Admire Lead

Hiroyoshi Matsuda, trainer
“She’s a very slight filly, so if she tries hard to get position or gets swallowed up in the pack, things are tough for her. So, last out in the Shiragiku Sho, it was good that she was able to run alone. She was worked up in the Fantasy Stakes before that, so putting a hood on her seems to have worked as well. We had planned to come here if she won the last race. We gave her an easy gallop on the uphill course on Dec. 3 and she’s gotten sufficient work. She’s small but she doesn’t go off her feed and she’s not lacking in muscle. So, working her pretty hard is not a concern. She responded well when asked to move out last race and I think she’ll do well if she can run her own race.”   

Goro Fujiwara, assistant trainer
“She’s coming along as planned. Her responses are good. It’s a tight rotation, but she’s eating well, so if she maintains her condition, things should go well.”

At the Seaside

Kenichi Asami, assistant trainer
“In her debut run, things got tight but she pushed through and got in the clear. But it was no means a smooth race. In her second start the jockey understood what she was capable of and moved her out accordingly. Still, she moved out very smartly and can show some excellent footwork. We’ve kept her at the training center from the start to maintain her condition and, since there isn’t much time between races, we’ve only worked her lightly. Also, in her last race, she really only ran hard in the finish, so she shouldn’t be too tired. She’s not that good of a starter and, looking at the last race I think she’ll be able to handle a mile. There are a lot of strong horses in the lineup and a lot of unknown factors.”

Blanc Bonheur

Koichi Shirakura, assistant trainer
“I thought she’d do a bit better last race (Grade 2 Fantasy Stakes, 3rd place), but I guess coming back after a layoff was a factor and her responses were dull. There were some tough spots in the race and she got through them but she wasn’t as sharp as I had thought she would be. Still, I don’t think the distance was a factor. She lost but it wasn’t a tragedy. It’s hard to keep a streak going. Looking at it another way, I think having lost once will take the pressure off of her. We’ve been working her on the flat to improve her stamina and balance. The jockey did ride her up the hill a week ago. The ground was rough at that time but she still moved well. Last race will have sharpened her up. The Hanshin Racecourse mile is an unknown but if she can stay on an even keel, I think there should be no worries about the distance. I can’t say anything about the hill, but I think she’ll give us a competitive run. She has a good spring to her gait.”

Candy Barows

Yoshito Yahagi, trainer
“She won at Sapporo in record time so I thought she’d like the hard, light grass of Kyoto. She grabbed it really well at the end in the Fantasy Stakes and showed guts that really seem to contradict her small stature. After that race we gave her time off and brought her back into training on Nov. 26. All has gone well since then. She lagged in her work in tandem but I think that was due more to the difference in the riders’ weights. A week ago we pushed her pretty hard and she handled it well, so this week we just focused on the finish. The grass is heavier and there’s the hill in the straight. That and the 1,600 meters are all conditions that will put her at a disadvantage. But, she has an extremely sweet nature toward people and listens well. She’s not thin, so if the draw and the trip work for her, it should be OK.”

Shunsuke Fujita, assistant trainer
“When she’s not around other horses, she gets lonely but she’s tough for a filly in other ways. She didn’t like the outside gate last start but ran a good race. She has good racing sense. She is in good shape. Her breathing is a lot better with the one race behind her and so I think she’ll be able to handle the mile.”

Crocosmia

Katsuichi Nishiura, trainer
“She’d done well in an open-class race and I wanted her to get two wins as soon as possible, so we ran her in an allowance race last out. Her start wasn’t bad and she got a nice position and showed us the kind of acceleration we were expecting at the finish. Her weight is the same, which is good being a small horse. It’s tight between races so she had a run up the hill on Dec. 2 and clocked in the 57-second range. This week we just breezed her and that should have her ready. She has quite a competitive nature, a good appetite and runs well in work. She has learned how to race too. For next year’s sake, I’m hoping she’ll do well here.”

Denko Ange

Jun Sato, assistant trainer
“She has a tendency to lose concentration in the stretch, so the fast time in the final stages of her last race worked for her. She really moved up well and ran solidly for a long stretch. Her weight was down but she had lost the fat and was nice and lean, so that was fine. And she pulled out of that race well. The trip to the track will be shorter this time, so her weight may be up, but that should be fine. On Dec. 2, she worked in tandem over the woodchip course and finished well ahead of the other horse. She still loses concentration, so that is a concern, but she runs well and her footwork is light. She definitely has talent. When she matures a bit more, she’ll be even better. The lack of concentration problem, especially in a Grade 1 race, will make an early move difficult.”

Gentle Heart

Shozo Sasaki, trainer
“Her debut race was a mile. I don’t think the distance is too long by any means. She’s come along nicely since and isn’t looking bad at all. Her workout up the hill on Dec. 3 was in the 52-second range, which wasn’t bad. Her responses were good, as was her movement. The jockey had a lot of horse to the end in the last race and she moved up nicely. She doesn’t get keen, so I think the mile will bring out her tenacity.”

Kirishima Ojo

Kojiro Hashiguchi, trainer
“There were traffic problems in the Fantasy Stakes and she was bothered by the other horses. We gave her a bit of time off and brought her back into training in mid-November. Things have gone well since. She showed us nice work on the hill on Dec. 2. She’s long-backed and from that and her big stride, I don’t think she’s suited to 1,200 meters. With 1,600 she’ll be able to move out easily. But one question is her level of talent. I can’t tell from just her last race. In any case, it won’t be easy.”

Futoshi Komaki, jockey
“(In training) she ran well balanced and her movement was good. She was keen last time out at 7 furlongs and put up a bit of a fight. I think it would be better to let her go forward than fight her.”

Ma Cherie Girl

Yasuo Sugawara, trainer
“Her last race was the first time over dirt and I think it suited her well enough, but the pace picked up suddenly down the backstretch. She lined up turning into the stretch but hung out in the final stages, which I think was the only part where she was a bit lacking. We returned to Miho and have gotten her ready there. There isn’t much time between races and we have the long haul again. Fast work on race week should be enough. She’s recovering well. Because she hung out last race, I decided to put a blinker on her right eye only. Two races ago, she’d been keen early on and then faded in the stretch, so I hope to get some cover this time.”

Major Emblem

Yasuhito Tamura, trainer
“In the Artemis Stakes, she had the far outside gate so there were no traffic problems. From the results, you’d have to say that the winner made her move with excellent timing but this filly was top of the frontrunners and really gave it her all and showed she had a lot to give. Afterward, we took her to Northern Farm Tenei as usual. After returning to the training center, we were very conscious of keeping her well in hand. We were careful not to ask her to gallop from in front of the stands but started from the backstretch with a horse in front of her. Her movement is good and she is running calm and relaxed, which shows she has improved from her last run. Since our loss in the last race, we had to think about the root of the problem, so I see that as a plus. I don’t think the long trip to the track will be a problem since she’s used to long hauls between the training center and the training farm. If she can run balanced, I think she can rally this time out. In fast work this week, I gave instructions not to let her get too fast. If she runs seriously, even an older horse can’t beat her. She is in peak condition. She can race from any position and .that’s her strength. People keep telling me, at the farm, here at the training center, that she is made of different stuff.”

Daisuke Takagi, assistant trainer
“It was a good workout this week and she ran very nicely balanced, very smoothly. We won’t have any special equipment on her this time.”

Major Typhoon

Mizuki Takayanagi, trainer
“In her last race, I’d wanted her to run from a more forward position, but from the break she got pinched out and wound up running from behind. The winner was strong, but if this filly could have kept a bit closer to the pace, I think she would have finished closer. She had a layoff and she returned to Miho at the beginning of October. I thought of running her in the Artemis Stakes at Tokyo but the trip back from Hokkaido took more out of her than I thought it would. It took time for her to recover. She’s gotten lots of work and her muscle tone is back. She worked in tandem on Dec. 3 with a strong finish. This week, we just breezed her and that should be enough. I think she’ll be able to handle the distance. She has weathered a long haul to the track well before and I think that will stand her well here.”

Medjerda

Mitsugu Kon, trainer
“In her debut she raced in second position, so she doesn’t have to take the lead. I didn’t give the jockey any instructions last time out but her early speed is her strong point and I think leading suits her. Her weight hasn’t changed since her debut but her muscle tone has gotten ever better with the good amount of work she’s gotten. She was born in May, so she still has a lot of growing to do. I think she has done fine up until now and the only thing I’d like to work on is her stamina. She’s gotten good times on the uphill course but since I want to get her stronger, she’s been working on the flat course, too.”

Meisho Suizuki

Masaru Honda, trainer
“Her fast work was a little faster than I’d wanted this week but her movement was good. This time it’s a furlong longer than the Fantasy Stakes but if she travels well and keep something in reserve for the finish, she will definitely show us some good late speed.”

Hiroshi Furukawa, assistant trainer
“In her last race, her start was good but she wasn’t quite balanced enough and the race favored the horses running on the pace. She clocked 33.2 seconds over the final 3 furlongs, which was about the same as her previous race. We’re working on keeping her calm and exercising her in the pool too. I think she has a softer mouth now too since we switched her to a double-jointed bit. We have got her in a cross nosepiece and a neck stretch on her, and we have tied her tongue down too. I think she has tolerated it well in work and that it has had a good effect. Her movement is good and so is her condition. She’ll be at 100 percent for the race. Balance is an issue. She has talent, though, so if the race favors horses coming up from behind, she’ll have a chance.”

Peptide Supple

Kazuyoshi Kihara, trainer
“This horse is really special. Her responsiveness in fast work is very different from other horses, but that’s not to say that she’s out of control. She listens very well to her rider and really has a lot of talent.”

Hidenori Take, assistant trainer
“The trainer kept saying how much he wanted this filly to make the cut (in this race) and, with this year’s lineup, she has a chance. I kept thinking that she had a chance to get in and so we worked her a lot. Still, she hasn’t gotten tense or agitated at all and her eating is good. She’s in good shape.”

Personnalite

Ikuo Aizawa, trainer
“For her last race, she’s had three weeks between races and she may have looked a bit heavy but she was in good shape. The ground was a bit yielding and she sunk in a bit. That and the outside draw had her running on the outside the whole way, so I think she did well to finish fourth. The winner moved out well and won strongly - he was a cut above. We gave her some time off and brought her back into training on Nov. 18. Once she’s in work, she loses weight so the numbers should be about the same as before her layoff and that is fine. She was slow in work on Dec. 2, but the woodchips weren’t good so I’m not worried. She is competitive enough to do well racing in the pack. And she has a very good appetite which means she won’t lose weight during the haul to the track. That’s a big plus. She’s up against other fillies and, I think with a fast track, she has a chance.”

Queue du Lapin

Kazutaka Ikeuchi, assistant trainer
“She is a difficult horse and, with that in mind, we’ve given her time off after each race. She is still difficult but doesn’t show it at the racetrack. She has gotten better with each race. She came back in good shape from her last layoff. Last week, (jockey) Hironobu Tanabe rode her for fast work and he said, ‘She feels good, but I’d like her responses to be a bit better.’ ” But, I think she changed with that workout. We won’t know how she’ll handle the trip. Regardless of the others, she is suited to the venue. There is no one standout in this race, so I think she has a chance.”

Win Fabulous

Yoshihiro Hatakeyama, trainer
“In the Artemis Stakes, the jockey concentrated on keeping her well in hand. Her acceleration did seem a bit slow in the stretch but she ran very well balanced. She had a good solid race so I don’t consider it a great loss. We gave her a bit of time off after that, then brought her back to the training center on Nov. 18. Last week she worked with an older horse and we pushed her quite hard. Her responses were good. This week she’s just had some fine tuning. She’s had overnight stays when racing at Niigata and Fukushima Racecourses, so the trip to the track shouldn’t be a problem.”

Win Mireille

Tomoyuki Umeda, trainer
“Two races ago in the Niigata Nisai Stakes (Grade 3), we sent her to the front and she was too keen but last start she was more relaxed and ran balanced and then quickened nicely in the finish. After the Rindo Sho, we aimed her at the Fantasy Stakes but the week of the race she fell during fast work, so we wanted to make sure she was OK and passed on that race. Luckily, things have gone well after that. The jockey rode her on Dec. 3, rode a nice workout, and got a handle of her. If she can run calmly like she did in her last race, I think she’ll finish well. The distance isn’t a problem. Her footwork is very light, so I want a fast track.”