A Shin Hiten

Kunihiko Watanabe, trainer
“In the Kansai Telecasting Corp. Sho Rose Stakes, she was able to take the lead and travel at her own pace. She still a bit weak in her hind legs and lugged out around the turns and was sluggish in the stretch. Despite all that she finished second. She’s a strong filly. Her appetite is good and she has maintained her weight. In work Oct. 7 she easily got a good time. She improves with each race and her condition is on the up and up. She has her second over the Hanshin 2,000 meters in the Wasurenagusa Sho and I think she’s better over a righthanded track. I think taking her to the outside away from the others and to the front like she did last out is good for her. If she runs her own race, I’m looking forward to seeing how well she can hold her ground.”

Akaitorino Musume

Sakae Kunieda, trainer
“Last week jockey Keita Tosaki rode work and pushed her hard over the final stage. She was just about ready then, but with the trip to the track I didn’t want to do too much this week, so I had her work with another horse. I wanted her to hold back, keeping something for the finish. The other horse was a graded stakes horse and I think the workout was just right. In the Japanese Oaks (Yushun Himba), she needed a bit more luck but she did run a strong race. She travels well and I think she’ll do well over the Hanshin 2,000 meters. Her physique hasn’t changed dramatically but she is calmer and doesn’t spook at things. She’s in about the same shape as she was in the spring. She hasn’t lost by all that much in the past, so I think she can do well if she has a good trip. There’s the draw and the condition of the turf and other factors and I’ll be discussing things with Tosaki right before the race. Her dam, Apapane, was a tough horse and powerful and I’m hoping her daughter will carry on those traits. I think everyone is going to be competitive and the results are up to luck. If the ground isn’t particularly bad it should be OK.”

Andvaranaut

Manabu Ikezoe, trainer
“Her win two races ago in the Izumozaki Tokubetsu at Niigata was really good and she was competing against male and older horses, so we thought she’d do well in the Rose Stakes. She did better than expected. She’s much stronger than before and her eating has stabilized. I’d like her to be a bit calmer but she is better than early this year and is able to settle down and work. There isn’t much time between races so the first week we were careful to make sure she was fully recovered. She looked fine so the following week she worked up the hill course. Her appetite is still strong despite the work. Since Niigata, this is the second race we’re preparing her all at the training center and she has met all expectations. Her hill work this week went as planned. She was steady entering the course and was relaxed and extended at the top with a time of 54 seconds, just what I’d asked for. She changes leads smoothly and is very responsive. She’s proven at the distance now but we won’t know if she’ll handle the distance racing to the right until we try it, but I think she’ll be fine. She’s only raced on fast ground but she runs with her head high and isn’t relying on the bit, so I think she’ll do OK even if it rains. Jockey Yuichi Fukunaga has ridden all of her races and knows her well.”

Toru Hayashi, trainer
“The times were fast at Niigata the day of her last race, the Sado Stakes, and horses racing prominently on the inside were holding their ground. I thought those conditions would not make things easy for her but she showed a turn of foot better than I could have imagined. She’s been in good shape for each of her starts, but this time I think her heart and lungs have gotten stronger as she matures. She came back from the farm in good shape and we’ve found a good routine with her and she’s a horse that is pretty even-keeled when it comes to readying for a race. Last week, like for the race before, jockey Akihide Tsumura rode and that will have sharpened her up. I think she’s better suited to Hanshin than Kyoto, so that’s a plus. The extra furlong last time wasn’t a problem so I think 2,000 meters will be OK too. She got good results over the tricky Nakayama mile so I think she’ll be able to handle Hanshin as well.”

Art de Vivre

Teiichi Konno, trainer
“In the Rose Stakes, she was returning after time off and she was quiet while loading. But the race favored horses in front and she didn’t handle the turns well. At the final turn she got pushed in from the outside. But she quickened nicely in the final stage and was able to clinch third place. She lost weight during the trip to Chukyo, but compared to the spring, her weight still registered a plus. She has matured enough to be able to race again with only three full weeks in between races now. She’s usually quiet and that hasn’t changed, but I think her overall constitution is stronger now. This week we kept the pace down because we knew if we pushed her she’d really pick up speed. Her movement was good both before and after she changed leads. She’s come along as planned and I think she’ll go to the gate with no concern.”

Cool Cat

Takeshi Okumura, trainer
“It couldn’t be helped that she was slow away and couldn’t keep up with the pace in the Rose Stakes, but the turns were tough and she wouldn’t pick it up even when the jockey got after her. And she was the same on the hill. I guess this was due in part to her coming back from a layoff. Since there are only three weeks between races, I wasn’t aiming for any fast times in work, but on Oct. 3 her responses were slow. Her eating and overall constitution were good, so I did push her pretty hard. I had jockey Ryuji Wada ride work this week and we kept it lowkey because of the trip to the track ahead of her. I don’t think she’s particularly suited to the Hanshin inner course, so the draw and her position in the first half will be key. Ideally, I’d like her to have an outside gate, but getting a good position from the break is more important. In any case, the start will be the most important point for her.”

Enthusiasm

Shogo Yasuda, trainer
“At the break in the Rose Stakes it briefly looked like she’d go forward but she ended up racing in among the pack. And surrounded the whole time as she was, the blinkers helped. If I could have had my wish I’d have wanted her to have drawn wide gate and been able to run stretched out and relaxed. If she had, she probably wouldn’t have minded the others around her in the stretch and would have been able to use her speed better. After the race, compared to other times, she recovered quickly. I feel she has matured a lot from the spring, including mentally. Depending on the gate and how she starts, I think a race strategy totally different and even extreme might be good for her. I don’t think there’s any reason to insist on a certain position. Just letting her run feeling good might bring some better results.”

Fine Rouge

Tomohiro Kusunoki, assistant trainer
“For the Shion Stakes, she was back bigger and stronger. And having gotten big, the distance was a concern. We decided if she couldn’t handle the distance we’d pass on the Shuka Sho. But she was fine. She came out of that race well but since she was still in racing mode, we sent her to the farm so she could switch off. She returned to the training center two weeks ago. Jockey Christophe Lemaire rode her Oct. 6 on the woodchip flat and it was an excellent workout. He commented too on how much she had matured since he last rode her in the Jan. 11 Fairy Stakes. This week on the flat she worked with two others and looked sharper. She is proven over righthanded tracks with a stretch hill, so there are no concerns there. We don’t know how she’ll do if it rains and she does like speed so that is a bit of a concern. But, in work over heavy ground we haven’t seen her terribly compromised, so I think she’d be OK.”

Ho O Ixelles

Mizuki Takayanagi, trainer
“She’s always been funny in the gate and before the Shion Stakes she started getting some bad habits during gate practice, rearing up and such. The Shion Stakes was her first race in seven months and I think it brought out the bad side of her, things we hadn’t seen before. She wasn’t able to keep up with the others and that’s the way the race panned out. I think the increase in weight in the Shion Stakes was due to her maturing and now, unlike earlier when maintaining her weight wasn’t a given, she’s fine and doesn’t lose condition. She worked with an older horse on Oct. 7, overtook that horse and her movement was good. Her weight hasn’t changed but I think she has leaned out a bit more. She let off some steam in the Shion Stakes and I don’t think we’ll see a repeat of the problems. The competition is strong and I think the slower times in the final stage of the Hanshin inner course will help her.”

Miss Figaro

Yasuo Tomomichi, trainer
“Her break wasn’t the best in the Shion Stakes and she raced from behind but was able to make headway in the stretch coming up the outside. She’s small but didn’t lose weight before her last race. After that, she had the usual routine, spent about 10 days at the farm, and returned to the training center. Since there’d been no damage from the race, her preparations have gone well. On Oct. 6, jockey Kota Fujioka rode her on the all-weather track working with another horse. She’s kept her condition and it looks like she’ll head in to the G1 in good shape. I feel she has matured since the spring. She hasn’t hesitated to take on different courses and different ground. She’s handled Hanshin well too. I’m hoping she’ll be able to show her talents to the best.”

Slyly

Ikuo Aizawa, trainer
“Considering her wide draw last out in the Shion Stakes, we decided to have her race from a forward position, and though she was traveling well, she wasn’t keeping anything in reserve. Hokkaido was hot this year as well and when she got back from the farm, the heat was getting to her and her coat didn’t look very good. I think that played a part in her poor showing in the race but she wasn’t injured in any way, which was the most important. She stayed at the training center and her coat and muscle tone has gotten better with work. She’s maintained her weight and is looking good in work. Last week she trained with another horse and we focused on the keeping her well in hand. She did a good job staying calm and collected and her responses were good in the finish. This week she worked alone and we focused on having her learn to wait. If she can be patient, I don’t think we’ll see a replay of last time.”

Sodashi

Hayato Yoshida, jockey
“She was very strong in Sapporo. The course suited her and we had only 52 kg. From two weeks ago, however, compared to Hokkaido, her mood starting returning more to what it was in the spring when she’d been tense and nervous. But she also showed strength I hadn’t seen in the spring G1s and the way she took the bit. Everything about her felt more powerful. Last week and the week before she got good times on the hill. This week, we gave her what would be model training for a 2-year-old, without letting her switch into top gear. I think she left off some steam and will be in top form for the weekend. She could have easily gotten some great times this week, but I held her back. She experienced Hanshin as a 2-year-old and I think she’ll be fine. She doesn’t have any particular quirks and I don’t think the hill will pose a problem. She’s clever horse and it’s not hard to get into position. Another horse can lead if she wants. There’s no need to insist on any one strategy.”

Stellaria

Shigeki Todo, assistant trainer
“In the Tokyo 2,400 meters, the first turn comes very soon after the start. She had the far outside gate and it was either send her forward immediately or hold back and go to the inside. It made the race difficult for her. The results were unfortunate (13th place) but we just have to shake it off and start fresh. She spent the summer at the farm and, as the aim was to go directly to the Shuka Sho, she came back to the training center early. She’s gotten lots of work and her appetite is better than it was in the spring. She has filled out quite a bit. She won over the Hanshin 2,000 meters racing from a good position and I think she’s suited to the track. We’ll see how much she’s matured this time out.”

Taku Fukunaga, assistant trainer
“She pressed the frontrunner the whole way last out and the winner was definitely strong, but this horse was a bit slow getting her engine revved, it being her first race after time off. And at a crucial point, she responded slow. Still, closed the distance between her and the other horse. She was coming back after a fracture and it was Seven and a half months since her last race. She clocked 84.1 seconds over sic furlongs on the woodchip course Oct. 7 and even with little time between races, her prep is going well. She’s eating well and there’s no problem with her attitude. She is a bit slow getting up to full speed, so I think 2,000 meters will be good for her. She’s not a short-distance horse and, looking at her bloodline, she should be able to handle the distance.”

Through Seven Seas

Tomohito Ozeki, trainer
“She had the No. 1 gate in the Shion Stakes and that made things a bit difficult. In the stretch, it opened up on the inside and she made headway. This was her best position under way and she had a good turn of feet in the finish. Luckily she came out of the race well and she returned to the training center well recovered and ready to begin her preparations for here. On Oct. 6, I didn’t want her to overdo it, but we pushed her over the last furlong pretty hard and I thought she’d clock about 10 seconds something (it was 11.2 seconds). It reminded me of how much talent she has. The Hanshin 2,000 meters is similar to Nakayama and I think it’ll suit her. Other than that, maintaining her condition and keeping her calm will be key points. I’m hoping she’ll be settled on raceday.”

Uberleben

Takahisa Tezuka, trainer
“After the Japanese Oaks, she had inflammation in the tendon of her left foreleg. The swelling itself soon subsided and, in short, she was able to start training at the farm sooner than I’d thought she would. There was talk she’d be ready for the fall and plans for the Shuka Sho were discussed, but the timing was a bit late. Normally, more would be done at the farm but she returned to Miho on Sept. 15. When her hard training started, her lungs were still weak and I did question whether she’d be ready in time. But, with each bit of work, she improved and faster than I thought. This week’s fast week saw her the most on her game. Her movement was good and her mental outlook seems positive enough. She’s only raced at Hanshin in the Hanshin Juvenile Fillies and that was over the outer course. She doesn’t get an early forward position, so how she handles the inner course is going to be key. The stretch is a bit short too, which makes the timing of her final drive difficult. Rain would not be a problem.”