Admire Alba

Naosuke Sugai, trainer
“He’s trained well just recently, and while not pushing him that hard, he’s moved well and is in good condition. Since last autumn, he’s shown a lot of improvement and hasn’t finished outside the first three, and managed to place second in a graded race. The horse has ability. I think the distance will be all right for him and there should be no problem with the transportation to the course. Through his efforts, it wouldn’t be surprising to see him do well here.”

Blast Onepiece

Masahiro Otake, trainer
“There’s a lot more pressure this time around, so that’s a bit worrying, but he has done well so far, and better than I had imagined, so there’s no reason why he can’t keep improving. He’s looked a little heavy, so with this in mind we’ve worked him in training quite hard and his movement has come on a lot for it. It’s a tough track and distance, but he’s mentally stronger, and the jockey has won the Derby before, so I think anything is possible.”

Kenichi Ikezoe, jockey
“It’s good to have a Derby ride, and it is a challenge to get to ride a horse that will be up against horses from the Satsuki Sho and the 2-year-old champion, to decide who is the No. 1 three-year-old. In the short time I’ve been associated with the horse, I’ve thought about the Derby for him. He’s in top condition, still developing, and will improve more.”

Cosmic Force

Sakae Kunieda, trainer
“Because of the short interval between races, we’ve been careful about making sure there’s no tiredness from his last run, and so we’ve trained him with this in mind. His jockey last time (Christophe Lemaire) said he could get the 2,400 meters, and while the opposition is strong, we’ll see what he can do.”

Shu Ishibashi, jockey
“The first time I rode him, I felt he was obedient and a good horse to ride. I think he can get into the flow of a race with no problem.”

Danon Premium

Mitsumasa Nakauchida, trainer
“The Derby is such a great race, you would always want to win it. With a field of 18, I think the jockey has an important job. The horse has already done his hard training, so in his last work, we concentrated just on his rhythm in running. We’ve taken care to get him where he is, so all being well he’ll go into the race just right.”

Teruhiko Saruhashi, assistant trainer
“He’s a horse that can be very keen and a little difficult to control, but I think in his training he’s now running smoother and can be controlled well. He has a lot of natural ability to win races.”

Yuga Kawada, jockey
“He was a bit tense last time, as well as wanting to get on with things, but it’s all experience and he won well, which I was relieved about. I’ve never ridden a horse like him before with such improvement. Just the way he’s developing and growing is really something. My job is to keep him calm and know when to switch him on and off.”

Epoca d'Oro

Hideaki Fujiwara, trainer
“He’s transported far to tracks before, but it’s his first time to race left-handed, so there’s a bit of a question mark there. He’s by Orfevre, so hopefully he can stay the trip. In his last piece of work, he ran on well past the post, and he seems freshened up and very well in himself. There are different horses in the race to what he encountered in the Satsuki Sho, but hopefully he can still show what he’s made of. The race can develop in various ways, so I have no easy idea about things, and we’ll also have to consider the draw and where the other horses are drawn.”

Nobuyuki Tashiro, assistant trainer
“His hindquarters have gotten stronger, and mentally he’s strong too. The distance shouldn’t be a problem, and even though he does have a strong finish, the flow of the race will be most important for him.”

Etario

Yasuo Tomomichi, trainer
“He’s done well with the training load we’ve given him, and I can look at the Derby with confidence. He’s already shown ability and he’ll get better yet. His responses were good in his final piece of work. He’ll be back at the same track and distance, and hopefully he’ll start well and be able to get a position from where he can run his best.”

Gendarme

Yasutoshi Ikee, trainer
“He’s developing nicely, and has done well with his gate practice and training overall. 2,400 meters might be a little far, but he did well enough in the Yayoi Sho, and if he can adjust to things, he’s fine. He should be in the same good condition he was in for his last race, so I want to see him do well.”

Yutaka Take, jockey
“In his final workout, he moved well. He’s quite relaxed and ran straight, showing no signs of leaning out.”

Generale Uno

Eiichi Yano, trainer
“It feels like he’s still improving, even though there’s a part to him that we don’t understand, and he can be unpredictable. He did all his hard work in training the week before, so we have been careful not to push him too hard in this final week. I’m satisfied with the condition he’s in. As for the race itself, he can lead if nothing else wants to, or just take up a position behind the leaders.”

Hironobu Tanabe, jockey
“I think the horse has a chance. Sometimes there’s a lapse in his concentration, and he’s not easy to understand. It’s important that I keep him on task, particularly in the home straight. If no other horse elects to go on, I might be up with the pace early, as in the Satsuki Sho. I want to get the horse to run to his best.”

Go for the Summit

Daisuke Tsumagari, assistant trainer
“With the warmer weather, his coat and overall condition are looking good. He’s back at the Tokyo course where he won last time over 2,400 meters, so I think that’s a big advantage to have won over the Derby course and distance.”

Masayoshi Ebina, jockey
“There hasn’t been much time between races, but he’s adjusted well with the training. He’s come along well and seems to be in the same sort of condition as he was before his last race.”

Grail

Kenji Nonaka, trainer
“He’s done well in training since the Satsuki Sho. In the Kyodo News Hai two starts ago, the preliminaries didn’t go well for him, so we understood why his result was like it was. I have no worries about the condition he’s in and what he’s done in training. I think the wide Tokyo course will suit him and he’ll be able to find his natural rhythm.”

Kitano Commandeur

Yasutoshi Ikee, trainer
“When he came back to the stable at the beginning of the month, he didn’t look so sharp, but he’s improved with training over the last couple of weeks. He has a way of walking which is slightly awkward, but even this is improving as he develops, and I think he’s in better shape than he was for the Satsuki Sho. The 2,400 meters at Tokyo should suit him better, but the real key will be the ground. I want it to be firm.”

Hiroshi Kanetake, assistant trainer
“I think he’ll be better suited to the Tokyo track, unlike last time where it was a bit tight turning for home.”

Oken Moon

Sakae Kunieda, trainer
“He’s had a break at the farm to take away the tiredness after his last race. There’s no big change in him, and while he could be a little calmer, I think this will come in time. I’m not worried about the step up in trip, and he’s back at Tokyo where he’s already won a big race, so things should go well for him.”

Hiroshi Kitamura, jockey
“He seems to have maintained his condition and there’s no change with the way he moves. I think he can adjust to the distance.”

Sans Rival

Kenichi Fujioka, trainer
“I think on breeding he should be fine with the distance. He needed some time to recover from his last race, but these last two weeks he’s been fine. He’s a horse with ability, and I think the jockey can ride him well. He’s had experience racing left-handed and with long transportation to tracks. Tokyo should suit his big stride, and although we don’t know exactly how the race will develop, hopefully he’ll get into the flow of things without any problem.”

Suguru Hamanaka, jockey
“He’s an easy horse to ride. He’s relaxed, and that’s the case in his races too. I’ll discuss with connections after the draw about tactics, but we never quite know about things until the gates open.”

Stay Foolish

Yoshito Yahagi, trainer
“There’s a good feel about him and no problems at all. He’s done well since his last race, and I want him to give a good account of himself here.”

Yusaku Oka, assistant trainer
“I think he should be fine with the start in front of the stands. On his pedigree, the extra distance shouldn’t be a problem. He’s not a very big horse, so just maintaining his condition and keeping him fairly calm will be the key points going into the race.”

Norihiro Yokoyama, jockey
“He felt good in training, coming on well at the 300 meter mark, and then finishing off with 100 meters to go. With just a short interval between races, I don’t want to overdo things.”

Stelvio

Tetsuya Kimura, trainer
“He’s a horse that always gives his best, so we don’t need to do anything special with him. Of course, with the distance, we don’t know until we try. Looking to the race, hopefully he can give his best with the condition he’s in.”

Yuya Tsuchida, assistant trainer
“The jockey has said the horse is easy to handle. There’s no negative image about the horse, and his footwork is nice and light. It’s a question of getting everything to go right for him in the race.”

Masanari Masui, assistant trainer
“There are a lot of firsts for him here: Running on turf, the course, the distance, as well as being up against strong opponents. Overall though, he’s the type to take on a race and give it his best shot each time. I think stamina-wise, he’s fine too. It’ll be interesting to see what he can do, taking into account these things.”

Kota Fujioka, jockey
“He has a good action, and there’s a good feel to him. We’ll have to see what he can do in a turf race.”

Time Flyer

Kunihide Matsuda, trainer
“He hasn’t been particularly fast in training, but hopefully come the race, things will work out for him. I think over a longer distance on turf, he should be able to show more than he did last time, given the way he runs. The Tokyo course should suit him, and given his condition, I’m hoping he can put in a good run here.”

Wagnerian

Yasuo Tomomichi, trainer
“He’s come along well since his last race, where to be honest, not a lot went in his favor, with the ground, the way the race developed, and the position he was in. His appetite is very good and we concentrated on keeping him calm. He can take a little time to pick up, but he’s capable of running a big race here.”

Yusuke Oe, assistant trainer
“There’s a good feel about him. He put in his hard training a while ago and he’s done well, with no damage whatsoever. He’s relaxed, which is important with him, and has developed well so far.”