Debutant Hesparis stuns Ooi, wins Tokyo Princess Award in duel

Hesparis did more than steal the 40th Tokyo Princess Sho at Oi Racecourse. By defeating heavy favorite Anjuru-na in a head-to-head finish, the Hokko Tarumae filly put herself squarely into the South Kanto crown picture and earned priority entry to the Kanto Oaks on June 17 at Kawasaki.

The 3-year-old was only the fourth betting choice, but she handled the 1,800 meters on Oi’s outer course with the kind of timing that turns a promising filly into a serious player. Hiroto Yoshihara tracked the pace, moved her up on the final turn and asked for her best in the lane. When the stretch battle tightened, Hesparis kept finding more and edged clear for her first graded stakes victory.

The result mattered because Anjuru-na had come in with real momentum, carrying a six-race winning streak that included four straight stakes wins. She was trying to complete the next step in the South Kanto 3-year-old fillies’ classic series after taking the opening leg, but she met a filly who already had proof that Oi’s 1,800-meter trip fit her well. Hesparis had captured the Azaea Special at the track by four lengths, a warning sign that the Tokyo Princess Sho distance was very much in her range.

This win came in only her fourth career start, and it pushed her record to 4 starts, 3 wins, with earnings of 39.92 million yen. For trainer Kazuo Watanabe, the way she finished was the point. He had seen enough from her earlier races to believe a true duel would suit her better than an easier rhythm, and the race unfolded exactly that way. Yoshihara was equally direct in his assessment after the finish, saying he wanted to reach the leader as early as possible and was satisfied to win the fight to the wire.

The pedigree and connections add to the appeal. Hesparis is by Hokko Tarumae out of Britomartis, was bred by Niikappu Hashimoto Bokujo in Hokkaido, and is owned by Katsumi Yoshida. The combination of ownership, breeding and a perfect 1,800-meter record at Oi gives her a profile that now stretches well beyond one upset.

The Tokyo Princess Sho has been run at 1,800 meters since the inaugural 1987 edition, apart from a temporary 1,790-meter setup during grandstand renovation, and the 2026 renewal kept that tradition intact. What changed was the pecking order. Anjuru-na still owns the reputation of the division’s established force, but Hesparis left Oi with the sharper claim, and with Kawasaki now on the calendar, the filly series has a new name at the center of it.