Hiroyuki Nagahama, trainer
“He had a nice ride in the Kyoto Shimbun Hai and he tried hard too. The winner just had a bit more late speed. Because it’s tight between races I haven’t clocked him but he got regular work. On Sunday, when the training is to the left, we worked him at a pace of about 15-15 for 5 furlongs over the woodchip course. He’s maintained his condition but I would like that he were more relaxed. It’s fine if his weight is a bit up on raceday as he’s still growing. Even if he’s a bit unbalanced in the start, he usually runs solidly until the end. I think he’ll do his best over 2,400 meters but the competition is tough. I’m hoping for him to get some experience that will stand him well in the autumn campaign.”

Air Spinel

Kazuhide Sasada, trainer
“The Satsuki Sho was run at a high pace and the horses that were on the pace couldn’t hold up in the end. Also, this horse went to gain the front and ran into interference. So, if you consider that, I’d say it was a good race and he showed his strength. I think we saw the results of what we’d been teaching him leading into that race. He was a bit tired afterward, but he’s totally recovered now. All has gone well and I’d say that he has even moved up a step since the Satsuki Sho. The jockey breezed him on May 18 working with another horse and his time was good. He looks to have definitely improved. He has good racing sense so his first time at Tokyo shouldn’t pose a problem. The extra distance is also not a concern. I think the pace will be quite different over the Tokyo 2,400 and the results different as well. He’s in good shape and I’m looking forward to it.”

Tomonori Tsuchiya, assistant trainer
“In the Principal Stakes he held his ground well in third position amid a high pace, then pulled away nicely for the win. He ran at a solid pace at length, which is his strongpoint. He got good results even though there was still room for improvement, which just shows what a quality horse he is. It was a tough race but fortunately he came out of it well and is over any fatigue he may have had. We gave him a short workout on May 19 to check how he was doing and though there are only two full training weeks between races there are no worries about him physically. I can’t make any claims, not with the high level of competition he’ll be up against, but he has a big bounding stride and can run well at length like he did last time so I think the extra distance will be a plus for him.”

Brave Smash

Michihiro Ogasa, trainer 　
“I’d wished he’d drawn more to the inside for the NHK Mile Cup, but he was able to use what he has and accelerated well amid the homestretch traffic. He finished eighth but wasn’t that far off the winner. I don’t think the results were any cause for grave concern. With only two weeks for training between races, he’s still in shape so we haven’t pushed him hard, but breezed him three times. Whether he’s improved or not, the important thing is that he’s not tired and he has maintained his condition. He’s good racing to the left and the jockey has a good handle on him. He’s untested at the distance but I think he’ll be able to handle it. I’m just hoping he’ll give it his all and get as high up in the finishing order as he can.”

Dee Majesty

Yoshitaka Ninomiya, trainer
“I’d planned to have the jockey ride work on May 19 but decided a hard workout wasn’t necessary, so I put the assistant trainer up. We ran him on the woodchip course and put him behind another horse which he caught and passed in a time of 66.8 seconds with no urging from the rider. He used his body well and accelerated well after changing leads. Just seeing that he had that down pat was good. He’d still seemed a bit tired so I’d been giving him only light work but the workout on the 19th was reassuring. This week, things were a bit faster than I had planned but overall his movement was excellent. This colt doesn’t have the usual running style of a Deep Impact progeny. He’s not as light on his feet and he sits down when he shifts up in gear, which is something he has from his dam. He has an excellent heart and excellent lungs. The Tokyo course and the extra distance are welcome.”

Immortal

Naosuke Sugai, trainer
“He was back in shape after a while for the NHK Mile Cup but he was agitated before the race and with the pace rather slow the winner was decided by late speed. That didn’t suit this colt. There was no change, in a good sense, after that race and things have gone well. Last week we worked him up the hill with another horse and his movement wasn’t bad. With little time between races there’s no need to push him too hard. I think he’ll be able to maintain his condition for raceday. It’ll be a sudden increase in distance but the mile was far too busy for him, so the extra distance will be a plus. He has had good results at Tokyo. Since he can run at length I’m hoping there will be a good pace. I think he can measure up.”

Leontes

Norihiko Kishimoto, assistant trainer
“The Satsuki Sho results were disappointing, but the first 1,000 meters was run in 58.4 seconds. The jockey said that Mount Robson was bearing down on his outside, which bothered this horse and so he made his move earlier than the others. It turned out to be a very difficult pace. It was decided from early on to give him three races in the spring, the Yayoi Sho, the Satsuki Sho and then the Derby. And he’s looking to be peaking now and is in tiptop shape. The jockey rode him on the flat on May 18 and again this week. He got good times and looked good in both workouts. He seems much lighter on his feet than he was before the last race. His dam is Cesario and his half brother Epiphaneia. It’s a bloodline that has gotten good results over the Tokyo 2,400. And this horse too, considering his morning work, looks like he’ll be able to handle the lefthanded track well.”

Mirco Demuro, jockey
“He was very full of energy this week as he always is and he felt very good. We tied his tongue and he went ever better.”

Lord Quest

Shigeyuki Kojima, trainer
“In the NHK Mile Cup, this colt’s responses were better than the jockey had expected and he got too close to the horse in front at the third turn and lost his balance. That made a difference and was a real shame. He’d been showing signs of getting a bit sour so we worked him in the pool for a change of scenery. He’s now back looking really good and listening for the rider’s signal. Most importantly, he’s calm. The distance is far from his best but if he takes the lead or you put on the brakes at some point, it ensues in a loss, so I think it’s better to keep him away from the others and try to make the most of his late speed.”

Makahiki

Yasuo Tomomichi, trainer
“He wasn’t able to catch the winner in the Satsuki Sho, who had made his move before he did, but this horse did run really well in the stretch. He lost but I think it was by no means a bad race. His constitution is stronger now and every time we race him he recovers more quickly than the time before. Since he came out of the last start well I clocked him over the woodchip course on May 12. I had the jockey ride him on May 18 and push him quite hard. His responses were excellent. This week he gave us a solid bit of work. It’s our usual routine to give him his last fast work up the hill and push him enough to give his lungs a good workout. The ground was a bit slow this week and the rider didn’t overdo it but the horse looked like he had a whole lot left. Even so, his time was good. I was reminded again just how strong this horse is. His breathing was good too. And he’s eating well. I’d say he’s in good shape. He settles nicely and he runs solidly when you ask him to extend. I think he’ll be able to handle the distance. It’s a wide open track and the stretch is long so I think racing will be even easier for him this time. I’m looking forward to it.”

Masahiro Yokota, assistant trainer
“The pace was fast In the second lap of the Aoba Sho and after the 1,000-meter mark and with it being 2,400 meters, it was very tough for him leading the way he did. He’s really too serious of a horse and he’d do better if he could relax a bit under way. For about a week after that we took pains to make sure he was fully recovered, then worked him up the hill course. Daichi Shibata rode him on the woodchips over the flat on May 19 and all looked in order. I’m hoping he’ll be able to use the experience he has having run before under the Derby conditions. I don’t know if he’ll be able to settle well or not, but he is good over bad ground, so rain would be most welcome.”

Mount Robson

Atsunori Hashimoto, assistant trainer
“In the Satsuki Sho, he took off after Leontes when Leontes moved. The first 1,000 meters was run in 58.4 seconds and then the furlong after that was even faster at 11.5 seconds, so the runners off the pace had an advantage. Even so, after he got cut off in the stretch, he still gained ground. I was reminded of just how well he can run. We kept him at the training center after that. He used to get stiff and there was a time we’d go easy on him afterward but this time we were able to work him even harder than usual. He got keen in the Satsuki Sho backstretch but I think the extra distance will be good for him. Looking at the results for the top three picks for the Satsuki Sho, I don’t think there’s much difference between this colt and the them.”

Sakae Kunieda, trainer
“After he came back to the training center after his layoff I was a bit worried about him getting splints so we had to delay in getting him ready. I decided to run him in the Aoba Sho and from there the Derby. For his last start, he’d gotten enough work and I don’t think he was in bad shape. Still, it being his first race in a while, he grabbed the bit around the third and fourth turns and wasn’t able to quicken enough in the stretch. Jockey Hironobu Tanabe rode him in work on May 18 to check his responses. The horse ahead of him was fast so this colt’s time was a bit faster than I’d planned but he’s eating well and isn’t showing any signs of fatigue. Just breezing him this week is sufficient. He’s let off steam with his last start and so I think he’ll settle better this time. With the lineup as strong as it is, I can’t make any claims, but I’m hoping he’ll give it what he’s got.”

Prophet

Yasutoshi Ikee, trainer
“He’d done well at Sapporo and he’s sired by Harbinger so I thought he would be suited to the ground at Nakayama at the time of the Satsuki Sho. After the race, however, the jockey said that the inside ground was shifty and difficult to race on. So, luck wasn’t with us. I thought it was better to have time between races so we sent him at Northern Farm Shigaraki and brought him back to the training center on May 10. All looked to be in order. He worked with two others over the woodchip course on May 18 and though he still grabs the bit he was better than a week before that. He didn’t measure up to Satono Diamond in the finish but it was good work for this horse. He was in good shape for the Satsuki Sho so I’m not expecting any big improvement. The distance isn’t bad for him so I’m hoping he give it his all.”

Rainbow Line (blue cap)

Keiichi Asami, assistant trainer
“In the NHK Mile Cup I think he did the best he could having started from the far outside gate. He ran solidly until the end. We let him relax for about a week after that, then brought him back to the training center on May 17. Having given him even that much off seems to have helped him a lot. He’s in a good frame of mind. There wasn’t much time between races but he doesn’t seem to have any problems so we wanted to race him. It’s his first time over the distance but we won’t know until we try it. I wonder how he’ll do. Maybe he’ll start to flounder. He does have experience with four turns though and he settles well even with a slow pace. He doesn’t have the quickest turn of foot but he’s got great guts. If he can use that to his advantage we’ll just see how far he can go.”

Toshikazu Wakamatsu, groom
“You may not be able to see the difference just by looking at him but he has gotten better little by little with each race. He’s small but always gives it his all. He’s really a great little horse. He’s good at hauling too and the trip to the track won’t hurt him. I think he’ll be able to handle the extra distance.”

Kazuhide Sasada, trainer
“We got our ticket to the Derby with the second in the Aoba Sho and he looked great in the final stages of that race. It was an exciting race to lead into the Derby with. He’s got a lot of talent to have given such a performance as that even though he’s still growing. There’s not much time between races so I just had the jockey ride him lightly on May 18 and he said the horse seemed to have maintained his condition well. He’s still maturing but he’s gotten better with each race. He has good late speed, like he exhibited in his last start, and it’s a plus to have had experience at the same venue. His career is still young but he’s mature mentally. If he can get the kind of trip that will bring out his best, then we have something to look forward to.”

Satono Diamond

Yasutoshi Ikee, trainer
“This colt is big and has long limbs and he’s not able to take small steps so the interference in the Satsuki Sho homestretch hurt. Also, a lot of horses on or very near the pace were holding their ground on raceday and I’d given instructions to stay about midfield. That was a mistake. He recovered relatively quickly after the Satsuki Sho and he was easy to get ready for here. His muscle tone has improved as well. We worked him with two others on May 18 and I gave instructions to all line up in the stretch and then push them hard over the last furlong. His movement was better than it had been the previous week and this week just fine-tuning was sufficient. The Tokyo 2,400 is a race you have to run to see how you’ll do but he was by no means unsuited to Nakayama. He is still relatively agile and I think he can do well at any course. He’s coming along just as planned so I’m looking forward to the race.”

Christophe Lemaire, jockey
“His fast work this week was perfect. His responses were excellent. Too many things figured against him in the Satsuki Sho but he in no way lost due to a lack of strength.”

Smart Odin

Kunihide Matsuda, trainer
“Keeping the Derby in mind, I wanted to race him in a race with four turns, thus the 2,200-meter Kyoto Shimbun Hai. And I knew that if you put him behind another horse he’ll settle well. He’d learned how to wait patiently until the first turn and how to accelerate in the stretch from having raced over the outer 1,800 and he drew on that experience in winning the Kyoto Shimbun Hai. After that race I watched to see how he’d come out of it and was careful in bringing him back into work. I didn’t give him much hard work but did give him long gallops on May 17 and 18, then gave him a fast workout on May 19. He started behind the other horse and ran balanced, then clocked 11.9 seconds over the last furlong. His movement was good. His weight is right where it was before his last race. I can’t say how he’ll be up against horses he hasn’t met before and I don’t know if he’ll give us his usual race. Things should go well if he can race in a decent position until the third turn.”

Keita Tosaki, jockey
“This is the third time I’ve ridden him in morning work and this week was the best he’s been yet.”

Vanquish Run

Norihiko Kishimoto, assistant trainer
“In the Aoba Sho, he moved out early in the stretch and finished strongly. It was a better performance than I’d been expecting. In morning work he has a feeling of being kind of stiff, which may be from his dam’s side. Even with that footwork, he’s the type that looks good when he goes to a race. Everything seems to be in  order and his movement is good. We worked him in tandem on May 18 and pushed him hard, then have just breezed him for the last two weeks. We are worried that the two starts right on top of each other will have tired him even though he doesn’t seem tired, so we’re taking very good care of him. I think we can expect some improvement. He has gotten stronger quite suddenly recently and won his ticket to the Derby with the Aoba Sho. The Tokyo 2,400 meters suits him and I’m hoping he’ll do his best.”