Arma Veloce

Hiroyuki Uemura, trainer
“The jockey (Mirai Iwata) rode her fast work on April 2 to get a reading on her and I was happy to see she was moving on a par with where she’d been for the Hanshin Juvenile Fillies. This week in training, I rode another horse, started in front of this one and could watch her from alongside and see that her movement was good. She ran effortlessly and with an overall lightness. I think she’s in excellent shape. She has filled out, but she’s still light on her feet. I see no need for concern anywhere. She’s versatile and her strongpoint is her racing sense. She can take the lead, or race from behind. I always felt she was going to be a good racer. I don’t think the change in the track will pose a problem. Even if the ground gets a bit shifty, she’ll likely use it to her advantage.”

Shota Kaneko, assistant trainer
“She was in good shape for the Fillies Revue. The pace was strong, but she was able to bring out her forte, her early speed, and get her ticket to the Oka Sho. We didn’t send her to the farm after that, but kept her at the training center and gave her lots of work here. She was tired immediately after the race, but didn’t lose as much condition as I thought she would and she gradually recovered. She has always been an energetic, eager filly and I’ve been careful to not let her overdo it. On April 3 though, I did clock her up the hill working alone when the ground was somewhat heavy. Her movement was good and she is in good shape. I think she’s more of a sprinter from nature, and that shorter distances are better for her. However, in her most recent race I could see she was starting to mature and I’m hoping she’ll give it her best this time too.”

Brown Ratchet

Takahisa Tezuka, trainer
“Looking at her results in the Hanshin Juvenile Fillies (16th place), I’d gave to say maybe she hadn’t been fully recovered from the Artemis Stakes (about five weeks before). Before that race, there was something not quite right about her and she wasn’t able to run to her best ability. It did take a while for her to fully recover at the farm and she returned to the training center on March 11. I shipped her to Ritto on March 28 and she gave us a good workout on April 2 working with a training partner. She started ahead of the other horse and finished ahead. Her movement was good. Last week she weighed 446kg and looked recovered and in good condition. Compared to the ups and downs of Kyoto Racecourse, I think Hanshin will better suit her. I think a little more distance would be better, but I’m hoping she’ll be able to show the strength she has.”

Tomokazu Takano, trainer
“Though she did win two starts ago, I still had the feeling she had more untapped talent and that she could definitely do better than she had. So her participation in the Grade 3 Fillies Revue was a challenge, to see if she was capable of living up to my expectations. It was a good race and she finally was able to demonstrate some of the talent I know she has. I asked the farm to give her a good rest and allow her to relax and she returned to the training center on March 28. I have had no complaints with her work. There isn’t much time between her last race and this one, but I would say she is fully recovered and then some. She is showing a huge improvement. I think she’ll be able to do well over 1,600 meters. I think she still has a lot of untapped talent and I’m hoping she’ll be able to draw on that.”

Dantsu Elan

Masaru Honda, trainer
“Her last race wasn’t bad. The only problem was the position she got at the final bend. She went to the inside and there got pushed further inward. If she’d gone to the outside before that things may have gone differently. Still, she was able to gain ground from that point, so, overall it wasn’t that bad of a race, not like the one before where she wasn’t able to draw on anything she had. Physically and mentally she’s been the same as she was before going to the farm and after returning to the training center. On April 2 she worked on the flat, we focused on the final stage and her movement was good. We’ll decide on the race strategy after the draw, but I’d like to see her travel from a good position and go with the flow.”

Embroidery

Kazutomo Mori, trainer
“After a workout at Miho, I shipped her to Ritto, where she’s been training since. After arriving there, she did go off her feed a bit for about three days due to the change in surroundings, but by March 30 she was back to normal. On April 3, she worked with a training partner over seven lengths on the woodchip course. We pushed her quite hard and her responses were good in the straight, and there were no problems. Her footwork and breathing were good. This week, Joao Moreira rode her up the hill course just to get a final check and to see how her breathing was. Moreira rode her debut race last June so he’s familiar with her, but I wanted him to feel how she is now and see how much she’s grown. It’s a right-handed course this time and we didn’t get great results (finished fifth) at Nakayama, but Hanshin is more spacious and I’ll think it’ll be an easier course for her and should suit her. She has a very big stride , so I am hoping for a fast track.”

Erika Express

Haruki Sugiyama, trainer
“In her last race, the Fairy Stakes, I mostly wanted just to see how well she could do. It was a tricky course but she broke well. When another horse moved in on her from the outside, she did take the bit in her teeth but was still well in hand. She showed her strength well over the final stage and the jockey (Keita Tosaki) did a very good job. She did have some damage from that race and it took some time to get her fully recovered, so it was good I’d allowed for enough time between races. On April 2, we focused on her balance working over the woodchip course. Though I did want to give her a fairly strong workout, things got a little bit too fast. She had no problem staying balanced and everything went smoothly. I think the change to the Hanshin 1,600 meters will be good. Being by Epiphaneia, she does have a rather volatile temperament, and key is going to be how calm we can keep her going into the race. The big question is whether she will be able to run at her own pace. I’m hoping she’ll be able to bring out her best.”

Kurino Mei

Naosuke Sugai, trainer
“She was overly excited in the Hanshin Juvenile Fillies, reared up in the gate, caused trouble for everyone and had to start from the far outside gate. However, in the Tulip Sho she drew a good gate (No. 2) and was calm for the first time. We were very careful to not let her get worked up in the saddling enclosure and the paddock, and after she’d gone out on the track as well. She can definitely get fast times, but we concern more about her excitability. If she’s too wired, it will affect her racing so that has been our main concern. We have given her pretty hard workouts and focused on keeping her calm. I hope she can remain calm as she was for the Tulip Sho. In her final workout last week, she displayed a very nice, big stride. This week, she worked alone and it was a more relaxed workout. Looking at her bloodline, I think she could handle a bit of rain. Actually, a heavier track might work in her favor. I’m so hoping she can do well on the big stage.”

Kazuki Nitta, assistant trainer
“The way the Kisaragi Sho unfolded made it difficult for the horses running on or close to the pace, but she really did her best and showed tenacity. She was even passed by the eventual third-place horse, but managed to get back in front of that horse. She went to the farm, then returned to the training center about three weeks before this race. Mirco Demuro rode her on April 2 and the instructions were to push her hard over the final two furlongs. She worked with another horse, started behind him and beat him to the line. She ran well and her preparation has gone as planned. She’s very agile so the change in course shouldn’t pose any problems. She was able to keep up easily with the pace in the Kisaragi Sho (1,800 meters), so we figured she’d be able to handle a mile. She can run her own race and she finishes well. There are strong horses in the mix, but it’s all fillies this time so there shouldn’t be too much difference between her and the others. I’m eager to see how she’ll do.”

Ma Puce

Masanari Tanaka, assistant trainer
“I think she did a good job in the Queen Cup (finished second), but the finishing time (1:32.2 over 1,600 meters) was just too fast for her. The winner (Embroidery) was very strong. However, this horse was able to add to her earnings and that gave us more options and allowed us to give her more time to prepare. The farm did a good job caring for her and she returned to the training center at the beginning of March. She was much more relaxed compared to other times she came back to Miho and her final prep has gone smoothly. Jockey Hironobu Tanabe rode her fast work on April 2. She improved dramatically after that and he was able to get a good reading on her. She’s not one to be troubled by the long haul to the track, so her final workout will be at Miho as well. Headed here, she has improved in leaps and bounds. I’m very much looking forward to seeing what kind of race she’ll give us.”

Mistress

Yusaku Oka, assistant trainer
(after drawing the No. 11 gate)
“Because she prefers to lead, I would have liked her to have drawn further inside, but I think it's within the acceptable range. She worked together with another horse over the woodchip course on April 9. They finished together and her time was 83.5 seconds over six furlongs with no urging from the rider. After the work, she seemed fine. I do wish she'd put on a bit more muscle, but apart from her two starts on dirt, she wasn’t that far off the mark. Also, with her trip to Saudi Arabia, I’m hoping she’ll have matured a bit more.”

Namura Clara

Kodai Hasegawa, trainer
“If the race comes down to whoever has the fastest turn of foot in the finish like in her most recent race, the Tulip Sho, it won’t be good for her. I have no worries about the distance being 1,600 meters. Physically, I think she still has a lot of growing to do, but I can see that she is definitely improving. She has gotten good hard workouts for the past two weeks and for that reason we didn’t push her too hard this week. I’ll leave the race strategy up to the jockey. After this race, I don’t know if we’ll keep her at a mile or move to the shorter distances which I think she’s more suited to. If the pace is strong as it has been in recent years, I do think she’ll be able to access the ability what she has.”

Daisuke Tsumagari, assistant trainer
“In her most recent race, the Anemone Stakes, she lost momentum going over poor ground around the third and fourth turns. She did demonstrate good footwork over the final stage though. I think the difference between her finishing order and the winner’s was the difference in where they raced from, the eventual winner in third position, this one back in ninth. She came out of the race well and didn’t show much fatigue at all. Her preparation since has gone smoothly and her slower time from work April 2 was only due to us not wanting her to overdo it given the poor condition of the track. Jockey Akihide Tsumura gave her a lovely ride. Her three starts were all over ground that could have been much faster, so I think we can still expect more from her, more than what we’ve seen. I’m looking forward to the stronger competition this time.”

Shonan Xanadu

Takeshi Matsushita, trainer
“In her last outing, the Fillies Revue, she was quite high-strung, which is the usual. In the parade ring, I had the pacifiers on her and we took that off behind the gate. She was back in good condition for the race and she did run well. She stayed at the training center after that. She has raced twice this year already and there has been little time between races, so I just had her breeze at a pace of 15-15 on March 15. She worked up the hill course on April 2 and clocked 51-some seconds (51.7 seconds) over four furlongs. Her time, as usual, was better than expected. This week, she had just a light workout. She can race from any position. Also, other than in the Queen’s Cup when she had lost weight, she has never done poorly. Her weight is now back to 450kg, the same as it was for her last race. I think she’ll drop more during shipping but I’m hoping she’ll post a gain on raceday.”

Haruki Sugiyama, trainer
“She had the innermost gate in her most recent race, the Anemone Stakes, and I think she did a good job, holding her ground in a tight spot and finally splitting the ranks. She showed some real gutsy racing and I give her high marks for that. After that race, she went to the farm to recover and returned to the training center on March 26. She worked up the hill course on April 2 under jockey Kohei Matsuyama and, although we clocked her, I didn’t have her overdo it. I think it was a good workout. The most important thing is that her preparation has gone well. It’s a G1 and the competition will be strong, so we’ll just have to wait and see how she does.”

Vip Daisy

Takeshi Matsushita, trainer
“In the Hanshin Juvenile Fillies, I thought racing from off the pace would have been tough, so we’d wanted to get a position closer to the front. That didn’t go well, because she could’t get cover and she quickly lost steam. She had some time off and came back to the training center refreshed. She had a good run up the hill on April 2 with another horse for a time of 51.6 seconds. She’s not one to stand out in morning work, but I think she’s showing improvement. This week we just breezed her alone up the hill, but she looked powerful. I think she has excellent racing sense. She can go to the front or hold back. She has rather a slight build, but her strongpoint is definitely her versatility. I’d prefer she’d have a fast track, but I think she’d do fine if the going were slightly heavy as well. She has definitely improved since the Tulip Sho (finished third) and she’s in good condition.”

Voulezvous

Koshiro Take, trainer
“She was a little slow out of the gate in the Rindo Sho and the Fantasy Stakes, so those races didn’t go as smoothly as I’d have liked them to. However, in the Elfin Stakes, she had a smoother trip and was able to draw on her strength. Though she put on weight at the farm and came back heavy, since I had brought her back early, her prep all went according to plan. Jockey Suguru Hamanaka rode her over the flat on April 2 with the focus on the final stage and we had no particular concerns regarding that. She’ll be in good shape on raceday. Hamanaka rode her again on April 9. He just breezed her, since I didn’t want to give her too much work. She can be a bit too eager during a race, but if she can start well and stay balanced, I think she has ample chance.”

Water Gerbera

Mamoru Ishibashi, trainer
“She was still with the stable of trainer Hiroshi Kawachi (who retired in March) for her previous race, the Tulip Sho. It was so close and I thought she had won. She raced in such a way as to leave the best for the final stage, and her footwork was excellent. After that race, she moved to my stable. With the change in surroundings, she was a bit tired and confused, but now there are no particular problems and her preparation has gone well. Two starts ago in the Kisaragi Sho over 1,800 meters, she seemed overly eager to run so I think that for the present, 1,600 meters is a good distance for her. This time it’s the same setting as for her last race where she missed the win by a nose. Her final three-furlong time was 33.2 seconds and she’d really gone all out. The G1 winner (Arma Veloce) will be racing too and the lineup is stronger, but I’m hoping she’ll show us the kind of racing she showed us last time.