Apollo Kentucky (yellow cap)

Kenji Yamauchi, trainer
“He’s a big horse and he had an easy trip in the Miyako Stakes. If he had had to put the brakes on somewhere, he usually can’t respond easily again. He raced up the outside, was only carrying 56 kg, and because there was no fancy maneuvering called for, it was a good race for him. For the Brazil Cup, he may have used up too much early on or maybe we’d been a little too easy on him in morning work, but I can’t figure out what went wrong there. It’s no good if we do the same thing over again, so even though there was only one week in between the two races, last week we worked him hard and we got good results from that. For having just had only one full week between races last out, three full weeks in between for this race is just right for this horse. Everything is going well. Having gotten good results over 1,800 meters was a very good experience for him, but this will be his first time at Chukyo and the lineup is different.”

Asukano Roman

Yusaku Kugita, assistant trainer
“We really don’t know why he did so poorly in his last start, the Miyako Stakes. His weight was up 10 kg from the previous race and he was a bit fat. He was at his best for the Tokai Stakes, and comparing him to what he was like at the beginning of spring, I did feel there was something lacking. Maybe the extra weight was the cause of his poor performance. He went right back into training after that and even though it’s our usual work menu to ride him on the flat and up the hill course as well, we concentrated on getting him in shape. His fast work last week was over distance and we pushed him hard. We’ll see how much that improves him. He won the Tokai Stakes and, unlike when he races to the right, he has never had a fluky result when he runs to the left. It may be good that he gets something to shake him up occasionally, something different to keep him on his toes.”

Awardee

Mikio Matsunaga, trainer
“In the JBC Classic, it was if he were let loose to go head to head with his biggest rivals and in the end he held them off and pulled away. It was a very strong race. And, I think the setting was right – being at Kawasaki with the tight turns of the 2,100 meters worked in his favor. After that, we aimed for this race and all has gone according to plan. In his work on Nov. 23, he ran with another horse starting ahead of him. He took the bit well and ran solidly all the way to the end. It was a good strong workout and his action was good. Now with the move to the Chukyo 1,800 meters, I think the lap times will be totally different from his last race. I don’t know whether he’ll be able to handle that well or not. I’m looking forward to it but we’re considering him a challenger.”

Toru Miya, trainer
“He got a nice time in his Nov. 30 run up the hill course and he’s not in bad shape. Last start he tried to keep up to the fast pace and had nothing left in the end. He came out of the race OK though. The competition will be tough but I think he can take heart from the others running and do his best.”

Masanori Masui, assistant trainer
“It would have been better if he’d drawn an inside gate, but in the sense that he’s likely not to get boxed in as No. 13, it may be good. I’m hoping he can find some cover.”

Brightline

Ippo Sameshima, trainer
“He was blocked in for the first half of the Musashino Stakes and it was an unfortunate race. He couldn’t get a clear run and show what he has. It would have been better if he’d been ridden like for his win of the Oasis Stakes four starts ago, but things just didn’t work out. He hardly raced last time so he wasn’t tired at all. And, now you can barely hold him back on the hill course, which is normal for him. He ran at a 15-15 pace last Tuesday but on Friday, he clocked in the 51-second range. That’s the way he always is, though. He’s full of energy and there’s nothing wrong with him. He did run fourth in the Japan Cup Dirt in 2013, but since then we’ve mainly been giving him increasingly shorter distances. But I think he can handle this distance if he can run at his own pace without being hurried.”

Copano Rickey

Akira Murayama, trainer
“He was keen in the JBC Classic because the pace was slow. He was pulling at points and not well-balanced in the first half. So, since he hadn’t had a smooth run, he didn’t have enough left over to quicken in the stretch. We gave him a bit of time off after that mainly to give him a change of pace. Then, on Nov. 23 we worked him and two other horses together over the woodchip course. We had this horse start behind the others on the inside, chase, catch and pass them. He moved well and I’d say it was a good place to be in aiming at this race. I think we’ll just breeze him this week and that would be good enough heading into the race. We’ve been unable to get good results in this race but with each race he has shown signs of being mentally more mature. He has won before at Chukyo, so I picture him getting a good start like he had in his winning run in the Tokai Stakes and see him run at his own pace. If he can do that I think we’ll be good.”

Gold Dream

Osamu HIrata, trainer
“In his last start, the Musashino Stakes, he was blocked in the stretch, but when it opened in front, he accelerated very nicely. It wasn’t enough to catch the frontrunner, who had aimed to go wire to wire, but we now have something to look forward to. He’s a strong horse and he recovered quickly from that race. He’s full of energy and on Nov. 23 he clocked 57.4 seconds up the hill course. This week we’d pushed him hard over 5 furlongs and he clocked 50.8 seconds. The first two races of his career, both wins, were over 1,800 meters. He has stamina, so I’m not worried. He’s gotten much better at the break now, so if he starts normally, there shouldn’t be any problem. For sure, the lineup is a strong one, but we have yet to see everything this fellow is capable of. I think he can hold his own in a Grade 1 and I’m looking forward to the race.”

Takayuki Yukubo, assistant trainer
“He started as usual in the Musashino Stakes. I think if he’d drawn outside it would have been even better but he did a good job from where he started. With that race, I was able to see that he’s capable of good work at the graded-race level. He worked on the woodchip course on the morning of Nov. 23. We only have two full weeks between races so we only breezed him. He was tired after his last race but things have gone well and I think he’s gotten better with each race. He lost when he raced at 1,800 meters before but he was a different horse back then. The Chukyo stretch is long and he can get the space he wants. It’s a Grade 1 but, with how he’s been doing lately, I’m looking forward to seeing just how well he can do.”

Lani

Mikio Matsunaga, trainer
“I think there were many reasons for his loss in the Miyako Stakes – perhaps, it may have been the inside draw, but around the third, fourth corner, his form was out of sync. If he’d been cued to move after he had changed leads it may have made a difference, but it was no good rushing him the way he was. He always has been a rather difficult horse to ride and he wasn’t in a mood to race last time. He came out of the race fine because he never really raced. And he easily handled all the work we gave him. Everything is in order. As usual, we raced him on the dirt course under jockey Hiroyuki Uchida and had him pick up the pace on the second lap. He looked good. We started his fall campaign from the Brazil Cup and this race is his third start, as planned. He’s used to racing to the left, so the main concern is whether he feels like it racing or not.”

Katsumi Minai, trainer
“He’d looked really good two or three races ago, but after seeing the Musashino Stakes, I can see that he moves better and can accelerate better when he is moved to the outside. Even if he has sufficient room to run, if he gets into a rather narrow place he isn’t able to bring out his best. Also, the times were too fast in his last start. We gave him a little time off and things have gone well. He’s calmer now and he shouldn’t lose weight from the trip to the track. He’s mentally much more mature now. The competition is a step up but the distance is good for him. It’ll depend on the draw, of course, but he needs to be brought outside in the final stretch, and we’ll see just how far he can go in this field. By experiencing races against a strong field and getting swallowed up by them, I think he will get progressively stronger.”

Moanin

Kosuke Hamana, assistant trainer
“He didn’t make the cut for the JBC Classic, and so we took him to the Musashino Stakes. We thought that might happen because of the number of horses that had been nominated, so we trained him with that backup plan in mind. So, he was in good shape for the race and everything went well since his arrival at the track. He met with some interference along the way and did have a somewhat difficult trip. I don’t think there was any one reason for his loss but his getting bumped around was probably the biggest factor. He never ran all out so there wasn’t any damage from the race. On Nov. 23, we worked him over the woodchip course for 6 furlongs at his own pace for a time of 87 seconds. This week we pushed him hard up the hill for 5 furlongs and a time of 51.1 seconds. He’s full of energy as usual. If you look at the second previous race, you can see that the distance is OK.”

Hidekatsu Shimizu, trainer
“In the Miyako Stakes the horse on his outside moved up early and this one used up a lot until he could get ahead of him. That made a difference in the end. He eats very well this time of the year and his muscle tone was good. But, he may have had a bit extra fat on him for his last start. He drew to the inside last time but a wide draw allows him to get a good look at what the others are doing. The members will be stronger than last race, but the course itself isn’t a problem.”

Nonkono Yume

Yukihiro Kato, trainer
“Before he left Miho Training Center for his last start, he was 450 kg and he must have lost 15 kg just during the trip to the track. He hadn’t lost weight just from being gelded. He took an inside track in the race, but when he has in the past, he has finished without getting his biggest strength out, which is his closing speed. Considering all things involved in the last race, he did run better than we expected. He used to be quite headstrong, but this last time, he was very quiet in the parade ring, which was a good thing. I think being gelded has helped a lot. His eating is good and he has good muscle tone. He’s back up to about 450 kg. We’ll haul him to Chukyo the day before the race, so he’ll have time to recover from the trip. That will be a plus. This time we’ll try to keep him patient, wait until he has room in the stretch and accelerate at once for the final drive.”

Roi Jardin

Hirofumi Toda, trainer
“Recently, he’s been overly tense in a lot of his races, but in the Miyako Stakes he had a very nice smooth run and ran solidly to the end. The top finishers got a smooth trip up the outside, but he took an inside track and I think that was the difference (for his third-place run). He’s good in the cool weather and his condition is most definitely improving. Because it’s a Grade 1, we gave him a long gallop last week and put the pressure on. His movement was very good. Jockey Norihiro Yokoyama rode him this week just to get a handle on how the horse was feeling. The key is getting this horse to settle and run balanced. But the pace should be pretty sharp so I think that will make things easier for him.”

Sound True

Noboru Takagi, trainer
“The third and fourth turns at Kawasaki are quite tight and if the pace picks up it’s hard to keep up. Also, I think the 2,100 meters of the JBC Classic was a bit long for this horse and he wasn’t quite as sharp as usual. Still, his overall racing has improved. We started upping the pace of his work from last week and on Nov. 23, since he won’t move on his own up the hill course, we pushed him quite hard. The pace in a JRA dirt Grade 1 tends to be faster, so I think he may race a bit further back than he would in an NAR race, wait patiently there and then make his final drive.”