Art House

Mitsumasa Nakauchida, trainer
“Last week, the image I had for her workout was short and sharp and that’s how she moved. She has always been a good mover and she’s coming into her own now. She improves with each race and doesn’t tense up. She has moved up a level. After her last race, she went right to the farm to get refreshed both mentally and physically before getting ready for the Shuka Sho. She returned to the training center in great shape. She has been calm and quiet, which is especially important with her. In the Rose Stakes, she was a bit keen in places, but the jockey (Yuga Kawada) did a good job of steadying her and that helped her gain ground in the final stage. She has really filled out and matured, but she looks like she’ll have another growth spurt. She goes to the race as a challenger. I also trained her dam Pearl Code and I’m training Art House the same way. It is an honor to be given this opportunity.”

Hisashi Shimizu, trainer
“She has won two races in a row now as she’s advanced to the 2-win class. They were over 1,400 meters, but in both she was also competing against male horses and older horses. After her last race mid-August, she went to the farm for a short stay and is well refreshed. Back at the training center, her frame of mind has been good too, as it usually is. Last week, she worked up the hill course was moving as usual. Her debut was over 1,800 meters, but her three wins have all come over 1,600 meters. Though I can’t say anything about the distance since she’s untested over it, I don’t think she’s limited to taking the lead. The jockey (Shinichiro Akiyama) knows her really well and I think he can work well with her. We will just have to see how she’ll do amid this lineup.”

Kazuhide Sasada, trainer
“I was very much looking forward to a good fight in the Rose Stakes, but because she’d had some time off after Kokura, she was a bit slow in places. Even so, she finished in third place. On Oct. 5, she clocked 52.2 seconds over the four-furlong up the hill course and 13.0 seconds for the last furlong. She worked at a time of morning when the ground was pretty torn up, so her time over the last part was a bit slow, but overall, it was a good workout. She worked on Oct. 9 as well, concentrating on the final stage and I think it was a good workout. Her improvement was already evident in her second start of the summer. She should be moving well this time. Though it depends on the draw and how she starts, I think she’ll need to get a good position as it’s the inner 2,000 meters. After that, it’s up to the jockey (Kenichi Ikezoe).”

Erika Vita

Sakae Kunieda, trainer
“Her tactics in the Yushun Himba (Japanese Oaks) were straightforward and I don’t think there was anything wrong with how she raced. It was a big step up in competition, and she wasn’t that strong physically yet. She spent the summer at the farm and came back to Miho on Sept.10 looking refreshed, with everything up to now having gone according to plan. She has gained about 20kg and is much stronger. Jockey Yuichi Fukunaga rode her fast work on Oct. 5. She worked behind another horse, caught and passed him and when urged on, she responded well and looked good overall. I think she has matured a lot since the spring. I don’t have any special requests for the race and don’t think the Hanshin inner course will pose any problems. She has always been a quality horse and I think she measures up to any of those that got good results in the spring.”

Lilac

Ikuo Aizawa, trainer
“She had gone from the farm to Hakodate and from there back to the training center, so she’d gotten lots of work and went to the Shion Stakes in good shape. On raceday, she was calm and her weight was up 8kg. And most importantly, even with the start in front of the grandstand and her usual problems in the gate, she broke well. She displayed some excellent footwork in the final stage, but things got tight around the final bend, which was a shame. I kept her at the training center and her appetite was hearty. She worked in tandem last week and the week before that and we pushed her hard both times. She has good muscle tone and is in great shape overall. This week on Wednesday, we just breezed her up the hill with a bit of a push at the end. She will go to Hanshin on Saturday. I think she’ll be quite competitive if she can break like she did in the Shion Stakes.”

Love Pyro

Naru Owada, trainer
“She returned to the training center on Sept. 21. In work last week, she didn’t take the bit after she was over the finish line, but she ran well enough. She didn’t look flashy in the final stage but she never does look great in trackwork. After that, she turned in good times on the weekend. On Wednesday, she breezed at a 14-14 pace up the hill. In the Leopard Stakes, the horses right around her were fast, and the pacing of Niigata didn’t suit her. Here too, we’ll just have to see how well she can do while running her own race. I don’t think the Hanshin inner course will be bad for her. Like in the Mimosa Sho, heavier ground would be ideal.”

Memory Raison

Kodai Hasegawa, trainer
“In the Rose Stakes, she went to secure a position right away and did run a good race, despite her fifth-place finish. Even though it was 2,000 meters, she was a bit sluggish, likely because she was returning from time off. I think her suitability to a certain type of race was evident too in places. After that, she has gotten regular work and all has gone smoothly. Last week, the jockey (Yoshihiro Furukawa) rode and pushed her really hard. She clocked 50.7 seconds over the four fourlongs, with an 11.9-11.9 over the last two furlongs. From her footwork alone, you can see her improvement is sufficient. I think she’ll just be able to hold her own over this distance and if she can run her own race, she should perform well. The Hanshin inner 2,000 meters will likely suit her better.”

Namur

Tomokazu Takano, trainer
“She did gain ground in the Japanese Oaks to finish in third place. It really depends on her condition whether she can give that great final kick or not. When she’s got a lot left in the tank she can really move well. When she can’t, it’ll usually be reflected in her weight as well. In the Oaks, if she had just used her body a bit she could have done better. Overall, she has gotten stronger and bigger over the summer. She is very energetic and powerful. In fast work this week, she had Stunning Rose in her sights. It was sort of a light work unlike we did last week – we went into it slowly, picked up the pace gradually over the latter half and she really stretched out over the last 100 meters. Her time was better than I expected. We handled her with kid gloves in the spring, as it was hard to maintain her condition and have her be able to compete well. Now, it’s no longer difficult. She has gotten ample work and can go to the gate in good shape.”

Presage Lift

Yu Ota, assistant trainer
“For the Oka Sho (Japanese 1000 Guineas), she wasn’t able to get back in the shape she’d been in for her first start of the year and her result was poor. For the Oaks, she was in much better shape, but her footwork wasn’t at its best yet. We had her rest over the summer. She came back stronger overall and back to her best. She has filled out a bit too. Her footwork is getting its lightness back, as it was in the spring. Since I had thought she still needed to get her hindlegs under her a bit more, I pushed her a bit hard last week. Her footwork was especially nice on Wednesday and I think she’ll improve all the way to Sunday. I do hope she can stay the 2,000 meters.”

Sound Vivace

Juntaro Taira, assistant trainer
“She took the lead last out in the Shion Stakes, which was something new for her, but was able to hold her ground well. Her second place was probably due to her coming back from time off, but her performance was very good. Her weight is up, but that’s due to her having matured. After the Shion Stakes, she went to the farm for a bit and came back looking good. On Oct. 5, she worked on the woodchip flat and didn’t tense up. Everything went well and she looks to be in good shape. This time it’s 2,000 meters with four turns, which is similar to her last race. She is more consistent now and able to use her body better. In the spring she ran a very close race in the Tulip Sho and I think she’ll be able to hold her own this time. We have worked on keeping her calm, and that has made her much easier to ride. She is more mature mentally as well, so I’m looking forward to seeing how she can do in the Grade 1.”

Stars on Earth

Mizuki Takayanagi, trainer
“She has a lot of talent and though the wide draw in the Oaks was not advantageous, the fact that she broke well and got a good position really helped. Her final drive was amazing. Her recovery from the operations on her forelegs to remove the chips has gone well and she was back training at the farm on schedule. I think her fast work last week was a level above that of the week before. This week, she showed improvement as well. She has filled out a bit and is maturing nicely. As for her lugging out, I can’t say she’s not doing that at all anymore. I do see a bit in trackwork, but compared to how she was in the spring, she’s much better. Hanshin is a tighter track compared to Tokyo, so I’m hoping she’ll get a smooth trip. I will leave that up to the jockey (Christophe Lemaire). All eyes are on her and I’m feeling the pressure. She is extremely talented and has claimed two Grade 1s. I’m hoping she can land another.”

Haruki Sugiyama, trainer
“She has had a relaxed racing schedule all along and after winning the Miomotegawa Tokubetsu at Niigata she went to the farm to refresh and has looked good since returning to the training center. Last week she worked on the flat woodchip course. We put a horse in front of her and she finished strongly. The jockey (Kohei Matsuyama) said he’d had good contact with her. From before her last race, her footwork has greatly improved. All her races have been to the left but she trains to the right so there shouldn’t be a problem, but we’ll just have to see how she is in an actual race. It being a Grade 1, the competition is stiff and we’ll see how she measures up. I hope she’ll give a performance that will stand her well in the future.”

Stunning Rose

Tomokazu Takano, trainer
“She only won the Shion Stakes by a neck, but she did a good job even without cover under way. It was a very good prep. She had some pain along her back after that, so she went to the farm to get that attended to as well as to unwind mentally. When she returned to Ritto, her back was in the best shape ever. Last week, the jockey (Ryusei Sakai) rode fastwork up the hill. Focusing on each and every furlong, especially the third, he kept her well under wraps until he urged her over the final 200 meters. He said her response was better than it’d been before the Shion Stakes. This week the assistant rode and, after confirming that she had improved from last week, gave her a lighter workout. He also focused on holding back over the third furlong and urging her on in the finish. Her time was 53 seconds flat over the four furlongs. Since she is by King Kamehameha, I think she’ll be able to handle the Hanshin 2,000 meters. She has no problem as far as racing sense goes.”

Naoya Nakamura, trainer
“Two starts ago, in the Saikai Sho, she raced in second position, lost the rhythm partway through and finished poorly. Last out, however, in the Yuzuki Tokubetsu, she was able to run her own race and things went well. She stayed at the training center after that to prepare for here. Last week, she breezed over the course and I think that should be enough as she raced over the summer and the time between races is tight. She has held her condition. All her races to now have had small fields, so she was able to easily secure a forward position, but this time there will be others with the same intent. It is easier for her to settle well if she is sent forward, but it will depend on what the others do.”

Water Navillera

Koshiro Take, trainer
“For the Oaks, she was pretty worked up to begin with and, on top of that, was kept waiting in the gate, which got her more upset. She lost the race at the start. For the Queen Stakes, perhaps we’d tried to do everything too quietly and carefully after the Oaks. She might have been too calm as she had stayed at the racetrack as well. Her footwork was good but she never gave it her all. We waited until temperatures had cooled off a bit before we brought her back to the training center. She is in good shape and has gotten regular work. Last week, she got a hard workout solo up the hill. Everything has gone smoothly, which is the most important. It is a Grade 1 with the start in front of the stands, so there is the danger she’ll get worked up in the gate. I do have my hopes up again that she’ll rally and do well this time.”

Win Eclair

Yoshihiro Hatakeyama, trainer
“She had a weak constitution and her debut was delayed. She won the Sweetpea Stakes and got her ticket to the Oaks, but we passed on that and she went to the farm as I didn’t want her to overdo it. She had one race at Sapporo after that. Considering that it was her first time up against older horses, it wasn’t a bad performance. Since then, she has improved with every bit of work. Last week and the week before that, she had hard workouts. This will be her first long trip to Hanshin, so she’s been staying in Ritto since Oct. 7. She still had room for improvement as of last week, but with a hard workout this Wednesday, she’s getting better.”