Bakushin Teio

Masanori Watanabe, assistant trainer
“He hadn’t been back at the training stable too long before the Ocean Stakes and we did have to get him ready a little quickly. But, his weight and condition were in good order. I think if the pace had been a little bit faster things would have come together better in his last start. We kept him at the training center after that and our usual routine has been to gallop him lightly and then take him up the hill course. The race has sharpened him up and he’s more eager to run. I’d say he was at about 80 percent for the Ocean Stakes. I think this time he’ll be in top shape. He won his first graded stakes race at the age of 7 and is now 8 but I don’t see him slowing down. He’s on his toes. I do hope he can get a trip that makes things a bit easier for him though.”

Fiero

Nobuyuki Tashiro, assistant trainer
“The Kyoto Kimpai was on the first day of the meet, the track favored the frontrunners and he was carrying the top weight, but he still measured up well. I think he really gave it his all. After that race, we gave him some time off at Yamamoto Training Center so he could refresh, then we brought him back into training with this race as our goal. On March 16, jockey Hiroyuki Uchida, who is set to ride in the race, rode him in work up the hill course. The ground had just been harrowed and his 49.2 seconds was a pretty good time. And his breathing wasn’t bad. This week’s last fast work we just breezed him but it should have him ready. We didn’t overwork this horse when he was young and thanks to that he is in good shape. You wouldn’t guess his age to see him. He has had experience at Chukyo, three wins in four starts, although they were at the lower levels. I don’t know how he’ll handle his first 1,200-meter race but he always has a great stretch run. I think he has ample chance and I want so much for this horse to land a big win.”

Hiruno Devaro (No. 4 horse)

Mitsugu Kon, trainer
“He’s looking more like a sprinter now and it was the right call to keep him on the grass over short distances. He looked good in the Silk Road Stakes. We’ve been racing him from a more forward position than we had in his races over 1,400 meters and he’s also gotten used to the pace of the open-class races. He’s also able to gain ground more easily now. In morning work, if you push him, he’ll give you good times. He’s coming along well. He has experience in this race and at that time he had just moved to the grass from the dirt. He is totally different now. He can break through the ranks and he also is able to hold back and wait for the right time to move as he did last time out. He is making progress in leaps and bounds.”

Let's Go Donki

Tomoyuki Umeda, trainer
“In the Kyoto Himba Stakes, at times she got a bit keen but somehow she was able to settle and then accelerated well in the stretch. She’s had a lot of frustrating races recently, so it was really good to be able to win for once. After that race, we gave her a week off just for a change of pace and last week the jockey gave her a solid workout. She clocked in the 50-second range, ran nicely in hand and quickened well in the final stages. Everything has gone well so far. Last week, she had an ideal workout. So this week we just checked her responses. And, she is doing as I had hoped she would. I feel she has stepped up the power a level. In her 1,200-meter G1s so far she hasn’t been able to run her race due to traffic problems up front and so. But I think she has sufficient ability and I’m hoping for a good trip and good results.”

Melagrana

Shuhei Nakura, assistant trainer
“She’d had a good consistent series of races over 1,200 meters so I intentionally decided to start her off this year with the Takamatsunomiya Kinen. She’d lost more weight than I’d expected going into her last race, which I had intended as a preliminary to this one. But, still, she was able to get good results. She’s bred in the Southern Hemisphere but I think that last race was proof that she has put on muscle. I think she’s moving up in level, slowly but surely. She came out of the Ocean Stakes well and has been doing well since. Her work last week was good and with just a bit of fine-tuning we’ll surely be able to have her in good shape for the race. She is switched on now and compared to earlier, she is mentally much more on her game. She’s a big horse and still has a lot of room for growth and I consider this race to be a challenge for her at best. She has won at Chukyo before and I’m looking forward to seeing just how well she can do at this point.”

Hiroaki Sugiura, trainer
“After she made her move in the Ocean Stakes she was kept waiting a bit but I think that helped her in the end. She’s better when things get a little tight, more so than if she makes her run up the outside. There’s not much time between races, so last week we just worked her at a 15-15 pace with a bit of urging in the finish. I think that’s enough. She’s a filly but her appetite has stabilized and she also has no problem with the transport to the track. And she can race in a tight spot, which shows how gutsy she is. If you move her out on her own then she stops running, so keeping her in with the others until the end is important. She can handle a rough track too and I think she’ll be able to measure up.”

Makoto Saito, trainer
“In the Kyoto Himba Stakes, she used the hill of the outer course well and was able to give it the best of what she has now. She was running against Grade 1 level horses and was able to add to her earnings, which made it a very beneficial second place. We thought of giving her one race and then heading to the Victoria Mile but a look at the nominations and we realized it’d be quite a battle. We had them take good care of her at Yamamoto Training Center, then brought her back to the training center on March 9. The jockey rode her last week over 5 furlongs with emphasis on the finish. He said, ‘She hasn’t lost condition.” After that, fine-tuning should be enough. She’s good over 6 furlongs. She’s fast out of the gate and gets into position easily. She’s also good over rough ground. I think she’ll be able to give us a race that won’t embarrass us.”

Red Arion

Shinsuke Hashiguchi, trainer
“If only he had gotten a clear run in the stretch of the Centaur Stakes in September it would have been different. I felt he is suited to 1,200 meters but he has had tough luck with the track condition and hasn’t been able to get the results I was looking for. He stopped racing on his own last out. It seems that if he is forced to rush too much in the beginning he can’t stay concentrated. Since he hasn’t given it all in his races, he is very much full of energy. This time there’s not much time between races, so we’ve followed our usual routine of clocking him on the weekend and the week of the race. He still looks young. This time we’ll race him in blinkers and I definitely am hoping for a fast track and a good pace that favors late speed.”

Red Falx

Tomohito Ozeki, trainer
“He was pressured underway in the Hong Kong Sprint and looking at how he was after that race I’d have to say that he hadn’t fully recovered from the Sprinters Stakes. I thought he would put in a decent race, but… I gave him on a long workout on March 16 and had him come up on another horse on the outside, then run solidly to the finish. He changed leads a bit early and he may not have felt as strong as he normally does but his movement was good and his time was good. He has had a good rest since the Hong Kong race and he has been looking very good since he got back on his feet. And he is especially well-suited to the Chukyo course, so much so hat he looks like a different horse when he races there. I’m looking forward to the race.”

Yoshikazu Nakayama, assistant trainer
“This horse’s weight used to fluctuate quite a lot but recently it has stabilized at around 440 kg. He also has put on muscle but I think his recent good runs are more due to his weight having stabilized. After last race we set this race as our target. He moved well in work last week and he has maintained his condition well. With a bit of fine-tuning this week, he should be ready. Of course, it would be ideal if he would race smoothly from the break, but that hasn’t been the case recently, whether due to the draw or him getting annoyed at other horses. But still, he has run well and that is a plus.”

Seiun Kosei

Hiroyuki Uehara, trainer
“In the Silk Road Stakes, this colt marked Nero, who has the same owner and, in hindsight, I’d say he made his move just a bit too early. But, considering that it was this colt’s first graded-stakes race, I think he ran a good race. We gave him a rest for a while after that to let him relax and, since coming back to the training center, he has been in a good frame of mind and looking good. Jockey Hideaki Miyuki rode him last week just to get a feel for him and it was a good workout, with just enough pressure on, and his movement was convincing. This week we just focused on the finish and all went well. Compared to other years, I’d have to say that the lineup this year gives us more of a chance, especially if things are tough for some of the others.”

Shuji

Naosuke Sugai, trainer
“The Hankyu Hai was his first race in a while and he was high strung before the race, then had pressure on him on his outside during the race and was tense. After the race though he didn’t show any signs of injury and he was calm, so I suppose the race let off some steam. Keeping in mind his last results, we’ve been mindful of his mental state and I think we’re seeing results as his work last week was good, with good movement and a good time and no complaints whatsoever. Last year, he didn’t get good results in the Falcon Stakes at Chukyo, but that was over 1,400 meters and the going was bad. He had the ability to finish fourth in the Sprinters Stakes though so I do have my hopes up again.”

Snow Dragon

Noboru Takagi, trainer
“For a graded stakes race over 1,200 meters the pace of the Ocean Stakes wasn’t very strong. And I think that in the end he didn’t quite accelerate fast enough, but he did run solidly until the end and overall it was a good race. The Mile Championship and the Hanshin Cup were a bit long for him and he stopped running on his own. I was worried he would do the same thing last out but his fighting spirit was back and that is the most important thing. He’s a 1,200-meter horse now. He worked alone up the hill on March 15, was a bit keen and had to be held back but all is going along fine. He had a good run in the Takamatsunomiya Kinen three years ago and finished second. He is good over the Chukyo course but last year from the week of the race the turf was just too fast and that hurt this horse. Ideally, the ground would be a little bit slow.”

Solveig

Ippo Sameshima, trainer
“The pace itself wasn’t all that fast in the Silk Road Stakes but the horse right behind her was hot on her heels the whole time. She had no time for a breather at all. I think it was a much tougher race than what the time would indicate. I gave her about a month off and brought her back to the training center at the beginning of March. The jockey rode her up the hill on March 15 and clocked 52.3 seconds. The jockey said she didn’t feel bad. Unlike before, she now weighs about 480 kg and we can push her pretty hard. But, she may have been able to race better when she was a bit lighter. This week we put the pressure on and she had a good workout up the hill. Last year she finished third in the Sprinters Stakes not far off the winner. She has the ability to do well. This time, I don’t want her to lead but to race from a good position. It’s her first time racing to the left, but I don’t think that will be a problem.”

Talking Drum (left)

Makoto Saito, trainer
“It was his second race in two weeks but I was real confident that he was in great shape. And the jockey rode him very assertively and it was very good ride. And despite always having had the image that he was a timid horse if he was surrounded by others, this time he just blasted that image away. He has gotten stronger. He was a bit tired after that race, our focus was on getting him fully recovered. Last week I had jockey Kota Fujioka ride him over distance. His movement was as I expected it to be. This week, the exercise rider was up so the horse wouldn’t be overworked. And he had a good workout with a focus on the finish. He’s 7 years old but full of energy. He has experience over the Chukyo 1,200, he can settle well and he has good acceleration, guts, and can listen to the jockey and follow his directions. I’m looking forward to seeing how well he can do in a G1.”

Teehaff

Shoichi Nishiura, assistant trainer
“The way the Keisei Hai unfolded just didn’t suit him. He comes from behind and is all about a late kick but the ground was heavy in that race and favored the frontrunners. It didn’t suit him. We gave him a bit of time off after that to get him refreshed. On March 15 he worked up the hill with a time in the 50-second range. We pushed him hard in fast work last week and have just worked on getting him over any fatigue he may have. He’s suited to the Chukyo course and he has good speed. If he can travel well I think he could clinch it. I’m looking forward to seeing what kind of race he’ll give us.”

Kochi Tsunoda, trainer
“He got pulled to the front from the start of the Ocean Stakes last out but then he quit. If he and the frontrunner had switched gates it would have been different. All has gone well since that race. Before last race, he had been sluggish in morning work so this time I’ve put blinkers on him in work. I may leave them on for the race as well. His movement, however, isn’t bad. If he gets surrounded he doesn’t run seriously so if he can take the lead he’ll concentrate better. It’s a G1 so things won’t be easy but he has won at the open class and is suited to Chukyo. If he breaks decently and the jockey rides him aggressively, I’m interested in seeing how well he can do.”

Xmas

Daishi Ito, trainer
“In the Ocean Stakes she was traveling well enough just ahead of midfield and she accelerated on her own but it wasn’t quite enough. The hill in the stretch probably took a bit out of her. Still, she led in the race before that, but last race she was asked to hold back, which was something different for her. She did her best and I’d like to commend her for that. Since then, we’ve trained her with an eye to getting her completely over her last start. Last weekend she worked lightly up the hill course and this week she had a good workout over 5 furlongs over sloppy ground on the flat with emphasis on the final stage. It think she’ll go into the race in good shape. The only times she really did poorly in a race was when she suffered a fracture three years ago in the UHB Sho and last year over heavy ground in the Keihan Hai. Her strong point is that she puts everything into her races. The conditions this time aren’t bad and I’m looking forward to seeing how well she can do”