Admire Justa

Naosuke Sugai, trainer
“He’s improved with every race so far, and I’ve no complaints with the way he’s been moving in training, and the times he’s posted. I feel lucky to be associated with a son of Just a Way, which I also trained, and to be able to send him to a Grade 1 race. He’s quite a calm horse, but when asked to run he runs well. Of course he’s still young and developing. It’s good that jockey Christophe Lemaire partners him and is able to give him every encouragement. It’s a strong field, but looking ahead to next year’s spring Classics, I hope he can run well here.”

Breaking Dawn

Koichi Shirakura, assistant trainer
“He’s come along as expected and his responses in training have been good. Although he’s still a 2-year-old, he seems to have good racing sense and a high level of ability. Looking to the future with him, it would be good to see him put in a good run in this race.”

Yuichi Fukunaga, jockey
“He did his hard work last week, so with the race on Friday, I was careful not to push him too much in his last piece of work this week. In his last race, he wasn’t quite able to go with the winner, but it was a good enough result to lead him into this race. I think he’s in better condition than he was last time, and I don’t see a problem with the 2,000 meters, which was the distance last time.”

Cosmo Calendula

Hiroyasu Tanaka, trainer
“His reactions in training have been good, and he’s come along better than I could imagine, so this is probably the best he’s been so far. I think the tight course at Nakayama, where it can take a bit of time to reach top gear, is fine for him.”

Toshikiko Hokari, assistant trainer
“I think he’s just right going into the race. He’s had experience at Nakayama, and he does race well generally. He’ll need to measure up to his opponents here. Ideally it would be good to see him 20-30kg heavier, but as a young horse he’ll develop more as time goes on.”

Yoichiro Asano, trainer
“Overall, as a young horse, he’s still a little weak. Having said that, he changes every time we work him. As he becomes older, he’ll become a better horse, and we’ll just have to see what he can do among the other horses here.”

Yuichi Fujii, assistant trainer
“I think compared to his last race, the course and distance this time will suit him better. He’ll be up against strong horses here, but it would be good to take some positives from the race, to consider things in the future.”

Yoshihito Kitade, trainer
“There’s a good shape to him in the way that he runs, even though he still has limited experience. Bearing this in mind, you wouldn’t think he could win a Grade 1, and with this being just his third race. However, if he runs to his best, there probably won’t be that much difference between him and the others.”

Daisaku Matsuda, jockey
“He’s moved well in training, showing no signs of tiredness from his last start. Compared to last week, this week his responses were better. He still had a bit left after his last win. It’s a strong field this time, but the way he’s developing, we’ll see what he can do here.”

Naru Owada, trainer
“His movement has been good in training, and he’s a horse with an ability to make things happen. He won last time, despite it being a bit of a muddling race, and this time at Nakayama I think things should go well for him. I’m looking forward to what he can do, taking on the strong opposition here.”

King Listeia

Hiroshi Kawachi, trainer
“He’s only had the one race and it’s just been a short time since then. He posted a good final furlong time in his piece of work this week, just under 12 seconds. He seems to have come on for his only race. I don’t think there’s a horse in the race this time that will go off at a very fast pace, so it shouldn’t be that demanding from the start. Can he make history by coming off a win so quickly in a newcomer race and then winning a Grade 1? I want him to try his best.”

Yasuhito Tamura, trainer
“In training, he hasn’t gone flat out, but everything’s gone well with him and there’s no tiredness about him after his last race. While he can’t necessarily sustain things at pace over a mile, and the distance this time is further, it will be interesting to see how he can hold up and perform over the longer trip.”

Mikki Black

Hidetaka Otonashi, trainer
“Even though it’s a strong field this time, looking at his last race I don’t think he really lacked anything and we could take a lot from that. His target has been this race, and he’ll be back at the course where he won the Fuyo Stakes. Most importantly, I hope the pace is a fast one so he can get to run his best race and get a result.”

Nishino Daisy

Noboru Takagi, trainer
“He came out of his last race pretty well, and soon got his appetite back and regained his weight. He moved well in training on the woodchip course on Dec. 20, so I feel he’s in good condition. While he’s perhaps better suited to a wide track like Tokyo, I don’t see any problems with him handling the course at Nakayama. I’d like to see him run well here.”

Masaki Katsuura, jockey
“I think he’s come on well since his last run. His two graded race wins have been good, and because of the way he’s won his races, he gives me confidence too. It was good that when he changed to another track two starts ago, it didn’t matter at all. In the Arima Kinen (The Grand Prix), the closing times indicated that it was a tough fight to the line, and it’s this sort of race that would suit my horse here.”

Saturnalia

Yasuyuki Tsujino, assistant trainer
“It’s just half a year since his debut, but he’s gained muscle and developed well all round. He still seems young to look at, but he’s come along well and doesn’t look like a 2-year-old when he runs. Given the race is Friday, we decided on working him this last Monday. In that training we just confirmed everything with him, and he put in a fast time. He probably could have handled a stronger workload, but with what he did was just fine. It’s a Grade 1 this time, and the opposition is different, but he shouldn’t have any difficulty in adjusting to things.”

Kunihide Matsuda, trainer
“With his teeth changing, he wasn’t eating so much and his weight dropped a little, but he has gained weight and was 424kg for his debut race. He ran a fair time and should be able to produce something similar again. He’s kept his condition and is a horse that can be controlled. The distance looks good for him. This will just be his second race, but I think he’ll run well and put in an even better time.”

Kenichi Ikezoe, jockey
“He runs smoothly and is an easy horse to ride. He’s able to close well at the finish and has good racing sense. It’ll be just his second race, and what’s more it’s a Grade 1, so there are a few unknowns, but I want to see him run well.”

Vin de Garde

Nobuyuki Tashiro, assistant trainer
“He was a little tense last time, but come the race itself there was no problem. It’ll be his second time to transport long distance to the track, so that should be alright. I think he can handle any kind of track condition. More recently, there’s a good feel to him and he’s been more relaxed than he was for his last race. He’s a bit loose in his hindquarters, and being young he’ll develop more from now. But with his current level of ability, I think he’s capable of running a big race, even in a Grade 1.”