Cristian Demuro beats brother Mirco with Oka Sho pick-up mount

Cristian Demuro beats brother

Mirco with Oka Sho pick-up mount

Cristian Demuro, a late replacement aboard Ayusan in Sunday's Grade 1 Oka Sho,

defeated his brother Mirco Demuro aboard Red Oval in a tight finish to the

Japanese fillies' classic. The result was unprecedented in JRA history, as it

marked the first time two brothers had served up the exacta.

Adding to the family atmosphere, both fillies are daughters of Deep Impact,

who has now sired three straight winners of the Oka Sho (Japanese One Thousand

Guineas). Both Ayusan and Red Oval were moving forward off the March 2 Tulip Sho,

where they finished third and seventh, respectively. Each posted a new career

high in this first jewel of Japan's Fillies' Triple Crown.

Ayusan was due to be ridden by regular jockey Genki Maruyama, but he suffered

severe injuries from a fall the previous day. Trainer Takahisa Tezuka gave the

mount to Cristian Demuro, who rose to the occasion to capture his first career

Grade 1 title.

Someries took advantage of her inner post to set the pace, quickly being

stalked by race favorite Kurofune Surprise who unhesitatingly moved up to

challenge the pace while most of the field bunched up in a big group right

behind. Princess Jack traveled right behind Ayusan who sat in midpack stuck

between horses and traveled wide, while Mirco Demuro kept Red Oval well reserved

a few lengths behind the pack before the initial corner.

Kurofune Surprise launched an early bid well before the final turn that put

her up front at the top of the lane. Ayusan, although finding herself briefly

trapped behind horses, showed a good turn of foot to collar the stubborn leader

at the furlong pole. She was then confronted by a late charge from Red Oval, who

turned wide from well behind at the last corner and was forced an outside route

down the stretch.

Under the younger Demuro, Ayusan found another gear in the final strides to

pull away by a neck. The Juichi Hoshino colorbearer covered the metric mile on

Hanshin's firm turf in 1:35.

Princess Jack got up to deny Kurofune Surprise for third. Last year's

champion two-year-old filly, Robe Tissage, who sat in front of the winner in

mid-division throughout most of the journey, could do no better than fifth.

Ayusan's first stakes victory upped her mark to 5-2-1-1,

¥143,745,000. After breaking her maiden in

her debut outing last October, she closed well to grab second in the Artemis

Stakes and capped off her first season with a seventh-place finish in the

Hanshin Juvenile Fillies. She secured her ticket to this year's Oka Sho with her

third-place finish in her first race of the season, the Tulip Sho, and has now

become the first filly in 18 years with only one win under her belt to grab the

title since Wonder Perfume in 1995.

Bred by Shimokobe Farm in Japan, Ayusan is a half-sister to multiple stakes

winner Saki to Me. They were produced by the winning Storm Cat mare Buy the Cat,

who is herself a full sister to Grade 3 victor Storm Broker. Ayusan's second dam

is Grade 1 star Buy the Firm.

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