Admire Terra

Yasuo Tomomichi, trainer
“In last week’s workouts, we pushed him hard and jockey Takuma Ogino said the horse’s gait felt more powerful, his stride was longer, and he had grown quite a bit. He was ready last week, so this week we worked over the polytrack to fine-tune his breathing. His movement was very good. He looked very refreshed. I’d wanted to race him here last year but didn’t think he was strong enough yet. He’s had a year to grow and I think he’s ready. He placed third in the Kikuka Sho, and I think the course suits because he can use the hill to slowly pick up the pace. He’s very level-headed, calm and moves powerfully. And he has a good turn of foot. He can be a bit high-strung but now that he’s older, he’s more patient and has become calmer in the race warmup.”

Aqua Vernal

Hirofumi Shii, trainer
“Being a graded race, I hadn’t expected the Hanshin Daishoten to be easy. And Ryusei Sakai gave her a really good ride. The winner was a level above, but she really tried hard to finish second. As expected, she needed a rest after that race, went to the farm and returned to Ritto looking refreshed. After that, it has been the usual routine without a hitch. Since there wasn’t much time between races, I wasn’t concerned about getting a time from her, but had Kohei Matsuyama get on to check her out. She was full of energy, as usual, and it was a good workout. This week I wanted Matsuyama to see if there was change from last week. I didn’t clock her, just noted her responses in the final stage, and they were good. She has always had a good appetite but when she was younger, the food didn’t stick to her ribs. But, from last fall it has. She’s more filled out and her weight is markedly different from her debut.”

Croix du Nord

Takashi Saito, trainer
“Last week (April 22), he worked on the outside of a training partner. I let him take it easy after the Osaka Hai, so last week he was a bit sluggish but still moved well over the last furlong. On April 26, I had Taisei Danno ride and we clocked him. His responses and movement were better. Race week, I didn’t think it necessary to push him much, so I put an open-class horse ahead of him and they lined up going into the straight. I only wanted to see his responses at both the top of the straight and when he caught the horse in front. He was better than last week, including how he used his body. Recently, he takes the bit in his teeth until the first turn, but this time there’s the downward hill turning out of the backstretch. I’m a bit concerned if he’ll stay in balance or not.”

Echt

Ryo Shimizu, assistant trainer
“In the Nikkei Sho, he went for position with determination, but the horses around him were too fast and the jockey didn’t want him to overdo it. Considering the pace in that race, he actually raced from an ideal position. He ran well over the final furlong. He came out of the race well, with no physical damage and we kept him at the training center, so he is still a bit wired. One could say he could be a bit fresher, but his training is going well. He had a hard workout on April 24. He has always settled well, but with age he’s gotten a bit more reluctant to run. I think he’ll be able to get a breather under way and if he can, he should be able to handle the distance.”

Hohelied

Toshiaki Tajima, trainer
“If we hadn’t had an accident in the Diamond Stakes (jockey lost a stirrup and his balance in the stretch) I think she’d have done better (finished fifth). With the pace as slow as it was, being held back on the inside and unable to get a better position hurt far more. Keita Tosaki has ridden work since she returned from the farm. Her time on April 15 was a bit too fast, but she didn’t overdo it. At the time she was still a bit soft, but she looked good last week. She’s been improving with each workout. This week’s workout should have her fine-tuned. I have no particularly negative image of Kyoto and I believe the course won’t pose any problems. She doesn’t have a great turn of foot, but she does stay well. If she can run like in the Stayers Stakes (Dec. 6), where she kept up a nice rhythm and stayed with the flow, I think it’ll be a good race.”

Shinya Kobayashi, trainer
“His last outing was over jumps but I got the feeling he wasn’t suited to them, so he’s back on the flat. He was at the farm and I waited for him to improve and then he returned to the training center. I think he is well-suited to the Kyoto course and the conditions are right. A long race at Kyoto should suit, so I wanted him to take on the challenge. I could see in his work on April 15 that he was in good shape and that he has improved. The jockey thought so too. He has stamina and he’s an easy horse to ride. I’m not worried about what position he gets, just that he races with a nice rhythm. I’m looking forward to seeing how well he can do in a G1.”

Takafumi Aoki, trainer
“He was in exceptionally good condition for his previous race, the Diamond Stakes, so I’ll blame the way the race unfolded for the loss. The jockey, assistant trainer and myself all agree that he most likely used up too much in the first half. He, in no way, lost due to a lack of ability. After that, he went to the farm and returned to Miho about a month ago. He worked with an older horse on April 23 and caught him easily after coming up on the inside from far behind. Everything went as planned and his work has gotten much better. On April 29, his time wasn’t much different from last week’s but the content of the workout was much better. He chased down the training partner ahead of him, and his responses were sharp. He has done well over 3,000 meters, but we’d never taken on a top-level race. Securing a somewhat forward position will definitely be a plus. After that I’ll leave it to the jockey.”

Mystery Way

Shinya Kobayashi, trainer
“In both the Arima Kinen and the Nikkei Sho, the pace was fast and that made things difficult. With this race as our target, I had him return to the training center on April 16. And since then, things have gone smoothly. He had a good workout on April 22 in which he started from 7 furlongs and met up with Keiai Sandera from 3 furlongs. I had the rider wake him up a bit over the last furlong. The horse looked to be concentrating and I think it was an excellent workout. In the race, I don’t want the jockey to go for position, but just for the horse to slowly move up to the front. It’ll depend on how he does that, but I think it would be good if he can approach the front at some point. I’ll leave the race strategy to the rider.”

Shigenobu Isaka, trainer
“He ran nicely balanced last out in the Shorai Stakes (3-win class over 3,000m at Hanshin) and he toughed it out with determination all the way to the end (finished fourth). It was his first race over 3,000 meters and his first turf race in five starts, but he’d raced on turf earlier so I wasn’t worried about that. And he also showed that he could handle the distance. So, since there was room in the Tenno Sho, we decided to enter him here. He took some time off at the farm and came back looking nicely filled-out. We’ve worked on getting his wind better and all has gone according to plan. It’s an impressive lineup, but I’m hoping he’ll borrow strength from the others and rise to the challenge.”

Redentor

Tetsuya Kimura, trainer
“As I watched him in last week’s fast work, he was very much on his toes and was making a good effort. This week in fast work he worked with two other horses. He settled nicely and I think he made an extra effort right before the finish line. Comparing the two workouts, I’d say they were about the same, with him looking full of energy. A back-to-back win of this race is on the line and eyes will be on him. But my job is to monitor the horses entrusted to me, so I hadn’t really thought about the repeat of the race. With it being a G1, all of the horses are going to be amazing. So, I have to keep my eye on my horse even more.”

Shin Emperor

Yukihiko Araki, assistant trainer
"We were planning to take him to the United States but following his final workout on April 19, we heard from the organizers that the video gait examination indicated the horse might become keen under way. He has a somewhat distinctive gait, but there’s nothing abnormal about it. We didn’t want to go as long as there was that risk, so we switched his target race to the Tenno Sho. Mirai Iwata rode him on April 23 and he said the horse is doing fine. The wide draw in the Japan Cup hurt and in the Arima Kinen he got boxed in. He was a bit slow away in Riyadh and got into a tight spot under way. He couldn’t gain ground simply because it was an unlucky run, nothing to do with a lack of ability. The jockey rode work April 23 and everything is going well. As the horse gets older, he’s more inclined to take it easy. He’s relaxed, almost too relaxed at times, and doesn’t make much headway. But I think he can handle 3,200 meters.”

Yoshito Yahagi, trainer
"He’s come along well and getting times as expected. I do wonder about his fighting spirit though as he has always been a rather quiet horse. But, with the longer distance, his quietness is more likely to be his strongpoint as there is no need to worry about how well he’ll settle.”

Tagano Dude

Toru Miya, trainer
“His Osaka Hai run was similar to the Kokura Daishoten racing from near the rear. But, in the Osaka Hai he fought on well against three G1 horses far better than I’d expected. He had an outside draw, travelled on the outside, but still came home the fastest over the final 3 furlongs, which is proof he has gotten much stronger. He stayed at the training center after that, and all has gone well. He has maintained his condition and his trackwork is good. When he goes for a position he’ll take the bit, but now that he can run in a more relaxed way, I think he’ll be able to catch a breather up the hill where the pace eases up. To be honest, I think 3,200 meters is long for him, but I wouldn’t be surprised if he handled it well.”

Keiji Yoshimura, trainer
“Her trip to and from Saudi Arabia went well. Her winter coat may have been a bit heavy, but she hadn’t lost condition and was in good shape. She got a good position in the Red Sea Turf Handicap, but the pace was slow and she wasn’t competitive (finished last) since it came down to which horse had the fastest turn of foot in the final stage. After quarantine, she stayed at the farm for a while. This will be her first race since returning from Saudi Arabia. Katsuma Sameshima gave her a hard workout on the woodchip flat course over 6 furlongs on April 22. The temperatures are higher now and the sheen on her coat has greatly improved. The distance should be OK and I’m hoping for some rain to soften the ground.”

Hiroshi Miyamoto, trainer
“In his last two starts, he was caught inside and unable to move well. He did make a bit of headway in the end (finished sixth in the Stayers Stakes, fourth in the Diamond Stakes). If he’d had more room, he could have done better. After time at the farm he returned refreshed and on April 22, Fuma Matsuwaka rode work on the woodchip flat. It was a good hard workout and this week Matsuwaka pushed him hard in the final stage and he looked like he had a lot more left. He has an exceptionally big stride and can’t quickly switch into a higher gear, but he can stay very well. It’s a Grade 1 race and the competition is going to be strong. This horse has stamina and I think he’ll be able to bring that out to its best over the Kyoto outer 3,200 course.”