Sometimes a horse just seems different from the others. It’s not a physical thing, it is something more than that. Regaleira had a different presence at Kyoto on Sunday as she walked around the parade ring: everything about her was imposing; she exuded an aura one might expect from a Grand Prix horse about to do something special.
With Cristian Demuro having already secured four wins by Race 10, the atmosphere was thick with anticipation among fans that he might take the 11th as well on the G1 Queen Elizabeth II Cup second-favourite Lynx Tip.
But in the paddock, it was impossible to ignore Regaleira, a filly who had set improbable expectations when she beat the colts in the G1 Hopeful Stakes as a two-year-old. Then disappointed against those colts through her three-year-old classic campaign, only to find incredible redemption winning the G1 Arima Kinen last December.
Here she was, back from an injury with a G2 All Comers win under her belt and looking better than ever.
“In the saddling enclosure, she was walking with quite a bit of confidence, and had, well, a good aura about her,” her trainer Tetsuya Kimura said. “In the paddock, she was also walking with much more focus than she did for the All Comers.”
But as Regaleira’s race record and the words of ‘I was relieved’ from both jockey and trainer indicate, while she is a rare talent, she is clearly not a straightforward filly.
She was fidgety in the tight space of the starting gate at the start of Sunday’s feature. She was bouncing on her toes and causing Keita Tosaki a moment of fear.
“She wasn’t calm inside the gate, so I was praying,” Tosaki admitted later.
Much effort and thought had gone into trying to get Regaleira to relax in the gate. Kimura and his team even took the unusual move to have Tosaki put her in another gate and take her back out before the other horses loaded. A last minute practice that seemed to work for the filly and for her jockey.
“I think the canter during the warm-up is the most important part, and she moved out in good form,” Tosaki said. “She stayed calm after that, too, so the atmosphere was really good. Regarding the starting gate, she was a bit restless in her last race, so I spoke with the trainer, and we decided to practice once before the start. We did practice, but even during practice, she wouldn’t quite settle down, so I was wondering how it would go.”
It went well, despite her prancing fidgeting. Regaleira broke quite quickly and the race went smoothly.
Yutaka Take sent Erica Express to the front, though he did not open up a significant lead. Regaleira tracked calmly on the outside of the midfield pack. Midway between the third and fourth corners, Lynx Tip was urged forward, eliciting cheers from the crowd as she advanced.
Approaching the final corner, Regaleira began to move up on the outside, splitting Kana Tape and Coconut Brown. With 200 metres remaining, Regaleira decisively caught Paradis Reine, who had taken the lead, powered clear and crossed the finish line a comfortable first.
REGALEIRA, KEITA TOSAKI / G1 Queen Elizabeth Cup II // Kyoto Racecourse /// 2025 //// Photo by Shuhei Okada
After pulling up, Tosaki shook hands with Mirai Iwata on Paradis Reine. A victory jockey interview is customary after JRA (Japan Racing Association) features and at the end of his interview, Tosaki shouted in English, “Very very horse!” a reference to his misspoken line which has become a meme in Japanese racing circles – he missed out the word ‘good’ – said after Danon Decile’s G1 Dubai Sheema Classic win last April.
The crowd roared in response. Tosaki is one of their heroes, Regaleira is a beloved heroine. Tosaki understands this.
“I am glad I was able to live up to the popularity today,” the jockey said. “I rode Regaleira believing she was truly strong, and she won with a magnificent run, so thank you for your support. I think she will continue to show us great performances in the future, so please continue to support her.”
Connections gave the standard line that they must discuss plans before committing to her next race, but the expectation is that Regaleira will defend her Arima Kinen crown.
If she can win Japan’s great end-of-year Grand Prix two years running, her aura will be off the charts. ∎
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AloJapan.com