Bellagio Opera

Kazuo Yokoyama, jockey
“He got excellent results in the Osaka Hai and even though he was third in the Takarazuka Kinen, the fact that he was able to access his ability is something I find very encouraging. I was very happy he was able to win a G1. Last year around about the time of the Derby, he gave me the impression that he was still somewhat weak, but now, he has a lot more strength. I haven’t ridden work, but I left that all up the stable staff. The horse wasn’t good in the summer heat and though he got good times in work, I heard he wasn’t at his best, but I’ve left his preparation going into this race up to the trainer and his staff. One of the horse’s strongpoints is his agility. He’s an easy horse to ride, so I don’t have any particular concerns about the course. The lineup is fantastic this time and I’m very excited to be riding. I don’t know how good the results he can get will be, but I’m going in expecting him to run a good race.”

Danon Beluga

Noriyuki Hori, trainer
“Last year, after his outing to Dubai, I raced him in the Sapporo Kinen. But after that, his autumn campaign didn’t go very well. So, this year, I decided to give him the entire summer off to have him better prepared for the autumn season. I’ve continued to pay special attention to his weak point, his right quarters. Also, the farm has done very well with his care. Of course, this is something that will need attention his entire life, but he’s refreshed now and, compared to his worst, he’s much better now. His appetite is good. His health is good and he is mature both physically and mentally. Still, in his fast work over the past three weeks, he still seems heavy and his responses aren’t are somewhat dull. I had him wear blinkers in his work on Oct. 17 and he didn’t want to move on his own, but we urged him on. His breathing was a bit labored and I have the feeling that his preparation is behind schedule. It’ll be good if I can see change this week from last week’s fast work.”

Do Deuce

Yasuo Tomomichi, trainer
“Due to the rain, the ground in the Takarazuka Kinen was pretty bad. Also, because he had an inside gate, the jockey couldn’t move him out, so he was forced to race over poor ground the whole way. And from before he left for Dubai he had been coming into rut, so that may have also been a factor in his performance in the Takarazuka Kinen - he didn’t give it his all. I sent him to the farm afterward and, luckily, he recovered quickly so he was able to enjoy the summer break. His preparation has gone well since his return to the training center. On Oct. 17, he worked over the woodchip course in a group of three. As always, his footwork was fabulous. His body has also gotten bigger, and maybe because it’s a different season, he’s not showing any of the arousal he was in the spring. He can do well over 2,400 and 2,500 meters, but I think the Tokyo 2,000 meters is his best trip. He didn’t get good results last year, but my expectations are up again.”

Ho O Biscuits

Takeshi Okumura, trainer
“He didn’t like the hot summer and he wasn’t at his best in the Mainichi Okan. It was very hard to get him ready for the race. Even a week before the race, he still had a ways to go. I’d say he was at about 60-70 percent after his final fast work. He was no way near the condition he’d been in for the Hakodate Kinen. So, to be running at that level of condition and make second place in the Mainichi Okan even surprised the jockey. I had thought he might improve with that race, but the timing must have been great because he improved a lot and quickly. I had jockey Mirai Iwata ride on Oct. 17 to check how easy the horse was to ride and to check his responses, so I don’t think he’ll need much work this week. He’s still not at his best, but he has a lot of potential. With more maturity, I think he is champion material.”

Justin Palace

Haruki Sugiyama, trainer
“He took on the Takarazuka Kinen after returning from Dubai, and I think that the overseas trip affected his performance in that race. In addition, considering he’s by Deep Impact, the heavy ground in the race made things difficult for him too. I think we can disregard his results in that race. This time, he got a lot of work while at the farm and when he returned to the training center he was already very light on his feet. He was easy to prepare for the race and his weight is now 470-some kg. This week on Oct. 23, he worked alone up the hill course at Ritto. His footwork was brisk and he clocked 52.8 seconds over four furlongs, with a final furlong of 12.3 seconds. I don’t see any decline in his ability. In fact, I think he has been improving with each workout and there’s no difference between his condition now and his condition last year. His footwork has improved with each workout and he has come along as expected. Last year, there was the one standout horse (Equinox), but this horse was in no way inferior. I think he can handle the distance. It’ll all depend on the start.”

King's Palace

Yoshinori Saito, assistant trainer
“In the Niigata Kinen, the rider had been very conscious of the contenders and, thus, the timing for where to make his move was difficult. Jockey Masami Matsuoka rode him on Oct. 17 over the woodchip course and he pushed him hard until the end. I think it was a very good bit of work with just the right pressure. The horse had looked a bit soft after coming back from the farm, but Matsuoka said that he’ll be ready with one more workout in the final week. Since then, his preparation has gone well. He hasn’t won a graded stakes race yet, but the left-handed track is good and I’m looking forward to seeing how well he can do if he’s able to use what he has.”

Lebensstil

Hiroyasu Tanaka, trainer
“I have the impression that the horse has matured mentally. Physically, he is slowly getting stronger. He’s still weak in areas, but it has slowly gotten easier to prepare him for a race. Last week, Lemaire rode work but he found the horse’s responses too slow, so we’ve been trying a lot of things with him. This morning (Oct. 23), his time did get a little fast, but not enough to spell overwork. He had a good air about him and I think he’s at the level of fitness for him to be able to respond as he needs to. He’ll be up against a far different competition than before, so his usual preparation wouldn’t have had him at a sufficient level of competitiveness, so I’ve him preparing him with that foremost in mind and I think he has responded very well. It’ll be his first time over the course but I don’t think that will be a problem. The other members are very strong and he goes in as a challenger. Lemaire can bring out the horse’s best and get his best performance and after that, we’ll just have to see how it goes. Lebensstil is a grandson of Tokai Teio and I’ve always wanted him to shine on a stage like this.”

Liberty Island

Yuga Kawada, jockey
“She last raced overseas for the first time. I think she was in good shape and did a good job. The ground was heavy that day and it was not a plus for her. Nonetheless, she gave it everything she had. Traveling abroad has definitely had an effect on her mentally. The experience of flying in an airplane and of racing in unfamiliar surroundings, has made her much stronger. This will be her first race since March and she did have some trouble with her legs earlier. So, after being allowed to slowly recover, she was also allowed to slowly come back up to her best. After last week’s workout, I can’t say she didn’t feel like she was coming back from a long layoff, but her overall movement was sufficient. I watched her workout this week and was told she was far more relaxed. She worked right before my eyes and she went out on to the track looking very comfortable. Her movement after was very fluid and she ran well to the finish. I could see that she was in great shape. She gets work every day and this week’s fast work showed her improvement. I’ll head to the gate with no worries.”

Matenro Sky

Mikio Matsunaga, trainer
“In the Mainichi Okan, he definitely got into a tight spot in the final stage and because he’d hung on the inside and couldn’t get off the rail, there was really nothing much he could do. He was coming off a long layoff and, even with his eighth-place finish, there wasn’t all that much distance between him and the others (finished 0.5 seconds behind the winner). I think it was a good effort and showed me he has ample ability. He came out of the race well and worked up the hill course on Oct. 17. Things look to be coming along just fine. After he won the Nakayama Kinen, I ran him right after that in the Tokyo Shimbun Hai. He has always done well with a sharpener and I see improvement. Maybe with an inside draw perhaps…in any case I’d like to see him run closer to the pace.”

Nishino Revenant

Hiroyuki Uehara, trainer
“During the winter months, he made a good effort running in a lot of longer-distance races. Those tired him out, so I gave him the summer off to refresh. He showed good late speed in the Sankei Sho All Comers and considering that he was returning after a spell, I don’t think it was a bad race at all. There seems to have been no repercussion from the race and I think we can definitely expect improvement after being sidelined for a while. I don’t think the change to Tokyo will pose any particular problems and I think 2,000 meters is well within his reach. The competition is going to be much stronger this time and I’m looking forward to seeing what kind of race he’ll give us.”

North Bridge

Takeshi Okumura, trainer
“He stayed at the barn after winning the Sapporo Kinen, and initially I had planned to take him directly to Hong Kong, but just about a week before the Mainichi Okan, he started to improve and I think it would be a shame not to race him, so I found this good match for him and he’s ready. He gave us a good hard workout on Oct. 17. We put a 2-year-old ahead of him and had this one catch up from far behind. It was good work all around with his movement very good. He’s starting to use his hindquarters more as he learns to lower his body and he has a good sense of unity in his movement now. It’ll be his first G1 at home since last year’s Tenno Sho (Autumn) and it’s not going to be easy. It’s the Tokyo 2,000 meters and he’s up against horses that cover the final three furlongs in 32-some seconds. The layout of the course will be different from Sapporo and, I do think it’ll be tough for him if he doesn’t get some help somewhere.”

Schilthorn

Koichi Shinkai, trainer
“In the Mainichi Okan, he was worked up in the gate, didn’t get the position I’d expected him to, and raced in the second group. Still, he was able to stay close to the rail and was well on the bridle. If the front opened up, it looked like he’d show a good turn of foot. It was a shame he didn’t get the conditions he needed, but he did well. He was a bit tired right after the race, but he’s fully recovered now. So, even with the relatively short time between races, he’ll go to the gate in good shape once again. This time the distance will be a furlong longer than his last start, but I think the distance is well within his reach. It’d be good if he can break well and go to the front. I’d like to see him move quickly to the front and hold his ground.”

Sol Oriens

Takahisa Tezuka, trainer
“It’d been raining from the day before the Takarazuka Kinen, so the ground was bad. Unlike two races before that, he wasn’t able to get the position he wanted. But he was able to run at his own rhythm and he quickened nicely in the final stage. After he returned to the training center, his weight was up about 20kg, but after his prep, I think he’ll a register a drop in weight for raceday. His muscling hasn’t changed. Last week, I only had him breeze over five furlongs and only pick it up over the last furlong, as he usually moves well in work and I didn’t want to overdo it. I think he’s right where I want him to be. It’s been a while since he raced at Tokyo, and I think the conditions suit him. The pressure should be off in the betting so I’m thinking that racing from behind may be able to bring out his best.”

Stella Veloce

Naosuke Sugai, trainer
“Looking at the data up to now in the Sankei Sho All Comers, the tendency was for the frontrunners to hold their ground and prevail. Actually, the frontrunner held on to finish in second place. I think if he raced one row ahead things would have been different. Also, as he had just come back from Sapporo for the All Comer and he was mainly doing light work for the race, so he may not have been in top shape. He was laid off for quite a while due to tendonitis and had a long blank due to that. However, since it’s a G1, we haven’t held back in his training. The jockey (Daisuke Sasaki) rode fast work last week, and they worked well together. His time was sufficient and his movement was good. This time, there’s a turn right after the break, which is the special shape of the Tokyo 2,000 meters course. I think he’ll be able to handle it. The lineup is strong, but I’m hoping he can give a good performance.”

Tastiera

Noriyuki Hori, trainer
“This spring, I’d thought I would race him in three races, the Osaka Hai, the Tenno Sho (Spring) and the Takarazuka Kinen. However, his footwork wasn’t good in the Osaka Hai and his breathing was a bit labored, so I was uncertain that he would show improvement with another race. He didn’t get good results in the Tenno Sho (Spring), and his condition didn’t improve. So, the plan after that was to let him refresh and then decide where I’d like him to go. He came back to the training center on Sept. 21 and, unlike before, when he’d go off his feed for a while, this time he had a great appetite. Mentally and physically he seemed much more in balance. He wouldn’t get upset and his footwork was back to what it had been in the Kikuka Sho (Japanese St. Leger) last year. His gait was relaxed and refreshed. This time he’s giving me a very good impression. He’s gotten constant work and I think the 2,000 meters will suit him.”