Training Report of Foreign Entries
Japan Autumn International
The 37th Japan Cup (G1)

November 24, 2017 (Friday)

<At Tokyo Racecourse>

Weather: Fine
Going: Good (dirt course), Firm (turf course)

Idaho (IRE, C4, bay)

- jogged right-handed 1/2 lap, cantered strongly left-handed 3/4 lap (dirt course)
(exercised from 7:34 to 7:49, ridden by Ben Dalton)

“We like to have him do a 30-minute walk before training, so we might as well walk up to the saddling boxes and the paddock and school him, which takes about the same half an hour. He was a lot more relaxed doing that today than he was yesterday and tomorrow he will be better again. He was very good this morning and he’s in such good form.
Regarding the draw #14, if you see the turf it’s obvious that nobody wants to go on the rail because it’s all chewed up, so we’re actually in the best ground going forward. He has drawn a bit wide, but I don’t see there is a problem because it is a fair and galloping track.
Tomorrow we’ll do exactly the same menu as today, including the schooling.”

(comments taken from assistant trainer Thomas Comerford)

Guignol (GER, H5, dark bay or brown)

- cantered 1 lap (turf course)
(exercised from 8:31 to 8:35, ridden by Michael Cadeddu)

“The horse is in very good condition and seems to be getting into his racing mode. Since his last start was rather recent and that we’re at the end of the season, it’s important to keep him fresh.
Our draw is very good—we’re right between Kitasan Black and Rey de Oro. The pace here is very strong, and we hope he can race at his best pace, but he might go up front early, depending on what the others will do.
He will do the same kind of work tomorrow morning as he did today.”

(comments taken from trainer Jean-Pierre Carvalho)

Iquitos (GER, H5, bay)

- jogged 1/2 lap, cantered 3/4 lap (stronger on stretch) (dirt course)
(exercised from 8:32 to 8:45, ridden by Simone Harnischmacher)

“There hasn’t been much of an interval since his last race, so he’s very fit and doesn’t need any strong work. Compared to last year, he might look the same but has definitely matured and feels very good.
We were fortunate to get the draw we hoped for, so he'll go from behind and see how the race develops. To make the most of our last year's experience, we hope he can find better ground to run on in the straight."

(comments taken from Hans-Jurgen Groschel)

Boom Time (AUS, H6, bay)

- jogged 1/4 lap, cantered (stronger on straight) (turf course)
(exercised from 8:06 to 8:19, ridden by Cory Parish)

“This morning, we just let him stretch his legs—not really gallop, but what I liked was that he wanted to go faster. He seems to like Japan and hopefully he can do it on the weekend.
His draw is the same as when we won with Better Loosen Up, so I’m very happy with it.”

(comments taken from trainer David Hayes)

“It was good to have a look at the track, along the back straight he was nice and relaxed. We started to come down the hill around the third and fourth corner and he really wanted to get into it. I just had to hold him back, not let him go too fast, and he was pulling me all the way to the line really nice, got up the hill well and I was really happy with him.
The Tokyo track is fantastic, nice and roomy, and firm underneath—just a little bit of give but not too much. The feeling of the track felt similar to Flemington.
In the Caulfield Cup, he had a really strong pace out in the front which he needed but didn’t get in the Melbourne Cup. Coming over here, back in the 2,400 and having the tempo that the Japanese jockeys run it, should work in my favor.”

(comments taken from jockey Cory Parish)