Monroe Walk Puts Her Unbeaten Record on the Line in the Shuka Sho at Kyoto, Japan
The filly has won all 4 of her starts and will be the favorite for the final leg of the Japanese Fillies' Triple Crown; Dream Core emerges as her chief rival in a race that will not feature the winner of the Oaks
KYOTO, Japan (Special for Turf Diario).— Four races, four wins, and an ideal opportunity to complete her leap into the elite. Monroe Walk (Kizuna) faces the biggest challenge of her brief campaign this Sunday when she starts as the favorite in the Shuka Sho (G1), a 2000-meter turf contest at Kyoto Racecourse that serves as the final leg of the Japanese Fillies' Triple Crown, offering a total purse of $1.36 million.
The unbeaten filly trained by Hiroyuki Uemura will face 16 rivals, but her recent form clearly places her at the top of market preferences. Her development has been steady since winning on debut in August 2025, taking three big steps forward this season to solidify her standing among the most intriguing stars of her generation.
She first picked up two allowance victories over 1800 meters in June and July before claiming her maiden black-type success in the Rose Stakes (G2) on September 13 at Hanshin, also over 1800 meters.
Throughout her three starts this year, Monroe Walk showed a key quality that could prove vital in a demanding race of this caliber: the ability to stalk comfortably near the leaders without needing the front, conserving her energy to strike in the closing stages.
Uemura also emphasized his pupil's physical strength, noting her body weight hovers around 450 kilograms—a figure that reinforces the image of a solid filly who still has room to improve.
The absence of Juryoku Pierrot (Orfevre), winner of the Japanese Oaks (G1) in May, altered the landscape significantly. The filly was ruled out due to health issues, leaving the path somewhat clearer for Monroe Walk, though hardly free of dangerous threats.
Chief among them is Dream Core (Kizuna), runner-up by just a neck in the Oaks and the other major market choice, likely standing as the only other contender offered at single-digit odds.
Dream Core has started just once since that performance, finishing third by 1 3/4 lengths in the Shion Stakes (G2) over the same 2000-meter distance she faces here. Her running style—tracking close to the tempo without getting drawn into early battles—could also play to her advantage.
Among the remaining contenders, notable runners include Enne (Kizuna), who finished second to Monroe Walk in the Rose Stakes, and Master Soarer (Siskin), winner of the Shion Stakes, both arriving with credentials to push the main choices.
The Shuka Sho brings a close to a Triple Crown series that kicked off in April with the Japanese 1000 Guineas (G1) and continued through the Japanese Oaks (G1). The opening leg fell to Star Anise (Drefong), who subsequently finished twelfth in the Oaks and recently ran fourth against males in the Sprinters Stakes (G1) on September 27 at Nakayama.
With no chance of a single filly sweeping all three crowns this season, the spotlight centers on the emergence of a new dominant figure within the division.
For Monroe Walk, the stage appears set. Her unbeaten streak, steady progress with each outing, and the authority displayed in her stakes debut make her the horse to beat.
This Sunday, starting at 3:40 a.m. Argentine time, Kyoto will provide the answer. And Monroe Walk will attempt to prove that her four previous triumphs were merely the prologue to a campaign built for far greater achievements.
