Cafe Brilliant

Atsunori Hashimoto, assistant trainer
“She looked a bit odd in the backstretch of the Hanshin Himba Stakes but the amount she was hanging out was allowable. Most importantly, it didn’t get any worse than that. But, at this level of racing that kind of loss is big and she has always had a problem with the bit. The pace of a race and that of work is different and this lugging out becomes more of a problem, so we’ve been working on that. Even a change to the left does’t help once she starts to fall out. She ran a good race last year – the jockey knew her and suited her. There are stronger horses now she but she still has a lot to give.”

Yosuke Nukada, assistant trainer
“She had the far outside gate in the Fukushima Himba Stakes. It’s a tight track and the pace favored the frontrunners. When the horses came back the jockey said, ‘We won,’ so finding out she’d run second was pretty frustrating. After that race, we did the same as after the previous one, when she’d won three straight. We kept her at the training center because there her appetite is good. There’s no time between races so we’ve just focused on the final stage in work. Last week’s fast work was over bad ground and at a late hour, so it was hard for her to get traction. I think her best distance is 2,000 meters but the Tokyo 1,600 is attractive too. The competition will be stiff but I want her to do her best.”

Let's Go Donki

Tomoyuki Umeda, trainer
“Her start in the Takamatsunomiya Kinen wasn’t that good and she raced from the back. She was on the inside and things got tight in the stretch and that’s where she needed to have a clear run, which she didn’t get. We gave her a bit of time off for a change of scenery and, after coming back to the training center, aimed her here. She worked on the uphill course last week and her time and movement were good. She’s mentally calmer now and there’s a nice air about her. I think she’ll be in a good frame of mind and in good shape physically on raceday. She has a lot of ability, so I’m hoping she’ll get a trip where she can show it.”

Magic Time

Tadashige Nakagawa, trainer
“In the Lord Derby Challenge Trophy, she did have the weight advantage but she still made a nice run up the inside and made full use of her late speed. I think she’s really shown dramatic improvement from about the fall of last year. We gave her a short layoff after that race and she worked in tandem over the woodchip course on May 5. Before, if we gave her a fast gallop the week of the race, she’d be tense in the saddling enclosure on raceday. But that stopped happening from last autumn and she’s relaxed now. This week we had the jockey ride her and because she has some quirks, we just had him get a feel for her. I think the Tokyo mile is the best for her. She will surely be able to access what she has. The lineup is strong but I’m looking forward to seeing what she can do with her late speed.”

Hugh Bowman, jockey
“I rode her for the first time this week and she was relaxed and moving well. I thought she felt great. She’s in perfect shape and gave me a real good impression.”

Meisho Mambo

Yuji Iida, trainer
“Recently, she’s able to warm up on her own and is more relaxed than she was before. In her recent races, it looks like the jockey has a lot of horse under him but when you ask her to step it up, she doesn’t respond. We’ve tried all sorts of things but I have the feeling that she’s just decided to only go so fast. Because she hadn’t given it much in her last race, she came out of it fine and on May 5 we pushed her pretty hard and she clocked 77-some seconds over the woodchip course. Her times aren’t bad but there’s something lacking when you work her in tandem and she lines up with the other horse like in an actual race. More than the conditions of this race, the question is whether she’ll race seriously. I’d like for her to run hard enough that she actually comes out of it looking tired.

Mikki Queen

Yasutoshi Ikee, trainer
“Just before she turned into the stretch in her last race, a horse in front of her moved out and she moved in and came smack up behind a wall. So, that hurt, because it was just when she needed to pick up the pace. But overall it wasn’t a bad race. We gave her time off at Northern Farm Shigaraki (training farm), then brought her back to the training center on April 26. All has gone well. Because we have the trip to the track, we gave her a fast gallop a week ago. It was an ideal bit of work. With this, we only have to fine tune her this week. She gets ready quickly and she was in relatively good shape for her last start so she’ll surely show improvement.”

Queens Ring

Keiji Yoshimura, trainer
“The Kyoto Himba Stakes was her first 1,400-meter race in a while and she won it handily. With that win she gave us more options as to where to race her. It was a big gain. She looked a bit lean coming out of that race so we passed on the Hanshin Himba Stakes and sent her to Yamamoto Training Center (training center). Then we brought her back with this race as our target. Since coming back to the training center, her appetite has improved and last week we worked her in tandem and pushed her hard. She’s got nice muscling on her stifles and I think she’s in better shape than she was for her previous start. She tends to lose weight when she’s trailered in on raceday when racing at Kyoto or Hanshin, but we’ll have an extra day when hauling to Tokyo, so I’m not much worried about that. I think she’s very well-suited to the mile and am looking forward to a good race.”

Red Reveur

Naosuke Sugai, trainer
“After she had that bad experience of being boxed in at the Fuchu Himba Stakes, I felt she lost her desire to run. So I was very interested in seeing how she’d do in her next start, the Hanshin Himba Stakes. It was a slow pace and the frontrunners stayed. And she clocked 33-some seconds over the final 3 furlongs so she did run and I think the loss wasn’t all that big and nothing that tragic. Since then, she’s come along as usual. A week ago she worked alone on the uphill and clocked 51-some seconds. Her movement was good. And I don’t think she’s in bad shape by any means. The competition is stiff but she has a lot of talent. She was fourth last year and I’m hoping she’ll look good in some places and that that’ll stand her well in the future.”

Rouge Buck

Masahiro Otake, trainer
“She lost her shoe on her left fore coming into the stretch in the Nakayama Himba Stakes and cut her foot in the process. That certainly had an effect. So did the weight she was shouldering. She didn’t lose for lack of ability. We sent her to the farm as usual after that and she worked on the uphill course there after her foot had healed. She came back to Miho Training Center on April 30 and on May 7 we gave her a long workout. Her last fast work was May 11. She’s gradually maturing and, where she still looked like a youngster, she’s looking more like an adult and she’s looking more like I pictured her. She’ll be going in to the race in good shape. Up until this race we focused on keeping her settled in work but we’ve kept foremost in mind this time that it’s a mile. She’s not a difficult horse to ride and, so even if it’s the jockey’s first time riding her, it’s not a problem. She had a good fast workout this week and was really on her toes. I wanted her to feel some mental pressure so we had her work to the inside of two other horses and wait patiently. She got behind the bit so wasn’t running as hard as we wanted but we made up for that after she passed the finish line. In the end, she quickened nicely.”

Shonan Adela

Toshiaki Sasajima, assistant trainer
“We had planned to race her in the Rose Stakes last year but she suffered a fracture in her last fast workout. After recovering she came back to the training center on March 15 and all has gone well since. We’ve allowed her to come back up slowly, without pressuring her. (Jockey Masayoshi) Ebina rode her last week and her movement was good. She has grown and her weight is way up, probably over 500 kg on raceday. She is not a horse that likes to lose. Honestly, I just want her to have a safe trip.”

Shonan Pandora

Tomokazu Takano, trainer
“The Osaka Hai was a good race. She ran third but it was a slow pace. To have gained that much ground from where she was, I think was enough. Last spring, she was tired after the Osaka Hai and it was hard getting her ready for the Victoria Mile. This year, however, she came out of the race well and recovered quickly. I’ve had the jockey ride her these past few weeks and push her hard. She’s in good shape. This week we just did light work and tested her responses over the last furlong only. I checked her footwork and she looks ready.

Kenichi Ikezoe, jockey
“I think the main thing, the biggest concern, is that this is her first mile in a year. The pace and the way the race unfolds is very different from what she’s had recently. If the track is in good condition, I think she’ll be able to run at her best.”

Smart Layer

Yosuke Kono, assistant trainer
“In the Hanshin Himba Stakes, she settled nicely in a forward position. It was a good race and a good result. From about last year, she’s been able to bring to her racing things that the jockey has been teaching her. And she’s mentally calmer and able to break well. We’ve had her at the training center and all has gone well. It’s been our experience that she always loses weight during the trip to Tokyo, so we always keep her a bit heavy up to then. She’s doing very good work and getting good times even on a rough track. She has gotten good results at Tokyo and is going into the race in good shape.”

Straight Girl

Nobuyuki Tashiro, assistant trainer
“She got a nice position in the Hanshin Himba Stakes but didn’t have anything left in the end. Likely it was due to coming off a layoff. We kept her at the training center after that and aimed her here. She came out of the last race with no repercussions and all has gone well since. She worked over the woodchips on May 5 with another horse, started behind that horse and caught and passed it easily. We pushed her relatively hard. I think she’ll show a lot of improvement. She’s calmer now and I think the distance will suit her much more now. She’ll carry the same weight as the other runners, which is a good thing. She won last year and is, of course, one year older but I don’t see any signs of her slowing down. I’m hoping she’ll rally.”

Sundarbans

Eiichi Yano, trainer
“She was in good shape for the Nakayama Himba Stakes and it was a perfect race. I’d thought that was the only way for her to run it and and she did a picture-perfect job of holding back and then going all out in the finish. I gave her one fast gallop after that race and then time off. She came back to the training center on April 7. And since, she’s gotten just enough regular work so she wouldn’t lose her tone and plans are to have her on her toes for raceday. Last week, she worked alone over 5 furlongs and things looked good. Her muscling on her stifles is good and this week we just breezed her with another horse with the focus on the last 800 meters only. It was a convincing bit of work, and I have no complaints about her condition. I’m happy. It’s a G1 mile and I want this girl to run at her own pace and give it her best.”

Tosen Victory

Kengo Takada, assistant trainer
“This is a huge jump up in competition for her, but if she can do well here she’ll have a lot more opportunities to come. She came back from the farm looking good and she won her last start as we had expected. I think we’ll see quite a bit of improvement this time. I don’t think she’ll have problems with 1,600 meters. I think she’ll settle. She still needs to mature and right now she still has a lot of latent talent. But, I think she has the talent to fare well here.”

Ukiyono Kaze

Takanori Kikuzawa, trainer
“She had a good ground-saving trip in the Takamatsunomiya Kinen but the turf was torn up on the inside and she couldn’t pick up speed. It was a high pace too, a real pure sprint, so it was tough for her. We gave her a bit of time off and all has gone well since returning to the training center. She worked in tandem on May 5 on the flat, and caught and passed the other horse with ease. Her movement was good and I have no complaints about her condition. I think 1,200 meters may be her best but she won the mile Queens Cup at Tokyo. And, this too will be an all-female race so I think there’s the chance she’ll be able to handle it. If she can hold back without pressure and keep something in reserve, let’s see how close to the front she can finish.”

Uliuli

Nobuyuki Tashiro, assistant trainer
“In the Takamatsunomiya Kinen, she had an outside gate, which was tough, and she was sent forward intent on winning, so when things got tough in the end, well, it couldn’t be helped. We gave her a bit of time off to refresh after that and since coming back to the training center we’ve given her regular long workouts. She hasn’t gotten much in the way of results at Tokyo and it’s her first mile in a while, but I don’t think there’s any problems with the distance itself. She’s 6 years old now and calmer.”

Win Primera

Yosuke Takano, assistant trainer
“She’ been looking good. Two starts ago she took on a graded stakes race over 1,400 meters and last start she had the hill at Hanshin Racecourse. And I thought both of those would be tough for her. Earlier, if she’d gotten swallowed up at the top of the stretch, she’d never have been able to rally from that. But she showed us she can do it. We gave her a bit of time off and she’s been the usual since coming back to the training center. We’d always gone easy on her on the week of the race but from this year we’ve been even easier on her and that has translated to her being more relaxed on raceday. So, with that in mind, we pushed her hard on May 6. She’s showing us some unexpected results this year and she’s even handling the haul to the track better.”