Reigning Japanese champion 3-year-old filly Liberty Island continued to prepare for a tilt in the March 30 $6 million Dubai Sheema Classic (G1) with a half-mile breeze Feb. 22 at Ritto Training Center.
The work, clocked in :52.9 over the uphill course, was the second recorded move for the 4-year-old Duramente filly since she returned to training. She has been unraced since a second-place finish to 2023 Japanese Horse of the Year Equinox in the Nov. 26 Japan Cup (G1). Following the Japan Cup and her 2023 heroics, she was sent to the Shigaraki Branch of Northern Farm for a 2 1/2-month reprieve.
Racing for breeder Sunday Racing and trained by Mitsumasa Nakauchida, Liberty Island enjoyed a historic campaign in 2023, sweeping all three legs of the Japanese Filly Triple Crown—the Oka Sho (G1), Yushun Himba (G1), and Shuka Sho (G1). Prior to her Filly Triple Crown bid, she was named the champion 2-year-old filly of 2022 by virtue of her victory in the Hanshin Juvenile Fillies (G1).
Liberty Island will be shipped to Dubai for the World Cup Carnival March 21 in company with fellow Japanese runners Shahryar , winner of the Dubai Sheema Classic in 2022, as well as group 1 winners Stars on Earth and Justin Palace.
