Fragarach

Mikio Matsunaga, trainer
“He was sidelined due to inflammation of the suspensory ligament and that took longer than expected to heal. He came back from Northern Farm Shigaraki on Oct. 7 and passed his gate test right away. Since then he’s been getting a lot of work. Last start, it just happened that he jumped really well so he took the lead and hung on fantastically. It was a frustrating finish. He’s gone wire to wire at Tokyo before and that last start reminded me once again that he’s able to run that kind of race. He has had trouble with the gate but he’s gotten lots of practice and I think he’ll break well. Physically he’s in good shape. I’m looking forward to seeing what he’ll do.”

Gold Actor

Tadashige Nakagawa, trainer
“He still acts childish in some ways but I feel he has matured. His hindquarters were weak as a 3-year-old but he’s strong now. His fast work went as planned this week. His time was good, but he didn’t overdo it, so it’s OK. His action was fluid and looked good. I think he’s in top shape.”

Toshiaki Sasajima, assistant trainer
“The October Stakes was his first race in three months but he caught the frontrunners and the jockey still had a firm contact with the reins. It was a hands-down win and much stronger than the margin would indicate. His strong point is his fantastic racing sense. His broke his maiden coming from behind but his next four wins he accomplished racing from no further back than third position. He makes his own race and writes his own trip. He was third in the Kikuka Sho (Japanese St. Leger) so he has the record to prove his ability over distance but this is the first time since his 4-year-old year to participate in an open-class race. He still is growing, still gaining in strength and I’m really looking forward to what kind of things he has in store for us from here on out. I feel like this is just the start.”

Hiraboku Deep

Sakae Kunieda, trainer
“In the Tancho Stakes we put the blinkers on him again. He was in good shape and he moved well. After a short spell we aimed him here. He looked a little bit slack when he came back, but now he’s back on his game. This week we put a horse ahead of him and worked him over distance. I think he looked good. He should be at about the same weight as he was for last race. I’ve always had expectations for him. He’s a son of Deep Impact and he’s strong.”

Katsumi Sato, assistant trainer
“Before, we’d taken off the blinkers that he’d been wearing, but two races ago he wasn’t able to keep up with the pace very well. So, last race we put them on again and it was the jockey’s first time up as well. The rider had no preconceptions and he was able to ride aggressively. After a spell, the horse came back to the training center. He hadn’t lost any muscle and had maintained good condition. Being stabled at the track probably helped him these last two starts and he has filled out. He doesn’t have a good kick so the longer distance is good for him and, with (Kenichi) Ikezoe riding again, I think we can look forward to a good race.”

Longing Dancer

Tetsuo Otsuka, assistant trainer
“His last race came just after a win of a 16-million-yen race and there were strong horses mixed in to that field. He really did his best and quickened well in the finish too. I think it was a strong race. Afterward, we were able to train him as usual and we’ve gotten a good handle on what kind of work is best for him. And this has been evident in the results of his last two starts. This time he’s fresher than before and has a lot of pep. We won’t know if he can handle the distance until we try it. He’s able to hold back in the early stages so I think he’ll be able to show us some good late speed as usual.”

Love Is Boo Shet

Akira Murayama, trainer
“His results for the first half of this year haven’t been that good, but last race he ran quite well for him and got closer to the winner. After his last start he had a bit of time off and on the 29th we gave him a fast gallop on the woodchips with another horse. The improvement we’d been expecting is coming slower than we thought it would. His times are slower compared to his best and I do think he is still lacking. We’ll see how much he can improve this week. This week he was a little bit difficult and didn’t want to run but the jockey got him going nicely and pushed him pretty hard. The horse has improved but the problem is always whether he’ll feel like running or not. In his last race he was eager to run. If he can concentrate well he should be OK. I think the long stretch of Tokyo will suit him. If he can keep up, he should be able to do better.”

Meiner Frost

Noboru Takagi, trainer
“He never runs that well when he’s coming off a layoff and I think the Sankei Sho All Comers was similar to his run in the Nakayama Kimpai at the beginning of the year. This last start he finished in ninth place 1.1 seconds off the winner but it really couldn’t be helped because he wasn’t in his best shape yet. His action could probably be a little bit sharper but I think we’ll see improvement with that one race behind him. With the strong gallop this week he’ll be in good shape. He missed the cut in the Tenno Sho (Autumn), so we reset our sights on this race. One of his riders before said that he thought his best distance was over 1,800-2,000 meters but last race he wasn’t keen and he ran nicely balanced so I don’t think there will be any problems with a bit more distance this time.”

Meiner Medalist

Kiyotaka Tanaka, trainer
“We gave him time off to refresh from the spring campaign and he hasn’t been back at the training center that long. Two weeks ago, he was slow in work. It wasn’t his usual. It’s not his weight as much as it is his wind. So, we’ll see how much he can improve with this week’s gallop. His recent starts have been a bit lacking and I think this is a mental thing with him. If he’s on his game he’d be able to do better. I’m hoping he’ll be able to get back some of his old self.”

Meisho Kadomatsu

Kenichi Fujioka, trainer
“The All Comers wasn’t a bad race, but he’d shadowed the frontrunner and I think if he’d run on his own he’d have had a better finish. We gave him a little bit of time off and aimed him for this race. The last start has sharpened him up and his movement is good in work. I think he’ll be in better shape than he was for last race. In February, even though it was a lower-level race, he did well at Tokyo and this time out the jockey will be the same. I think the extra distance and the change back to Tokyo from his last race will be plus factors. If he can run his own race I think he has ample chance of winning a graded stakes race.”

New Dynasty

Kaname Ogino, assistant trainer
“He was a bit slow in work this week but it was good work for him. He’s never been that good in morning work. If he can get a good trip it should be OK.

Yukito Ishikawa, jockey
“I got advice from (Hiroyuki) Uchida this time. He says a fast track will be better for this horse. I’ve watched all the horse’s past starts and he can easily go forward and get a good position. I’m hoping he’ll be able to get a good trip.”

Prince Pesca

Tsugio Mori, assistant trainer
“His run in the Tancho Stakes wasn’t bad considering that he’d only recently arrived in Sapporo. He moved on his own and he ran steadily and went all out at the end. I’d say it was proof that he can measure up in the open class. Compared to the leadup to last race, we’ve had an easier time of it after taking him to Ritto and we’ve been able to get him tuned up and he’s looking good. If all continues to go well we’ll send him to the gate with no concerns. The competition is strong and I’ve looking forward to seeing how well he’ll do in the shape he’s in now. If the race unfolds in a way that will let him bring out what he has, it’ll be good.”

Promontorio

Kiyoshi Hagiwara, trainer
“Leading up to last race, there’d been some worries but he improved after his fast work a week out so I guess I did have my hopes up. With the time off, his hindquarters have gotten stronger and I think he shows a fundamental improvement. His responses were good when he moved out and even though it was a lower-level race it was a strong one. Fortunately, he came out of that race well and we were able to give him fast gallops on the 23rd and 28th. His weight had been up 12 kg last race but it’s down now. He has more strength from behind now so he starts better, so he should be OK at the break now too. His time was slow this week but that’s what we wanted. His movement wasn’t bad. He was third in the Meguro Kinen before his layoff so with it being the same conditions this time out I’ll think he’ll do well.”

Recondite

Hidetaka Otonashi, trainer
“Last race he did worse than we’d expected. The jockey too said in his postrace comments that he didn’t feel the horse was ready yet. Looking at his work again, I guess I could agree that he was a bit off his best form. Even though the horse he ran with on the 28th was from a lower class, it was a good workout. I think he’s improving, even if it is only bit by bit. When he’s raced, his muscle tone really improves so I’m expecting him to be different this time out. This race has the same conditions as the Meguro Kinen, in which he ran second. I think Tokyo suits him and with it being a handicap as well, if he can run as well as he did last time at Tokyo, I think he has a chance.”

Reve Mistral

Hiroyoshi Matsuda, trainer
“He’s been a bit weak in the hindquarters since he was 2 years old. He would race well each time out but he won the Aoba Sho on talent alone and was able to get to the Tokyo Yushun (Japanese Derby). I think for where he was at the time, he ran very well. He spent the summer at Northern Farm Hayakita. As for our plans for the fall, we weren’t concerned about making the Kikuka Sho because our idea was to let him mature in his own good time and wait until he was older and would surely be able to run well. He came back to the training center in mid September. Not pushing him too hard, but just wanting to race him some time before year-end, that’s the way we looked at it and it’s with that feeling that we gave him steady, easy work. His overall balance has improved compared to the spring when he held his head high because things were difficult for him. We worked him over the course in tandem on the 28th and his action was much better than the week before. We decided he was in good enough shape to race and we decided on this race. He’s up against older horses but he can hold his own.”

Saimon Tornare

Kiyotaka Tanaka, trainer
“He’s doing well and is full of energy as usual. I’m hoping he’ll make good of the 49 kg he’s asked to carry and do his best.”

Satono Noblesse

Tatsuhiko Kawai, assistant trainer
“In the All Comers he moved out pretty well but he jumped from the far outside and was forced wide from start to finish and had nothing left in the end. He was a bit heavy and he’s a big horse and he was coming off a long layoff. Those all were factors. He went to Northern Farm Shigaraki, then came back to the training center on Oct. 20. He was well-toned and I think his last race will have sharpened him up. Even though we were focusing mainly on the wrap, he ran the last furlong in fast work on the 29th in 11 seconds something. He’s got his form back and I think we’ll see ample improvement.”

Super Moon

Daisuke Tsumagari, assistant trainer
“In the Ireland Trophy, the jockey still had quite a bit of horse under him until he got to the hill. But, from there, he didn’t quicken at all. He’d had four months off since coming back from overseas and I think that was the main factor in his not being to show his strength and get results. On the 28th, we worked him on the hill but it had only been 10 days from the race and there was no visible change. He’ll improve for this race though. He did well last year and ran third here, so I think the conditions suit him. Now that he’s gotten older, he’s more solid, more stable and he likes this track. He’ll have the same weight in the race as he did last year. Last year’s jockey is back and I think we can expect a good race like last year.”

Suzuka Devious

Takehiro Kodama, assistant trainer
“The Hanshin Daishoten ended in quite a heated battle and it was a tough race for him. Just when he’d finally got over his fatigue from that race, it was time for the Tenno Sho (Spring). And he just didn’t have anything extra. He came back from his layoff looking a bit more filled out than usual and in good shape. He has more width to him now. He still needed more tone though so we gave him a run up the hill course and he clocked in the 51-second range. His movement looked good and we didn’t have the concerns about him holding his head too high. He is the kind of horse that gets better with each race, but he has come back from his layoff looking good. He’s working well too. If he can get a nice balanced run, we may be able to see something good from him even though it’s his first race in a while.”

Wagenseil

Yasuhito Tamura, trainer
“The Hakodate Kinen two races ago felt a bit busy for him so I decided to increase the distance and race him in the Tancho Stakes. He’s the type that can’t get his engine revved going around turns. He quickened well in the stretch but the tight turns didn’t suit him. As usual, we sent him to Yamamoto Training Center before bringing him back to the training center. He is in good shape and his action is good for him and his overall condition is good. His temperament is one where you can’t totally trust him so the change to the spacious Tokyo course will be good. And having (Hironobu) Tanabe up will be a plus factor too since he has a handle on the horse’s quirks. The horse is but he has no physical problems and as you can see from his wins this year, his form hasn’t deteriorated. I think he’ll be able to handle it being a handicap and depending on the way the race unfolds.”