Byzantine Dream

Hiromasa Sakaguchi, assistant trainer
“He was late out of the gate in the same way for his past two starts, and in the Satsuki Sho, just when he got some momentum up, he encountered interference heading into the stretch. He wasn’t able to give it what he has. After a short stay at the farm, he was back in training. Jockey Atsuya Nishimura rode his fast work last week on the woodchip course with a training partner. He had sudden bursts of speed in places and I think he’ll move up a level with this workout. He has definitely improved from his last race. He’s not a horse suited to a tighter track so the change to Tokyo will definitely be a plus. Depending on how well he can settle, I think he’ll be able to handle the distance. What is more important is how sharp his break is. I hope he does better with that.”

Cosmo Kuranda

Yoshinori Ito, assistant trainer
“The objective of his work last week was to push him hard, so we put a horse out ahead of him and had this one chase him. The training partner wasn’t concentrating, so this one caught up turning into the straight, but still ran seriously to the end. He did what we’d had in mind, so he got passing marks. Since he is now able to work under pressure, he’s been getting a bit stiff, but it’s only to the degree where it can still be excused. We gave him a lot of attention and he was over it by the 19th. This week, we’ll just do some fine-tuning. There are new faces in the lineup, and some are especially suited to Tokyo. This horse doesn’t seem to have any particular preference racing to the right or left, so there’s no problem there and I’m not worried about the distance either. He can run at a good speed at length and he’s very agile. I’m hoping he’ll get a trip that brings out his best.”

Danon Ayers Rock

Noriyuki Hori, trainer
“The far outside gate in the Tokyo 2,000 meters turf would usually be considered a disadvantage, but he did well and he even had something left for the final stage. I had planned on racing him here with only two full weeks in between here and the Principal Stakes. After that race, he seemed to have improved, was eating well and looked to be in good condition, but there seemed to be somewhat of an imbalance between the mental and the physical. Joao Moreira rode his fast work before his last race and the jockey had then said the horse was at about 75-80 percent, so in the between time, he has improved and I have no complaints. Last weekend, I watched him closely and just did some fine-tuning this week.”

Danon Decile

Shogo Yasuda, trainer
“He hit his hoof on his right fore just before the Satsuki Sho and was a bit lame in the pre-race warmup, so he was scratched. He went back to Ritto and had his hoof attended to on Monday. The symptoms quickly subsided and two days later we were riding him again. I took care to get him over the tension he’d had during shipping and after that, prepared him counting back from the Derby. Everything has gone smoothly after that, since it wasn’t the same as if he’d been coming back from a long layoff or an injury. Last week, jockey Norihiro Yokoyama rode him and trained with a training partner. He gave him a pretty hard workout. The Satsuki Sho was won in record time and since this horse didn’t run, he’s fresh. I’m hoping that will work to his advantage, not his disadvantage.”

Ecoro Walz

Mitsunori Makiura, trainer
“In the Satsuki Sho, he settled well during the trip and having done that, he had something left for the final stage and closed the gap while tying Regaleira for the fastest time over the last three furlongs. Two weeks ago, he got a good time in training, so last week I let him relax while still watching that his responses were good. Jockey Yasunari Iwata rode on May 15 with them working alone. He clocked 11.4 seconds over the last furlong and stayed relaxed the whole way. I think he’s coming along fine. He wasn’t worked up in the Satsuki Sho, but he had been in the race before, the Kyodo News Hai. Key is keeping him relaxed and then I think he’ll be fine over the distance.”

Gonbade Qabus

Noriyuki Hori, trainer
“It was a long time between his most recent race, the NHK Mile Cup early this month, and his previous start, the Saudi Arabia Royal Cup in early October. I’d gotten him ready for the Hopeful Stakes, but we had to scratch him due to a cold. Going into the NHK Mile Cup, he hadn’t seemed like it had been seven months since his last race as he was ready for the Hopeful Stakes. I think he needed a little bit more, but Joao Moreira, who rode his final fast work, said, ‘He’s at about 85-90 percent.’ That would mean he was probably in better shape than Danon Ayers Rock was for the Principal Stakes. The strong wind was a factor in that race, but I think his trip was a pretty advantageous one and he showed his ability even with a fourth-place finish. After that race, he clearly improved. He does lose his cool at times, but he works well with the rider, so I think the distance will be OK for him.”

June Take

Hidenori Take, trainer
“In his most recent race (the Kyoto Shimbun Hai), he drew the No. 1 gate, and the jockey did a real good job of moving him in amid the others so he wouldn’t lose concentration. I had thought he’d do better on the outside where he’d have room to run, but this way worked better and he was able to show his ability. and He recovered quickly or perhaps I should say he never seemed tired after that race. He had a good solid workout last week and he looks like he’s holding his condition. He has a strong heart and lungs, so I have no worries about his stamina. If he can get a trip like he had in his last start and, most importantly, keep his concentration, I think he can do well here.”

Justin Milano

Yasuo Tomomichi, trainer
“In the Satsuki Sho, he had four turns on a tight course. The jockey (Keita Tosaki) must have anticipated that the pace would be strong and the horse might not be able to respond well at the critical point. So, he was able to continue running at length. He was pretty tired after the race, but recovered quickly and we had him back in work by the Thursday after the race. By the weekend, he was back to his normal self and feeling good. Because of that, I was able to bring him back up to speed smoothly. With the race 10 days away, I had him work with a training partner over the woodchip course. He chased that horse (an open-class 3-year-old), who was on the far inside, and finished a head behind him. I think the workout was just right. He has a big stride and I’ve always wanted to race him over a spacious course. You can see from his first two starts that Tokyo does suit him. He settles well, stays in tune with the rider well, and can maintain at a good speed for quite a while. There are horses he hasn’t raced against before, but I think he’ll be fine if he can run his own race.”

Mr G T

Yukihiko Araki, assistant trainer
“He got a good position in the Satsuki Sho and ran a straightforward race, but the jockey felt that there was quite a difference between this horse and the top horses in the field. He also told us that the blinkers we raced him in were effective. He appears to be quite a delicate horse but recently he has filled out a bit and looks to have matured. Earlier this month (May 15), he worked together with Shin Emperor over the woodchip course. His movement was good and his time was sufficient. As usual though, his appetite isn’t the best, but he has weathered a long trip to the track well a number of times. I think the longer distance will be good for him. I’m hoping he’ll give us some good racing.”

Regaleira

Tetsuya Kimura, trainer
“It’s all hindsight, but the week before the Satsuki Sho, she looked ready, but on the day of the race, she wasn’t her usual self. From around noon, she became quite worked up and her weight was a good 10kg less than what I’d expected it to be. Her pedigree does have some difficulties inherent to it, and perhaps I hadn’t managed those well. She went to the farm for a short time after that and returned to Miho on May 10. She hadn’t changed that much, but she seemed to have maintained her health well. After some reflection, I decided this time to not get her in tiptop shape, but to have her where she usually is. I think something like “We just made it in time for the race,” is a better picture to have in mind. She settles well, so I’m not worried about the distance. She’s not good at getting a position, so the wide-open Tokyo Racecourse will make things easier. We’ll try out best to bring out her best.”

Shin Emperor

Yukihiko Araki, assistant trainer
“He had a good position in the Satsuki Sho and I think it was really an ideal trip, but in the end, three horses put some distance between him and them. At the time, I do think it was the difference in strength, but his condition at the time wasn’t the best it could have been. After the Satsuki Sho he went to the farm, then returned to the training center on April 30. There hadn’t been any great damage from the race and he recovered easily. The jockey (Ryusei Sakai) rode work last week and this horse looked good, pulling away from his training partner. It was a very good workout. From his pedigree, you might expect a tendency not to concentrate and that’s what he has. He’s still very young at times, but the longer distance should be good for him. He has a much better air about him than he did before the Satsuki Sho. I’m hoping he will give it all he has.”

Shonan la Punta

Tomokazu Takano, trainer
“In the Aoba Sho (finished second), it took a while before he found his own rhythm as he broke from the outside gate. The jockey did what he could do, and over the last furlong he was almost catching up the eventual winner. He definitely showed his talent and I’m satisfied with that performance. After that race, it was clear that he had gone all out, but he was recovered and is fresh now. The plan has been to get him to the gate refreshed, so last week I didn’t go for a time but just breezed him at a 15-15 pace. He’s looking good and I’m hoping he’ll give us a good race.”

Sixpence

Sakae Kunieda, trainer
“We got our ticket to the Satsuki Sho with winning the Spring Cup, but I’d always given him a relaxed schedule and decided not to run him in the race. The Derby was always our main target, and I wanted to choose only one race of the two. After the Spring Cup, he went to the farm for a while, then returned to Miho on May 1 and has gotten regular work since. Up to now, his knees would get fatigued easily, but after the last race he didn’t seem bothered by them anymore. He moved well in work on May 8 and his overall time last week on May 16 was good. He took the turns on the inside and I think with the class horse he is, there’s no need to have him overdo it. However, just before the finish in that piece of work, he did seem a bit concerned about the horse he was working with. He has grown a lot since his debut and he has no problems working well with the rider, which means I’m not worried about the distance. I also don’t think the lefthanded track will cause any problems. I’m eager to see how he’ll do.”

Sugar Kun

Hisashi Shimizu, trainer
“After winning the Okanzakura Sho, I decided to send him to the Aoba Sho next. I had hoped he would somehow get a ticket to the Derby so it was very good to have won. I didn’t think the additional distance was a problem and his time was good. After the Aoba Sho, he spent about a week at the farm and was back looking good at the training center on May 8. Yutaka Take rode last week’s fast work working with another horse. This horse came onto the track relaxed and picked up speed gradually. His time was good and his footwork was excellent. He finished second in his debut and then won three races straight. In his last race, he wasn’t even at 100 percent but he still won. In the Okanzakura Sho, he did well despite the poor going as well. The competition is stiffer this time, but I’m excited to see how well he can do.”

Tomonori Kanaori, assistant trainer
“In the Satsuki Sho, there was a horse that moved out around the final turn and this one ran further out to get away from him. So, with that, I think it would have been ideal if he’d been racing toward the front where he could travel without being bothered. We’ve been preparing him with this race as our sole goal. He’s been calm between races, which is good. If things continue to go smoothly, he should go to the gate with no worries from me. He has a great deal of stamina, so the longer the race the better. It will be his first time racing to the left but if things go smoothly, I don’t think will be a problem. Hopefully the race will unfold in a way that will show him at his best.”

Masanori Tanaka, assistant trainer
“He drew the No. 1 gate in the Satsuki Sho and the ground was fast on the outside. I hadn’t thought he’d do well over looser ground, but in the stretch he held his ground well and it wasn’t a bad race at all (finished ninth). He went to the farm for a bit after that and has gotten both workouts on the flat and the hill since returning. Last week, he had a hard workout on the flat and his last race seems to have sharpened him up. The competition will be even stronger, but since he has stamina, I think the extra distance will be good for him. He has a big stride and with a good trip he should be able to bring out his best.”

Urban Chic

Ryo Takei, trainer
“In work before the Satsuki Sho, I got him a bit on his toes so as to encourage him to make his move on his own. So, he was borderline keen in the race. I thought he would make his move going into the stretch, but he didn’t have the final kick I was expecting and he continued on rather flat. After returning from the farm, he worked on the woodchip course and I put Takeshi Yokoyama up to check how the horse felt. He said he felt ‘just right.’ From this race, he’ll wear a cross noseband, which should be a help. Honestly, he was pretty exhausted after the Satsuki Sho, so getting him recovered was the main objective while he was at the farm. The heavy workload he’s gotten is important and he should improve from his workout last week.”