Authority

Tetsuya Kimura, trainer
“While he’s obviously still a young horse, he’s looking very well in himself and there are no problems with him. One of the keys will be to keep him relaxed right up to the race.”

Yu Ota, assistant trainer
“His responses have been good in training and there’s a good feel to him. He’s able to get a good position in his races and get into the flow of things well. Even though it’ll be a tougher race this time, hopefully he can show what he’s made of, and how he’s come on from his last race.”

Kenichi Ikezoe, jockey
“He’s better this week compared to last week, and his breathing and movement are good. He’ll go into the race in good shape. One point to consider is keeping him relaxed, as he takes after his sire, Orfevre. He’s generally good in the race, however, and has had experience at Nakayama, so hopefully he’ll get to run a good race.”

Black Hole

Ikuo Aizawa, trainer
“He’s trained well with an older horse that has run at a high level, and his movement and times have been good. I’d like him to develop more and get bigger, but this will come in time. He showed what he’s capable of doing the last time he raced. I don’t see any problem with him running at Nakayama. Even though the opposition will be strong, he’s a horse with guts, and I don’t think there’ll be much in it between him and the other horses.”

Yukito Ishikawa, jockey
“He’s a horse that picks up well when asked to do so. He feels like the son of Gold Ship and has stamina to match. He’s won at Sapporo, and I don’t think he’ll have any trouble with this his first run at Nakayama. He could be a Classic horse in the making and he should have a good chance in this field of good horses.”

Blooming Sky

Takashi Kotaki, assistant trainer
“It feels like he’s developing well mentally, and one good thing about him is he runs straight, even though it might take him a little time to pick up. He has a good pedigree and is honest and talented. It’ll be a question of him bringing all these things together in the race.”

Contrail

Yoshito Yahagi, trainer
“I’ve had this race in mind for him after his last win. As a young horse still developing, he’s not so strong, but I rate him very highly. He moves well and has good flexibility. This week he’s just worked solo on the track and that’s good enough for him. I’m not worried about him transporting to the track, but his handling of the four corners at Nakayama will be something to monitor. The turf track is possibly riding just a little slower than ideal. In any case, I’m hoping for a good showing, and if he runs well here, he might go directly to the Satsuki Sho next year.”

Yusaku Oka, assistant trainer
“He traveled over to the track fine last time, even though behind the gates he kicked out for a while. It’ll be all about him getting into a good rhythm this time with the extended distance of the race. Hopefully all will go well, looking ahead to next year’s Classic races with him.”

Yuichi Fukunaga, jockey
“He’s a strong horse that really wants to get on with things. The stable staff have done a great job with him, and looking to future big races with the horse, it’s to be hoped he puts in a good run over this distance here.”

Dear Theory

Noboru Takagi, trainer
“He’s moved well in training, and one thing we’ve worked on is him not getting worked up and getting tense. As for the race itself, he’d be better if the ground is not too fast, and if there’s any rain around that would be a plus.”

Hiroyuki Uehara, trainer
“The jockey said all was good when he worked with stablemate Narino Montagne just recently. He’s a horse with power, but it’s important to keep him relaxed. His movement in training’s been good. He’s just had the one race, but has come on for that. All being well, he’ll get a good start in this race and run smoothly, showing that he can handle the Nakayama track well.”

Kodai Hasegawa, trainer
“He can be a little childish at the training center, but he has moved well and posted good times in training, especially considering the ground. We saw in his last race that he has good racing sense. He has transported long distance before and didn’t lose weight. It’ll be the first Grade 1 for the horse and jockey, so the opposition will be strong, but I think he can run a good race considering what he’s shown us so far.”

Arata Saito, jockey
od and he’s responded well. He’s easy to control, but at the same time has a big powerful stride. Hopefully we can get a position in the race just behind the leading horse.”

Hiroyuki Uehara, trainer
“He’s a horse with a lot of power, so we try and keep this for when he goes racing, and just do enough with him in training, keeping him relaxed. I think his character has improved since very early in his career. He shouldn’t have any trouble with the distance of the race, and if he can get his usual forward position in the run and race smoothly, it’ll be interesting.”

Yoshito Yahagi, trainer
“He ran pretty well last time in the Erica Sho, and as for this race, I think he’ll be suited by the way the track at Nakayama is currently riding.”

Yusaku Oka, assistant trainer
“We’ve just kept him ticking over in training as the interval between races is short. It’ll be his first time to travel far to the track, so that’s one of the keys. Also if the ground’s not too fast, that would suit him, so rain this weekend would help.”

Rhinebeck

Yasuo Tomomichi, trainer
“His workload has been just right, and I haven’t worried about times with him. In his last work with two other horses, he showed that he’s keen to run, and these past two weeks he’s been switched on. As he grows, he becomes more mature. I don’t think it matters whether he races right-handed or left. It’ll be the last day of racing at the track, but I think if he jumps well and gets a good position, he’ll be able to handle the four corners in the race and run to his best, even if the ground is not so good.”

Kazuhiro Seishi, trainer
“The jockey says he feels good, and we’ve had some leeway recently with him in training, which has helped. He’s been moving well, and he’s a serious horse and easy to control. After his last win at Tokyo, I don’t think the trickier Nakayama course will pose any problems. Among the strong opposition here, I want him to put in his best effort.”

Wakea

Takahisa Tezuka, trainer
“When he won his second race, I thought that he had really started to improve and that puts him where he is now. As he’s young, he’s still a bit loose, with weakness here and there, but that’s natural and he’s not unreliable at all. He ran so well in the Ivy Stakes that the plan became to run him here, and the extra distance shouldn’t be a problem. He did his hard work in training last week, so this week things have been easy. The jockey says he’s a straightforward horse to ride. He hung in a little racing left-handed, so right-handed should be fine for him. Even though there are other fast horses in the race, racing’s not all about times. One of the keys will be the four corners in the race and how he handles them, but I’m looking forward to him taking on the other strong horses here.”

Weltreisende

Yasutoshi Ikee, trainer
“He’s worked well these past two weeks on the woodchip course, and the jockey after his last race said he’d be better for the ground being good. He’s developing gradually and everything’s gone well with him. He’s a stylish looking horse with speed and power, and knows how to race. He’s transported to Kokura before, so I’m not worried about him having to travel this time. Mentally he’s in the right place, and I think he can handle the extra distance in the race, as well as the Nakayama track. I would like to see good ground on the day.”