Alankar

Takashi Saito, trainer
“She was a bit of a handful in her debut race, so next out in the Nojigiku Stakes we had her in a hood behind the gate. She had some problem taking the bit, which made for a somewhat rough race. But her speed was good after things picked up, and she won easily. She went to the farm after that, returned to the training center on Nov. 20, and worked in tandem over the course on Dec. 3 under Yuichi Kitamura. The focus was on the final stage and things went well. Her footwork and breathing were good. There are some concerns with the big field, how well she’ll take the bit, the start, and how in tune she’ll be with the rider. But, she has a lot of talent and I have my hopes up.

Angelitas

Keiji Yoshimura, trainer
“In her most recent race, the Grade 3 Fantasy Stakes, she was returning after time off and was nervous in the gate. And, because she wasn’t settled, she got off to a slow start and traveled from the back. She returned to the training center on Nov. 26 and we’ll give her three hard workouts before the race. For a filly, she’s not difficult to prepare. I can’t make any claims with it being a G1 but I do think she’ll be able to travel well. However, if she loses ground at a critical point, it’s something that no doubt was unavoidable. I hope she’ll give it her all.”

Arbanne

Toshihiko Hokari, assistant trainer
“After winning the Saffron Sho and returning to the training center after a bit of time off, we gave her the usual work. We were concerned that her pulse wasn’t fast enough and so we put the jockey (Ryusei Sakai) up on Dec. 4 and he gave her a good ride. She was well in hand and her movement was good. On Dec. 5, we shipped her from Miho to Ritto and are continuing her preparation there. There is some strong competition in this race but I think she can hold her own in an all-filly lineup. From her debut, the riders have done a good job of getting the best out of her in a race’s final stage. I’m looking forward to seeing how well she can do.”

Tomoyasu Sakaguchi, trainer
“Last race she was in too good of shape, so if you compare her now to then, she’ll come up a bit lacking. I’m not saying she’s in a bad way at all though. Seinosuke Yoshimura rode work on Dec. 4 on the flat and she made it look easy. On Dec. 10, Yusaku Kokubun took her up the hill at Ritto and both her physique and her movement looked very nice. I think she’s going to show some improvement on raceday. As for whether she’ll be able to handle the extra distance (200 meters more than she’s had) and the full gate of a Grade 1 race, we won’t know until we try it.”

Haruki Sugiyama, trainer
“On Dec. 3, Yuga Kawada rode her first fast work on the flat woodchip course and pushed her hard in the final stage. She moved smoothly and she was much more level-headed than she’d been earlier. Fuma Izumiya breezed her up the hill on Dec. 10 and she looked stronger than she has before. I don’t think the 200 meters less this time will pose any problem. And, I think she’ll be able to handle the speed.”

Yamamoto, assistant trainer
“She’s always been light on her feet and she has a big stride. Her work has been solid and all has gone well.”

His Masterpiece

Sakae Kunieda, trainer
“The competition in her most recent race, the Akamatsu Sho (Nov. 23), was very strong and I had been concerned, but she did a great job and really ran well in the final stage. She stayed at the training center after that. She’s looking leaner and showing improvement. There’s not much time between races so I’m not trying to get any fast times out of her. She has a very good build for a filly and is a good eater. This will be her first long trip to the track, but I’m not worried. I’m looking forward to seeing how she’ll do.”

Yuichiro Nishida, trainer
“She is prone to be tying up, but she has gotten stronger and has been in good shape for both her starts. She is high-strung though. I think her best distance right now may be 1,400 meters, but she should be able to settle well enough over 1,600 meters. She’s also fine running in with the pack. I’m hoping she’ll be able to race at her own rhythm.”

Manabu Ikezoe, trainer
“Her preparation has gone well. There are no particular areas that are of great concern or that are holding us back. It’s a G1 and the competition will be strong but I’m hoping she’ll be able to run her own race and bring out her late speed. I do think a bit more distance might be good for her. She was able to run her own race last start (finished sixth in a 1-win class race Nov. 30) but with it being a top-level race this time, she’s going to have to have a lot of things go well for her.”

Masakazu Ikegami, trainer
“The jockey Yuji Hishida breezed her over the Miho woodchip course Dec. 10 along with another horse and her footwork was nice and she moved brisky. This time it looks like there are a number of frontrunners and, it being a G1, I don’t think it will be easy to send her forward. This will be her first mile and up to now she has usually taken advantage of her speed and led. In work she’s able to wait patiently behind another horse, so that, however, shouldn’t be a problem. Key will be how well she’ll be able to handle the extra 100 meters.”

Hitoshi Nakai, assistant trainer
“She broke well in her most recent race (G3 Fantasy Stakes, 1,400 meters Nov. 1) and she was able to race from a good position. The race came down to the horse with the fastest late speed, which didn’t help her. But she settles well over the mile so there’s no worry there. It would be good if the going was a bit slow. And, if she can use her early speed to her advantage, we’ll just have to see how well she can do.”

Narumi, assistant trainer
“Her strongpoints are her agility and her ability to always settle well. And she starts well.”

Margot Love Me

Shinya Kobayashi, trainer
“Even though she doesn’t have a strong constitution and she isn’t the best eater, she won both her starts and I think the latter one (over the Kyoto 1,600) was her better one. After work on Dec. 4, there appeared to be no problems and after checking her over well, we decided that afternoon to race her here. Her preparation has come along well and I’m hoping she too can do well if she brings out her strength, her early speed. In the days leading in to the race, if I see anything that worries me, we’ll withdraw. But for now everything looks fine.”

Mitsukane Venera

Nobuhiro Suzuki, trainer
“She moved up gradually in final stage of the Artemis Stakes and managed to finish in second place. She showed good racing sense over the mile and I don’t see any problem with her ability to settle. We do have the long trip to the track this time but she had a good hard workout last week under the jockey and she’s getting switched on, but I hope to keep her mentally even-keeled. Key will be how she’ll handle the long stretch in this race. I think her best is still to come but she has already performed better than my expectations.”

Yuki Ohashi, trainer
“In her most recent race, the Japan Grade 2 Hyogo Junior Grand Prix at Sonoda, there was a colt on the inside determined to get to the front, so this one traveled in second position. The frontrunner was really moving so this one ended up chasing him. The front three all lost ground in the final stage so I think you can throw the results out. That said, of the three, this one was the only one to finish on the board. We were also considering her for the Zen Nippon Nisai Yushun. She did race on turf in her first start, so I don’t think she’ll be bad over the turf here. It’s a G1 but I’m thinking that, with no one standout in this race, this may be the better option.”

Shonan Charis

Yoshinori Ito, assistant trainer
“She stayed at the training center after the Fantasy Stakes (Nov. 1) and had a week off after that race. I think it’s important to let her switch off mentally as well. We’ve been upping the pitch of her work since last week and her weight was at 420 kg. She has maintained good condition and, in her last start, she showed she could handle the long trip west. She’s much better at executing a race than when she debuted and I think that will allow her to handle this distance. If she could do as well as she did in the Grade 3, I think it’ll be a good step to here.”

Star Anise

Tomokazu Takano, trainer
“In her last race, the Chukyo Nisai Stakes (Aug. 31), she went all out and though she did struggle in the final strides, it was a more-than-sufficient performance. She very much displayed her strength. She added to her earnings with her second-place finish so we gave her a breather and then brought her back to prepare for here. She hasn’t changed much but is showing steady improvement and has definitely matured more. I’m not pushing her too hard and the jockey Kohei Matsuyama did say she felt a little bit soft still, and I think that’s the only area where there’s still a bit of room for improvement. This will be her first mile, but I don’t have the impression that she’s restricted to sprints.

Noboru Takagi, trainer
“Akira Sugawara gave her a hard workout on Dec. 3 and her footwork was nice and precise. This week she worked with a partner under the assistant and he pushed her hard, but she didn’t respond quite as well as I’d like. Still, she’s looking good. Before her debut (Oct. 13 over 1,800 meters), she was pretty high-strung and I was thinking less ground may be better, but she did really well and won. My image of her has now changed, though there’s still a lot that remains to be seen. I do wonder how she’ll handle 1,600 meters, but she is in good condition.”

Hitoshi Nakai, assistant trainer
“In her debut she hung to the left, but in her next and most recent race (Nov. 30), she had an inside gate and the horses on her left made for a wall, which helped. The winner was strong, but this one (finished second) was still gaining ground after crossing the finish line. She does not pick up speed around the turns, but when you urge her on she has great responses. I think the outer course with a long stretch will be good for her. I hope her weight won’t post a minus on raceday.”

Narumi, assistant trainer
“She shines in actual races and after her last race, we switched her bit to a ring bit and this has stopped her from lugging out. She’s better at maneuvering now.”

Taisei Vogue

Takeshi Matsushita, trainer
“She had an inside gate in the Artemis Stakes and was slow away and ended up racing from the rear. In the end she had no choice but to move inside where the ground was bad, but she made a big effort and gained ground (finished in third place). Jockey Atsuya Nishimura rode Dec. 3 over the woodchip course and he found her easy to ride and said she felt good. She has a very good appetite for a filly, so there are no worries there and she can handle hard workouts as well. I think she’s at her best right now and I plan to only breeze her this week.”