flora Stakes (2000m), which was won by a promising filly with an Australian background.
The Takahisa Tezuka-trained Screen Hero filly Win Marilyn took her record to three wins in four starts with a hard-fought win in the Japanese Oaks trial.
Given a gun ride by Takeshi Yokoyama, Win Marilyn found a narrow gap between runners at the 300 metres and was strong to the line in defeating Damian Lane on the favourite Ho O Peaceful (Orfevre) by a neck with the same distance back to Juana (Rulership) in third.
The winner of her career debut over 2000 metres at the backend of last year, Win Marilyn made her 2020 bow with a fifth over 1800 metres at Nakayama before returning to the same track to prep for the Oaks Trial with a win over 2000 metres on March 31.
By Maurice’s (JPN) sire Screen Hero, Win Marilyn is out of the Fusaichi Pegasus (USA) mare Cosmo Cielo who was purchased by Shigeyuki Okada for $170,000 out of the Glastonbury Farm draft at Easter 2005.
A half-sister to the Group III winners Classic Allure (Bellotto) and Shorblue (Bluebird) and the dual Listed stakes-winner Kaladan (Kala Dancer, Cosmo Cielo is also a sister to the stakes-placed Coogee Beach and a half-sister to the stakes-placed Caribbean Royale (Royal Academy).
They were among the ten winners out of the unraced Buena Shore mare Shorwon who was a half-sister to the 1968 Group 1 VRC Derby winner Always There (Pipe Of Peace).
The winner of a 2400 metre maiden at Niigata from nine starts, Cosmo Cielo has proven to be a more than handy broodmare.
All six foals of her foals to reach the track are winners and includ the Group III Nikkei Sho winner Win Malerei (Matsurida Gogh).
Cosmo Cielo has a 2yo colt by Duramente and a yearling colt by Orfevre.
