Ascoli Piceno gets up in BC WAYI Victoria Mile cavalry charge

Sunday’s $1.8 million Victoria Mile (G1) turned into a frenetic cavalry charge inside the final furlong at Tokyo, and 3-2 favorite Ascoli Piceno just got up in the Breeders’ Cup Challenge event. 

Although the Victoria Mile officially serves as a “Win and You’re In” for the Filly & Mare Turf (G1), the past two winners, Songline (2023) and Ten Happy Rose (2024), opted for the Breeders’ Cup Mile (G1). Songline finished fifth as the Mile favorite, while Ten Happy Rose outperformed her odds when fourth in last fall’s Mile.

If Ascoli Piceno’s connections have an interest in shipping to Del Mar, the Mile would be a more suitable target for her as well. The Sunday Racing Co. colorbearer has yet to race beyond a metric mile, and she was coming off a victory over males in the 1351 Turf Sprint (G2) on Saudi Cup Day, Feb. 22. 

Trained by Yoichi Kuroiwa and piloted by Christophe Lemaire, Ascoli Piceno had to overcome post 17 in the Victoria Mile, as well as a course that apparently wasn’t as lightning quick as she prefers. The ground was rated good to firm, but Lemaire described it as “wet” according to Racing Post. Ascoli Piceno didn’t break alertly either, and she raced at or near the tail of the strung-out field for most of the way. 

What did help her cause, however, was the tear-away longshot Alice Verite, who provided a rollicking pace. Breeders’ Cup fans might remember that Alice Verite wanted to race in last fall’s Filly & Mare Turf, but she ended up being rerouted to the Distaff (G1). That was an ambitious spot for a dirt debut, where she finished a non-threatening fourth to Thorpedo Anna.

As Alice Verite blasted through fractions of :22.8, :45.4, and 1:08.1 here, the 97-1 outsider opened up by a substantial margin. She threatened to spring the upset until deep into the Tokyo straight.

Finally, about a furlong from home, Alice Verite began to tire, and the closers engulfed her. Queen’s Walk and Argine unleashed bold bids on the outside, and Shirankedo speared through traffic to Alice Verite’s inside.

Then, Ascoli Piceno, who still had nearly the entire field to pass in midstretch, gained traction. Angling even wider out in the wake of Queen’s Walk, the Daiwa Major filly collared her on the line in 1:32.1.

Queen’s Walk saved second from the flying Shirankedo, who recorded the fastest final sectional in :33.2. By comparison, Ascoli Piceno clocked her last 600 meters (about three furlongs) just a shade over that, in :33.3.

Argine was another head away in fourth, and Alice Verite clung on for fifth. Shinryokuka, Admire Matsui, Stellenbosch, Christmas Parade, Sing That Song, Wide Latour, Ravel, Safira, Masano Canaria, Beyond the Valley, Bond Girl, and So Dazzling concluded the order of finish. Mi Anhelo was withdrawn after coming up lame in her right front. 

“The break wasn’t too sharp,” Lemaire recapped, “and it took some effort to get her into the speed. I did have a little concern to how the filly would perform as race favorite starting from an outside stall.

“But she did have plenty of energy left when needed and, while it did take her some time to reach her top speed, I was thrilled by how she showed her mental strength and potential in fighting to the very end.”

Lemaire’s caution was logical. Ascoli Piceno had thrown in the only poor race of her life when facing vaguely similar conditions in Australia. Favored in last November’s lucrative Golden Eagle at Rosehill, she drew post 17 and belatedly reported home 12th over a good course. Joao Moreira rode her that day and cited the ground as a possible factor.

Ascoli Piceno has never been out of the exacta otherwise. Japan’s unbeaten champion two-year-old filly of 2023, she was a close second to Stellenbosch in the 2024 Oka Sho (Japanese 1000 Guineas) (G1). Ascoli Piceno was favored to rebound versus males in the NHK Mile Cup (G1), but a nightmare trip forced her to settle for runner-up honors. She regained the winning thread in the Keisai Hai Autumn Cup H. (G3) over older males. After her intervening starts in Australia and Saudi Arabia, the Victoria Mile marked her homecoming, and her record stands at 9-6-2-0. 

Bred by Northern Farm, Ascoli Piceno is a half-sister to stakes scorer Ascoltare. They were produced by Ascolti, herself a Danehill Dancer half-sister to Group 2 winner Touching Speech, from the black-type-rich family of Ballydoyle stars Henrythenavigator and Magician.