Star Anise Dominates Oka Sho, Opens Japan Fillies' Triple Crown Run

Star Anise did more than collect the 86th Oka Sho at Hanshin Racecourse. She delivered the kind of polished, forceful victory that can reset expectations for the rest of Japan’s fillies’ Triple Crown, winning the One Thousand Guineas by 2 1/2 lengths in 1:31.5 and keeping her unbeaten-for-2026 start intact.

The Drefong filly had been asked to do it off a four-month layoff, from gate 15 in a field of 18, in a race that carried a total value of JPY306,370,000 and awarded JPY140 million to the winner. She answered with authority. Star Anise settled in the middle of the pack, looked briefly unsettled early, then found her rhythm under Kohei Matsuyama. From there, she advanced smoothly, circled rivals turning for home and took control from around the final furlong pole.

The finish told the story of a filly who handled pressure like a class horse. Garavogue, the same rival who had chased her home in the Hanshin Juvenile Fillies, was second again, 2 1/2 lengths behind the winner. Longshot Zippy Tune, sent off at 80-1, slipped through for third, with I Need You fourth by a neck. For a race that had 19 nominees chasing 18 berths, Star Anise separated herself from a deep group without needing to be pushed hard to the line.

That matters because the Oka Sho is not just another graded win. It is the first leg of the Japanese fillies’ Triple Crown, followed by the Yushun Himba, or Japanese Oaks, on May 24 at Tokyo Racecourse, and the Shuka Sho on October 18 at Kyoto Racecourse. The next step is also the biggest test. The Oaks stretches to 2,400 meters, a far sterner assignment than the 1,600 meters she handled at Hanshin, and pedigree watchers will already be asking whether her speed will carry the same way over that trip.

Still, this was the kind of performance that changes the conversation. Star Anise entered the classic season as the 2025 Japanese champion 2-year-old filly after her Hanshin Juvenile Fillies victory, but the Oka Sho was the first time she had to prove that juvenile promise translated against older demands, a new trip and a serious layoff. She passed every one of those tests. For trainer Tomokazu Takano, it was his first classic title and his 12th JRA-G1 victory, while Matsuyama earned his second Oka Sho after guiding Daring Tact in 2020. Right now, Star Anise looks less like a filly who merely got on the board and more like one who may already be setting the pace for the rest of the crown chase.