Main cast prepared for Japan Cup in rain 28/11/2014 Just days out from the 34th running of the G1 Japan Cup, this year’s hopefuls were given their final fast work at both JRA training centres – Miho in the east, Ritto in the west — on Wednesday, while others were worked hard on Thursday. On Wednesday, G1 Tenno Sho Autumn victor Spielberg worked in heavy rain up the hill course at Miho, then over the rain-soaked woodchips amid a trio – a style made popular by his trainer Kazuo Fujisawa. Spielberg started out 3 lengths behind another, lined up with 400m left and, with another horse quickly closing, easily stepped into the lead as he crossed the finish line. His time 56.6 seconds over 800m, with the final 200m in 14.5 seconds. The clocked time was nearly the same to that of his pre-Tenno Sho workout. In the saddle was jockey Hiroshi Kitamura, who has ridden Spielberg for eight of his 13 races, including the past five. “The ground was heavy but I had a lot of horse under me. He ran well and all looks good. He has kept the condition he was in for the Tenno Sho Autumn,” Kitamura said. Also at Miho, three-year-old Satsuki Sho winner Isla Bonita also took on the hill and the woodchips Wednesday. Trainer Hironori Kurita said, “He took on the older horses last time out in the Tenno Sho Autumn and did his best. I think he went to the front a bit early but this time out, he’ll have his regular jockey, who knows the horse well, so I’m not worried.” Kurita said Isla Bonita recovered well from his last outing and is “full of energy.” Fenomeno, who was originally paired with Christophe Lemaire, but was switched to Yasunari Iwata after Lemaire was injured in a race fall on Monday at Kyoto, worked alone at Miho under Assistant trainer Yoshinori Saito on the woodchips and clocked 84 seconds over 1200m with a final 600m time of 40 seconds and the last 200m in 12.9 seconds in no urging. Assistant trainer Yoshinori Saito said, “We pushed him hard last week, so this week we worked him alone as we usually do and checked his responses over the final 200m. He responded well and his movement was good.” Also in the Japan Cup lineup was French jockey Gregory Benoist, who worked Decipher over 1000m of the turf course at Miho on Wednesday. Decipher clocked 67.4 seconds over the distance with a 12.3-second final 200m with no urging, “He’s a very easy horse to ride,” said Benoist. “He listened well to what I was saying and when I gave him the signal to quicken, he did. He was nice and relaxed too. I think he may be better suited to the 2400m than the distance he’s had before. His work was on heavy going. If the race were over the same kind of going, I think he’d do even better.” At Ritto on Thursday, Gentildonna was given two laps up the hill course, also heavy with rain. Gentildonna easily climbed the hill with her long strides looking well toned and calm. Trainer Sei Ishizaka said, “We paid attention to the start and to keeping her in hand. The ground was slow but she ran well. I’d say she’s in the same shape she was for the Tenno Sho Autumn and perhaps the best for the Japan Cup yet.” Also on Thursday, Harp Star, another three-year-old star this year, took a lap and a half over the woodchip course at Ritto and turned in a 12.3-second last 200m with urging. Trainer Hiroyoshi Matsuda found her calm despite it being her first time out after some days off. “It’s her first race since coming back from overseas so I can’t make any big claims, but her condition is the same,” Matsuda said. “It’s the fall of her three-year-old year and she’s already an adult. She has power, there’s no doubt about it.” Just A Way was worked up the hill both Wednesday and Thursday, with his time better on Thursday despite sloppy going. Trainer Naosuke Sugai expressed his satisfaction with his work and added, “We worked him on Sunday over the woodchip course to the left and that was good for him. He’s light on his feet again and back to his prime form.” Denim and Ruby looked good working over 1200m of a sloppy woodchip course at Ritto on Thursday. Despite the poor going, she quickened nicely at the finish with an 11.8-second final 200m with no urging.

 

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Japan Cup

fonte: HKJC

Gentildonna (left): will be ridden by Ryan Moore in the Japan Cup

 PICTURE: Masakazu Takahashi

Moore joins Gentildonna for Cup hat-trick bid

Preview: Japan, Sunday 6.55am GMT (live on ATR)

Tokyo: Japan Cup (Grade 1) 1m4f, turf, 3yo+

SUCH is the strength of the home team that no European-trained horse has won the Japan Cup for nine years and it is long odds-against that sequence being broken as Trading Leather lines up for Godolphin in the 34th edition of Japan’s most famous race.

Last year’s Irish Derby winner is joined by Germany’s Ivanhowe as they bid to end a losing sequence back to Alkaased’s last-gasp victory for Frankie Dettori and Luca Cumani in 2005.

However, they face a spectacular domestic squad in the 521 million yen (£2.8m/€3.53m) contest, in which a veritable who’s who of Japanese stars is headed by Gentildonna, Just A Way and Harp Star. 

Six-time Grade 1 winner Gentildonna (Sei Ishizaka), the fillies’ Triple Crown winner in 2012, is reunited with Ryan Moore as she bids for an unpredecented hat-trick in the Japan Cup. The partnership touched off Denim And Ruby here 12 months ago before beating a top-class field in the Dubai Sheema Classic.

With Moore on duty elsewhere, Gentildonna ran sound race to finish second in last month’s Tenno Sho (Autumn) which should have put her spot-on for this. She will be retired at the end of the season. She is one of five runners who are progeny of Deep Impact, the brilliant Triple Crown winner who was Racing Post world champion in 2006.

In 2014, the world’s top-rated horse is still Just A Way (Naosuke Sugai/Yuichi Fukunaga), who returns to Japanese soil after finishing eighth in the Prix de l’Arc de Triomphe, where three-year-old compatriot Harp Star (Hiroyoshi Matsuda/Yuga Kawada) sprinted down the Longchamp straight to finish sixth. Both looked to have been given far too much to do, the loop-and-swoop tactics that often prevail in Japan not proving quite so successful in France.

Questions remain about Just A Way’s aptitude for this 1m4f trip, though at least the sensational six-length Dubai Duty Free victor has a pair of Grade 1 successes to his name at Tokyo racecourse.

Several of these ran in the Tenno Sho (Autumn) over 1m2f at this venue four weeks ago, when five-year-old Spielberg(Kazuo Fujisawa/Hiroshi Kitamura) registered his first Grade 1 victory by three-quarters of a length over Gentildonna. Satsuki Sho (2,000 Guineas) winner Isla Bonita (Hironori Kurita/Masayoshi Ebina) was a head away in third; Isla Bonita had previously finished second to One And Only (Kojiro Hashiguchi/Norihiro Yokoyama) over course-and-distance in the Tokyo Yushun (Derby). One And Only seemingly failed to stay in the Kikuka Sho (St Leger).

Denim And Ruby (Katsuhiko Sumii/Suguru Hamanaka) just missed out in last year’s race, where Tosen Jordan (Yasutoshi Ikee/Pierre-Charles Boudot) was third. Making his fourth appearance in the race, he was second in 2011 and sixth in 2012.

Soft ground is a necessity for Ivanhowe (Jean-Pierre Carvalho/Filip Minarik), who surprised Sea The Moon in the Grosser Preis von Baden before a dismal Arc display; he returned to his best on November 1 when readily beating a weak Group 1 field in in Munich.

Rarely out of the places, Trading Leather (Jim Bolger/Kevin Manning) has not won in seven races since last year’s Irish Derby and the draw hasn’t been noticeably kind, either – gate 18 of 18.

Canadian-trained Up With The Birds (Malcolm Pierce/Eurico Rosa Da Silva) was well beaten in the Arlington Million.

What the Japan Cup connections say 

Naosuke Sugai, trainer of Just A Way 

“He was up to peak for the Arc and quickened well even when things got tight but it is one tough race after all and it was clear that he needed to have raced from further forward. As the top-ranked horse in the world, I want him to give us a race that won’t be an embarrassment.”

Jean-Pierre Carvalho, trainer of Ivanhowe

“He was 100 per cent before he arrived in Japan and I would say he’s 100 per cent now but he performs better on softer going, so it would be ideal if it rains. He prefers to sit in the back before demonstrating a good turn of foot.”

Sei Ishizaka, trainer of Gentildonna 

“She just passed Isla Bonita in the Tenno Sho but then she was overtaken on the outside. She finished second but I think the race was proof of how well she is doing now. The good thing for us is that we’ll be racing at Tokyo again and I’m expecting her to do well this time too. I think she’s switched on and knows the race is coming. This will be her last Japan Cup, but she’s in the best shape she has been in yet, the right shape to go for three successive wins.”

Hiroyoshi Matsuda, trainer of Harp Star

“With the change in season, her coat has grown long but she has this from her grand-dam Vega, so it’s not a problem. She has handled a good bit of distance in morning work and she’s eating well. The distance is long this time and I think the pace will be slow, so she may race from a bit more forward position than usual.”

Malcolm Pierce, trainer of Up With The Birds

“I don’t think the track will be a problem. He’s a kind of horse that likes to run relaxed, and I don’t think he will be too close in the beginning, but when we turn home I don’t want him too far back.”

Hironori Kurita, trainer of Isla Bonita 

“I’d say he went to the front a bit too early in the Tenno Sho but he gave it his all up against the older horses. This time he’s back with a jockey who’s very familiar with him so expectations are high. He has experience at 2,400 metres and even though it’s a strong field, if he can run his own race I think it’ll go well.”

Kojiro Hashiguchi, trainer of One And Only

“We drew an outside barrier for the Kikuka Sho and were forced to travel pretty much the entire way out wide so that hurt us. I like to believe that result doesn’t reflect the horse’s quality. Tokyo is where he won the Derby. As long as he runs to his potential, we’ve got a chance.”

Pierre-Charles Boudot, rider of Tosen Jordan

“I don’t think he ran badly in the Tenno Sho but the trip was certainly a little short for him. We’ll be among the outsiders but he has a lot of experience of this race which helps. I’ll be delighted if we’re there fighting at the finish.”

Kazuo Fujisawa, trainer of Spielberg

“I thought he made his move to the outside a little too early in the Tenno Sho, but he was incredible down the stretch. He’s got stronger as he’s got older, and the long straight at Tokyo has always suited him. I’m excited about the race, even at this distance, which I think is within his range of capability.”

Hirofumi Toda, trainer of Fenomeno

“The Tenno Sho was his first race in a long time but even so, he lost by way too much. The jockey said he just wasn’t covering ground at all but I don’t have a clear explanation for why he lost. We expect him to show some improvement and the extra distance will be a plus. The fact we can’t figure out the cause of his loss is a matter of concern.”

Kevin Manning, rider of Trading Leather 

“He hasn’t had his ideal ground probably in any run that he’s had this year. He’s really a good quick-ground horse and he just didn’t really have the conditions that suit him all season. I wouldn’t like to see a lot of rain come. I think he’s at his peak. He’s in top form and he feels very good.”

fonte: RacingPost