Japan Cup (G1) - Comments from runners' connections
Almond Eye (mare, 5)
Sakae Kunieda, trainer“Today (Nov. 25) was her last fast work and my main thoughtis that we’ve done our best and come this far and I’m hoping
she’ll get all her work done without a hitch. I think she’s pretty
ready. Jockey Christophe Lemaire rode her last week, andtoday was just to check her responses. I’m happy with hertime. If he’d had her come up on the outside, she’d havegone faster but I think he wanted to keep the tank full. Herfootwork was excellent. She was very fresh this morning fromthe time she left the stable and coming off the track she wasfeeling it too. Lemaire found nothing amiss and he looked
Almond Eyevery content. Going in to the Tenno Sho (Autumn), there wasroom for a bit more improvement. I thought she was a bit
heavy but when she got to the track, she was looking sharp and kept that sharpness afterward. She has gotten
a lot stronger now. Whereas she was always exhausted after a race, now she’s not and I saw no signs offatigue after the Tenno Sho. We considered Hong Kong, but it just didn’t seem realistic with the pandemic. TheJapan Cup, on the other hand, didn’t pose any problem so we aimed her here. As for the time between races,
she went from the Victoria Mile to the Yasuda Kinen and though she lost, it was still a good race. This time,
she’s still in good shape so it should be OK. I think she can still give us a performance like she did two years
ago but the heavy rain on the first day of the Tokyo meet this year did a lot of damage. Looking at the track lastweek, I’d say it’s not ideal. The main thing is that she has a safe run.”Contrail (colt, 3)
Yuichi Fukunaga, jockey“He was in extremely good condition for the Kikuka Sho(Japanese St. Leger) and very calm. The distance was longer
than what he is best at but because he was calm, I thought
he’d be able to handle it. The race was really tough but in theend, his competitive spirit shone through. I was reminded of
the amazing ability he has, both physically and mentally. His
training last week was the usual. He worked with anotherhorse on the woodchip flat course. His partner could moveand this one was to chase and catch him, which he did.
Though it took longer than usual, that did bother me a bit. His Contrail
time was excellent though. He had gate practice after that,then this week I rode him up the hill course twice. I’d neverridden the final fast work before. He moved really well and I was surprised at the improvement from last week.
He won the Derby so I’m not worried about the distance. I’ve never ridden Almond Eye or Daring Tact so I can’twell judge where they’re strong or weak, but Contrail’s best point is his acceleration, and his mental power. Hehas yet to go full out. He has a kick we haven’t even seen yet.”

Crescendo Love (horse, 6)
Toru Hayashi, trainer“The Sankei Sho All Comers didn’t pan out well for him, but the jockey did a very good job and go the best fromthe horse. The horse is temperamental and until now I’ve always been very careful not to push him too muchmentally when getting him ready physically. After his last start, however, I realized that if he’s going to take on ahigher-class race he needs more work, so he’s gotten a lot of training this time. And he has responded well. Ithink he may be in the best condition yet. We won’t know until we try it how he’ll take to the Tokyo 2,400 meters.
The bar is very high and just to race alongside the others in this race is an honor. If he can make full use of his
present condition, we’ll see how much he can manage.”Crescendo Love

Curren Bouquetd'or (filly, 4)
Sakae Kunieda, trainer“Unfortunately, she hasn’t been able to win in a while. She’s
been second in Grade 1 races several times and her secondin the Japan Cup last year was very frustrating. She wasn’t ather best after returning from Dubai, and then was coming off
a long spell for the Sankei Sho All Comers. She was in very
good shape though. The race was a bit slow and she waskeen under way but she did run solidly until the end. She’dalways been a bit unreliable but last start she did an excellent
job. She went to the farm and returned to the training centerwith the Japan Cup as the target. All has gone well. She was Curren Bouquetd'or
fit and lean. Almond Eye is 5 years old and maintains her
condition at a high level more easily, but Curren Bouquetd’orchanges more easily. Her time was good last week, this week’s not quite as good but she did move well up thehill course. She still had a lot more in the tank.”

Daring Tact (filly, 3)
Kohei Matsuyama, jockey“In the Shuka Sho, she was very excitable in the pre-paradering. But, in the preliminaries and behind the gate she wasable to calm down again. The race went smoothly, she settled
well, and really ran well in the final stage. It was a very strong
race. Last week, we pushed her hard in fast work and she
moved well. This week, since we have to haul her to thetrack, my priority was keeping her balanced. She did very
well, moved well, and felt better than she had before her lastrace. She did well in the Yushun Himba (Japanese Oaks) so
there shouldn’t be a problem with the Tokyo 2,400 meters.
Daring Tact
There are many very strong horses in the lineup and taking
on the challenge will be exciting and, naturally, I want to getgood results. As for strategy, the main thing, with the long straight, is for her to stay balanced. I won’t know
when to make our move until the moment I make it.”Glory Vase (horse, 5)
Tomohito Ozeki, trainer“After winning the Kyoto Daishoten he went to the farm and returned to the training center on Nov. 4. On the18th, he worked in tandem over the woodchip flat course. His movement was good and he ran solidly from six
furlongs so his time was good too. The rider who rode fast work before Kyoto Daishoten and also last week

said, ‘Compared to before his last race, he’s mentally moreon his game this time and he’s using his body differently aswell.’ He looked better going around and I think he’ll improve
more right before the race. Having never raced at Tokyo may
be a disadvantage, especially since the three top picks haveall gotten good results at Tokyo. But, it was his first time atNiigata when he ran in the Sado Stakes and he won that. I
don’t think this horse is particularly unsuited to Tokyo.
Actually, I think the course will suit him.”

Glory Vase

Kiseki (horse, 6)
Katsuhiko Sumii, trainer“He was in good condition for the Tenno Sho (Autumn) andhe raced from a good position, though the results wereunfortunate. There’s not much time between races but wewere careful to get him over any fatigue. Last week, he wasvery in tune with the rider and moved solidly. This week hefelt ready. I had him breeze alone but his time was better thanusual. Since he’s an older horse, there should be no dramaticswings. I think he’ll maintain his condition at a good level. Afast track is good for him but he did win over a heavy track inthe Kikuka Sho in 2017, so I think he adapts to whatever
Kisekisurface it is. To be able to do battle amid such a strong field
is an honor in itself. As long as he’s running though, I’d like tosee him beat the three heavyweights. He hasn’t had a win since the Kikuka Sho, but he’s in good shape and I
hope he’ll give it his best.”

Makahiki (horse, 7)
Yasuo Tomomichi, trainer“I’d planned to race him in the Sapporo Kinen, but after his
final workout before that race I sensed something was wrong
and withdrew him. The vet couldn’t find anything wrong butwhen he went to the farm, he was very excited so I think heneeded the refreshment. Since then he has handled all hiswork. Unlike last year, he had time off in the cooltemperatures of Hokkaido and he’s full of energy. He’s lighton his feet and not showing his age at all. Jockey Kosei
Miura, who will ride the race, rode him on Nov. 19 and said,‘Looking at his recent races, I thought he was reluctant to run Makahiki
but that’s not the case at all.’ The lineup is strong and I’mhoping, for his sake, that the track will be a bit slow.”

Mikki Swallow (horse, 6)
Takanori Kikuzawa, trainer“He was the favorite in a small field for the Sankei Sho All Comers and it was difficult for him in spots. After that
he went to the farm for a bit, then returned to get ready as planned for the Japan Cup. Keita Tosaki, who willride the race, rode fast work last week to get a handle on the horse. For a horse that doesn’t like working to theleft on the woodchip flat course, he did pretty well in chasing down his training partner. The competition is very
high this time and I think it’s just going to be matter of seeing how well he can hold up. That said, he finishedfifth place in 2018 and he’s stronger now, so I’m looking
forward to seeing how well he’ll do.”

Mikki Swallow

Perform a Promise (horse, 8)
Nobuyuki Tashiro, assistant trainer“He traveled well about midfield in the Kyoto Daishoten andaccelerated well in the end. I don’t think he did as poorly as
sixth place sounds. After that, he went to the farm to refresh.
He’s 8 years old, so he’s pretty stable. There aren’t any
sudden changes and things have gone as they should. His
fast work was up the hill course last week on Nov. 18. Therider pushed him until the end and he got his best time yet.
He was on his toes and feeling good. I don’t see him slowingdown at all due to age. He’s going to the gate in good shape.
He did have some lengthy spells along the way, but he’s had Perform a Promise
20 races. And he’s still very young. The race before the last
one was his first race in a year and he won it, a gradedstakes race. He definitely has talent. The competition is strong but he’s well-suited to Tokyo. He’ll run well forsure.”

Taurus Gemini (colt, 4)
Shun Takano, assistant trainer“In the Fukushima Kinen, the horse in second position reallykept the pressure on him the whole time. Overall, it was a
tough race for him. Then, going in to the stretch he suddenly
lost momentum. I guess 2,000 meters is long for him. There’s
not much time between races but he came out of his last startwell and since he wasn’t the worse for wear, we decided torace him here. His weight was up 4 kg for the last start aswell and since he was a bit heavy I don’t think the tightrotation will be a problem. The distance will be even further
this time and likely long for him, especially with this field. But Taurus Gemini
all he has to do is run his own race and we’ll see how well he
can hold his ground.”World Premiere (colt, 4)
Yasuo Tomomichi, trainer“After the Arima Kinen (The Grand Prix) last year, I sent him to the farm with an eye to the Tenno Sho (Spring).
But while there, he was favoring his right foreleg a bit so I decided not to overdo it and let him sit the spring out.
I did have the Takarazuka Kinen in mind but with the heat and the poor track, I decided to race him again fromthe fall. I had planned to give him a prep racing to the left but, considering the distance, decided to bring him
here. On Nov. 18, he had a very good workout over a heavy track. He doesn’t look fat at all and he has comealong well. Even if it’s agitated when heading out to the track,
once on the track he calms down. He has a very good on-off
switch and a good fighting spirit. He always gives it his all.”World Premiere

Yoshio (horse, 7)
Daishi Hidaka, assistant trainer“His fast workouts this week and last were up the hill course, working in tandem. We pushed him hard and hemoved well. His movement was powerful. He’s returning from a 4-month layoff but he is in good condition.”

You Can Smile (horse, 5)
Yasuo Tomomichi, trainer“The winner in the Copa Republica Argentina was strong. I
think the fact that this horse carried the heaviest assigned
weight of the field was definitely a factor in his not gaining
enough ground in the finish. He came out of the race wellthough and has gotten all the work he needed to. On Nov. 19,
just about 10 days after he’d raced, he breezed up the hillcourse. His time over the half mile was 53.8 seconds with afinal furlong of 13 seconds, which is sufficient. He worked on
the woodchip flat to the left on Nov. 22 and finished just aneck behind his partner. He does well with a prep race, so I’m You Can Smile
expecting him to show improvement. Now he has no problem
with racing to the right, but he used to be best to the left. But,
with the level of competition, it’s going to be tough unless he has a bit more. Still, I’m hoping he can give us agood race at Tokyo.”

Sources: Keiba Book, Netkeiba, Sports Hochi