Ascoli Piceno. (JRA Photo)
Sunday’s Winner Gains Automatic Starting Position into $2 million Maker’s Mark Breeders Cup Filly & Mare Turf at Del Mar
Breeders’ Cup Release
TOKYO — The 20th running of the $2 million Victoria Mile (G1) will take place Sunday at Tokyo Racecourse and features a showdown between Grade 1 winners Ascoli Piceno (JPN) and Stellenbosch (JPN). A total of 23 fillies and mares have been nominated to the race, and a maximum of 18 will go to the gate. The Victoria Mile winner will earn an automatic starting position and fees paid into the $2 million Maker’s Mark Breeders’ Cup Filly & Mare Turf (G1) through the Breeders’ Cup Challenge Series: Win and You’re In.
The Breeders’ Cup Challenge Series is an international series of 93 stakes races in 15 countries whose winners receive automatic starting positions with fees paid into a corresponding race of the 2025 Breeders’ Cup World Championships, scheduled to be held Oct. 31-Nov. 1 at Del Mar Thoroughbred Club in Del Mar, Calif.
Owned by Sunday Racing Co. Ltd., Ascoli Piceno began her 2025 season with a win in the 1351 Turf Sprint presented by Boutique Group (G2) in Riyadh. The 4-year-old daughter of Daiwa Major (JPN) defeated Win Marvel (JPN) by a head in that 7-furlong contest on Feb. 22. Last year, Ascoli Piceno’s biggest score came in the Keisei Hai Autumn Handicap (G3), and she also finished second in both the Oka Sho (Japanese 1000 Guineas, G1) and NHK Mile Cup (G1). Trained by Yoichi Kuroiwa, Ascoli Piceno has won five of eight career starts, and her biggest win to date came in the 2023 Hanshin Juvenile Fillies (G1).
Stellenbosch finished second by a neck to Ascoli Piceno in the Hanshin Juvenile Fillies. However, she got her revenge last year, besting her rival by taking the Oka Sho. Following that Grade 1 score, Stellenbosch finished second in the Yushun Himba (Japanese Oaks, G1) as well as third in the Shuka Sho (G1) and Longines Hong Kong Vase (G1). The now 4-year-old daughter of Epiphaneia (JPN) began her 2025 season in the April 6 Osaka Hai (G1) but failed to fire and finished in the back of the pack. Sakae Kunieda trains Stellenbosch for Katsumi Yoshida, and the filly has won three of nine career starts, with her only off the board finish coming in the Osaka Hai.
The rivalry between Ascoli Piceno and Stellenbosch extends to their jockeys as well. Christophe Lemaire and Keita Tosaki are both tied with a record three wins in the Victoria Mile. One more win would move one of the riders to the top of the class. Lemaire is set to ride Ascoli Piceno, while Tosaki has the mount on Stellenbosch.
Another horse of interest is Bond Girl (JPN). After acing her debut, she jumped to the graded level and has stayed there for all eight starts since. The winner’s circle has eluded her those eight times, but she did finish second five times and third once. This will be her third start of the year. She finished second by a neck in the Feb. 9 Tokyo Shimbun Hai (G3) and fifth in the April 12 Sankei Sports Hai Hanshin Himba Stakes (G2), where she was only beaten a length. Regular rider Yutaka Take is expected to have the mount. Safira (JPN) won the Hanshin Himba Stakes and is also nominated to the Victoria Mile.
As a part of the benefits of the Challenge Series, Breeders’ Cup will pay the entry fees for the winner of the Victoria Mile to start in the Maker’s Mark Breeders’ Cup Filly & Mare Turf, which will be run at 1 3/8 miles at Del Mar. Breeders’ Cup will also provide a travel allowance for all starters based outside of North America to compete in the World Championships. The Challenge winner must be nominated to the Breeders’ Cup program by the pre-entry deadline of Oct. 20, 2025, to receive the rewards.
