Dark horses toppled the top picks Sunday at Hanshin Racecourse as seventh choice Tamuro Cherry and ninth pick Arrow Carry raced to a one-two finish in the Hanshin Juvenile Fillies.
Tamuro Cherry came from midpack three lengths off the front for an impressive stretch spurt that put her ahead of frontrunner Arrow Carry by half a length at the wire.
With the win, French jockey Olivier Peslier claimed an unprecedented third Grade 1 race in three weeks. "I can't believe it," Peslier said. "Three G1s in three weeks. This is fantastic." Capturing the top-level race for 2-year-old fillies followed Peslier's victories in the Mile Championship on Nov. 18 and last week's Japan Cup.
British jockey Kieren Fallon, who begins a short-term riding stint in Japan next week, guided the runnerup home, followed by second choice Osumi Cosmo in third place by a neck.
The winning time over 1,600 meters of firm turf was 1 minute 35.1 seconds. The win was worth 60 million yen. Tamuro Cherry returned 1,800 yen on a 100 yen wager to win.