Ablaze

Hiroshi Kanetake, assistant trainer
“There was no letting up in the Flower Cup and the pace was strong. But she was able to get a forward position and hold her ground. For that alone, I’d say she has a great heart and lungs. I didn’t aim her at the Oka Sho (Japanese 1000 Guineas) but decided to focus solely on the Yushun Himba (Japanese Oaks), so I sent her to the farm and she returned on April 29. She put on muscle and her physique looked more like a colt’s. She gained a lot of power in a short period of time. She worked with another horse over the woodchip course on May 14 and she’s had two weeks in a row of tough workouts. She has the trip to the track so this week I just gave her light work. She was losing concentration at the end last time so I think things had been pretty easy for her and she still had something in the tank. The distance won’t be a problem for her. The field is strong, so it should be an interesting race.”

Chain of Love

Michihiro Ogasa, trainer
“I’d kept her at Ritto from before the Tulip Sho and she was in good shape for the Oka Sho. She raced to the right without lugging out, but due to the soft track, she couldn’t gain ground as she normally would. After returning to Miho I did not send her to the farm but got her ready here. She raced under some tough conditions so did need to recover and getting her fully recovered has been our priority. Jockey Shu Ishibashi rode her fast work on May 14, checked her responses, and her movement was good. I think she’s gradually coming into her own. If she can run well in hand, I think she can handle the distance. The left-handed track and long stretch of Tokyo suit her and if the race favors late speed there’s a chance she’ll move up the field.”

Cravache d’Or

Teruhiko Saruhashi, assistant trainer
“Things got tight for her in the Oka Sho around the final turn but she gained ground nicely in the end coming up the inside. I think she really tried hard. She stayed at the training center and has been ridden regularly. She’s light on her feet, changes gears sharply, and looks good. Last week she weighed 460 kg and looks to have recovered quickly. On May 14 she worked in a trio over the woodchip flat. Jockey Mirco Demuro rode and she clocked 83-some seconds, which was just about what we’d planned. Everything has gone well and according to plan. She’s even-keeled now and has matured a lot mentally. She’s had a string of races now where she raced well in hand, so I’m not worried there either. She really has good racing sense and I’m expecting her to be competitive here.”

Daring Tact

Kohei Matsuyama, jockey
“It was raining on the day of the Oka Sho and the track was bad but she won very strongly. She was a bit tense at the break but relaxed when I moved her outside. She really ran well in the end. Last week, I was instructed to give her a solid workout. She was running alone but she took the bit well and her movement was good. This week the trainer left it all up to me and I focused on the final stage without letting her overdo it and she felt good. The time wasn’t that fast but it was a good workout, especially over the last furlong. She does have a tendency to get worked up but she felt better than she had in the Oka Sho. And I think she’s gotten better with each race, as she has with each workout. She has matured as well. I think she’ll be able to handle the distance, but with the two turns, key will be how well she can settle. And from her track work, I think racing to the left will be fine. I have no preferences for the draw. She’s unbeaten so she’s in the spotlight. Expectations are high and I’ll do my best to meet them.”

Yasuo Tomomichi, trainer
“For her second start, the Sweetpea Stakes, she hauled to Tokyo for the first time. It was the first time for a lot of things and I was worried about those but she ran a fantastic race exactly as I had hoped she would. She’s come along well. On her first start she wasn’t good at the break but last race she broke fine and settled well even in amid the pack. I think she learns quickly. There isn’t much time between races and that has been my only concern, but she returned to the training center looking fine and I started riding her from that Thursday. I thought it would be good to train her to the left so on May 17, she had her first fast work and looked good. I put two horses ahead of her and focused on the finish. Her overall time was excellent and her responses were good. On Wednesday this week I had the assistant trainer ride her up the hill. I had him breeze her at about 54-55 seconds and she looked good. She’ll go to the gate in good shape. From her two previous starts and her bloodline, I can see she won’t get too strong in hand, so she should be able to handle the distance. She’s normally very mature, with a good on-off switch. Her dam won the French Oaks, so I’m hoping the daughter can win the Japanese version.”

Hisashi Shimizu, trainer
“She came out of the Oka Sho well. Looking at that race, she was running very well toward the end so I think she’ll do better with more distance. She breezed up the hill course on Wednesday morning and she has come along well as usual. She has late speed and the extra distance should be fine. I really wanted to race her in the Oaks and I’m so glad she got in. The even-number gate is good too.”

Ho O Peaceful

Masahiro Otake, trainer
“She didn’t do as I’d expected her to do in the Queen Cup so I sent her to the Flora Stakes. The wind was strong and she was boxed in and running unbalanced but still managed to quicken and gain so I give her good marks for that. She worked over distance last week with an open-class horse and though she doesn’t run that fast in track work, she did look good. With this, I think this week just a half mile for work was enough. Issues with being able to hold back and settle well have come up, so I’ve been having her work close to another horse and focus on staying calm. The competition is strong, but she has learned something with each race and that should stand her well. Even with the extra distance and it being the Oaks, she’ll do fine if she can run her own race.”

Takahisa Tezuka, trainer
“I brought her to Ritto early for the Oka Sho and she was ready, filled out and in good condition. But the members were different from those she’d previously competed against, and so was the fast pace, so she was busy playing catchup from the first half. As a result, she ended up never really getting in to the race. She wasn’t tired from the race and recovered quickly. Her weight is back up to 410-something kg and in her work on May 13, I had a horse start out in front and she caught and passed him and her movement was good. I honestly can’t say how she’ll do over 2,400 meters but her bloodline tells me she can take on 1,800 meters without a problem. I think she’ll be able to handle the pace this time and show us some good racing.”

Hideaki Fujiwara, trainer
“Last out in the Wasurenagusa Sho, the going held her back. From her bloodline, she looked to be better suited to the Oaks than the Oka Sho, so I had aimed her here. I haven’t really been working her hard, just fine-tuning her. On Wednesday the jockey breezed her up the hill alone. She’s won at Tokyo and that’s why I had aimed her here. Her ability is right up there with the others and I think she’s suited to this race. She’s a very versatile horse, so the gate position is fine. I’m really glad she won the lot and got in.”

Magic Castle

Sakae Kunieda, trainer
“Her weight was down for the Oka Sho but I thought it was still in the acceptable range and her condition was good. I knew the final times would be fast and I thought she could handle the ground, but she wasn’t able to run her usual race. The going just didn’t suit her. She was a bit tired after that race, but I kept her at the stable to take care of her. She’s a small horse, so I think her weight will be about the same this time. There are no particular problems with anything and her movement wasn’t bad on May 13. In the Queen Cup, she seemed to be the only horse running as well as she did in the stretch, so I think Tokyo suits her. I can’t say how the distance will be for her, but I’d like her to hold back patiently and go all out in the final stage.”

Maltese Diosa

Takahisa Tezuka, trainer
“After winning the Tulip Sho, I kept her at Ritto to prepare for the next race. She’d had problems at the break, so I focused on getting her speed up. In the Oka Sho, her start was pretty good but she was too tensed up over the first half. And then, in the end, the heavy going had her flagging. She needed time to recover from that race and she is recovered now. In fast work on May 13, I had her chase a horse in front of her. She didn’t catch him but she showed us her usual movement. There are no concerns with her condition. The extra distance is not a plus but I think she can be competitive amid fillies of her own age. If she can be patient under way this time, she has a chance.”

Miyamazakura

Hideaki Fujiwara, trainer
“In the Oka Sho, just at a crucial point, she got bogged down in the heavy track and lost ground. I think she was surprised by her first time over a wet track. Still, she did manage to quicken in the straight, which shows she has ability. The jockey rode work on the woodchip track on May 14. She picked up sharply in the final stage and passed her training partner in what was a good workout. She’s been able to get a lot of work and all has gone well. She’s on her toes with just the right amount of tension. She has a big, beautiful stride and I think a track that’s only slightly rain-affected won’t pose a problem but I do think she’d find it easier to get up to speed over a fast track. She has no problem settling so the extra distance should be a plus. She has experience at Tokyo and she hauls well. She has good racing sense and the ability needed to win a Grade 1. I think she has ample chance of turning the tables on the competition.”

Ria Amelia

Teruhiko Saruhashi, assistant trainer
“Even though the jockey got after her in the Oka Sho, she didn’t respond. I think it had to be the going. But she didn’t travel that well in the Hanshin Juvenile Fillies in places so it may be mental as well. If she stays at the training center the whole time she get a little crazy, so we sent her to the farm for a bit. Since coming back, everything has gone as expected. She clocked 54 seconds up the hill course last week and we worked her to the left on the flat on May 17. She moves well in track work. She’s very eager to run, so I think the jockey will be trying to keep her calm over the first half of the race. There’s no concern about her stamina so I’m not worried about the distance. Getting her to to the track and to switch her on well will be important. I’m hoping for a fast track.”

Sanctuaire

Daisuke Tsumagari, assistant trainer
“She couldn’t get much traction with the soft track in the Oka Sho and it was a tiring race for her as she tried to catch up. She didn’t look good going into the stretch and I thought it wouldn’t be surprising if she faded from there, but she gave a gutsy performance out in the middle of the track and rallied. She left for the farm and a bit of refreshment on April 15, then returned to the training center May 6. She worked alone on the flat a week ago and it looked like her prep is going well. She was calm and relaxed and I hope she goes to the gate like this. It’ll be her first time over 2,400 meters and we’ll see how well she can settle. She’s not usually keen and I think she has what it takes to handle this distance.”

Smile Kana

Yoshiyasu Takahashi, trainer
“Things didn’t go smoothly in the Tulip Sho, but she was able to run her own race in the Oka Sho, really giving it her all until the very end. With the difficult going and the race favoring those coming up from behind I’d say she gave a very solid performance. She came out of the race surprisingly well and has gotten ample work since. Last week I put two horses out in front of her. I couldn’t see with the haze that morning but the rider, jockey Daichi Shibata, said she felt good and, “moved really, really well.” Her weight hasn’t changed much but she is more filled out and looks bigger. It’s a short trip to the track this time so I think she’ll go to the gate in better shape than last time. At Tokyo, she should get a nice clear run and she should be OK if she can get a breather under way. Then again, almost all the others will be at this distance for the first time, so I’m not too concerned.”

Win Marilyn

Takahisa Tezuka, trainer
“This week in fast work I put the three horses aimed at the Oaks together, with this one in the middle. She is very agile and both in track work and in a race she’s very versatile, so she doesn’t get worked up even if you put her between two horses. Even though he won’t be able to ride the race (due to suspension), Takeshi Yokoyama rode her for work. He said she was the best horse he’s ever ridden, so I think she’s in good shape. Norihiro Yokoyama rode her last week. Her weight should be about the same as it was for last race. Her gate position for the Flora Stakes was good for a Tokyo 2,000 meters and since the jockey had said a fast track suited her I was looking forward to seeing how well she could do. She met expectations and then some with her winning performance. She got experience at Tokyo and was able to handle the unusually strong wind that day, so I think that no matter what the conditions at Tokyo are this week, she will give it her best.”

Tomoki Igarashi, assistant trainer
“In the Wasurenagusa Sho, she wasn’t as tense as she’d been in the Elfin Stakes. She’d been moving very well in track work. And even though I’d wondered about the slow track and the distance, she was in very good shape. She stayed at the training center afterward and, for a filly, has been eating very well. Her weight was back up 10 kg a week after the race and there was no need to take it too easy. Last week, she worked with two other horses and her time was good even though she had a lot more to give. She’s on her game. She’s very versatile and can race from any position. And from looking at her track work, I’d say the left-handed track shouldn’t be a problem for her. She’s looking good now and I’m looking forward to how well she can measure up in this lineup.”

Woman’s Heart

Katsuichi Nishiura, trainer
“In her last start, the track was heavy and, since she’s not a very powerful horse, things were tough for her. She was floundering in the end. She’s eating well and everything is normal. She does need to mature a bit more though. She clocked 57-some seconds up the hill course last week. Since we have the long trip to the track this time, I had her work on the artificial surface on Sunday, May 17 and Wednesday I just breezed her up the hill. She still lacks power, but she has speed, so I hope the track is fast this time. I’ve seen her race well to the left and I’d like her to travel from the position she gets at the break. We’ll just have to see how she’ll do at this distance.”