Ten Happy Rose, sent off at odds of 207-1, passed nine
rivals in the stretch Sunday in her shocking, 1 1/4-length upset win in the
Grade 1, US$1,807,975 Victoria Mile, a one-turn turf race for older fillies and
mares at Tokyo Racecourse.

Coming off a sixth-place finish last out April 6 in the
Hanshin Himba (G2), the 6-year-old mare was sent to the post as the second
longest shot in the field of 15. Owned by Yasushi Tenpaku, Ten Happy Rose
landed her first graded-stakes victory in Sunday’s automatic qualifier for the
Breeders’ Cup Filly & Mare Turf on Nov. 2 at Del Mar.

Trainer Daisuke Takayanagi, who looked after T O Password’s
fifth-place finish last weekend in the Kentucky Derby, scored his second Grade
1 win after saddling T O Keynes to victory in the 2021 Champions Cup. Akihide
Tsumura celebrated his first Grade 1 victory in his 21st season as a jockey.

Ten Happy Rose broke sharply but soon was eased back to
settle fourth from the rear. Gradually making up ground along the outside
approaching the turn and securing a clear path into the homestretch, she showed
terrific acceleration going uphill in the last quarter-mile. She took the lead inside
the eighth pole and drew away.

“I had long been waiting and working hard to be able to
stand on this podium as a Grade 1 winner, and it feels really great that I have
finally made it,” Tsumura said. “From the start up until the end of the turn, the
race unfolded beyond my imagination, and it was just a matter of how much the
mare could extend her strides from there. When we were actually leading in the
last (furlong), it was almost unbelievable.”

Fierce Pride (11-1) chased the leaders just off the rail in
fourth place early. She angled out entering the stretch to overtake the early
leaders who began to run out of steam going uphill. She assumed command before
the furlong pole, but she was outrun by the powerful charge from the outside by
Ten Happy Rose. The 6-year-old mare ridden by Christophe Lemaire still held on
for second.

Post-time favorite Masked Diva (6-5), a 4-year-old filly who
won the Hanshin Himba, broke smoothly under João Moreira and was taken back to
mid-pack. Tipping wide for the stretch run, she was blocked by horses in front.
Although she showed a good turn of foot after finding some space inside the
furlong pole, it was too late for her to make up enough ground to catch the
leaders. Masked Diva finished third, missing second by a neck.

Ten Happy Rose’s winning time was 1:31.8 without a run-up on
the left-handed course rated good to firm. The early splits were 22.7, 45.4 and
1:07.4.

After winning her 2-year-old debut over six furlongs, Ten
Happy Rose went winless in her next five starts at a mile. The mare by Epiphaneia
scored four wins after cutting back to seven furlongs in 15 of her next 17
starts, which included a win in the listed Toki Stakes.

“I am grateful for the fans that have been rooting for me,”
Tsumura said. “I hope this is just the start of more victories like this.”

The top three finishers earned automatic berths in the Prix
Jacques le Marois (G1) on Aug. 11 and the Prix du Moulin de Longchamp (G1) on
Sept. 8, both in France.

If Ten Happy Rose is committed to Del Mar this fall, the Breeders’ Cup will pay her entry fees and provide a travel allowance. She must be nominated to the Breeders’ Cup program by the pre-entry deadline of Oct. 21 to receive the rewards.