Horse Racing: Japan Cup Dirt to feature Vermillion this Sunday
The Grade I Japan Cup Dirt will kick off at 6:40 a.m., on Sunday, in Hanshin. The event will provide ultimate entertainment to the horse racing fans. The race will be run over a distance of, one mile and one furlong, over a dirt track and will feature racehorses of age three and above.
This is the 11th edition of the Japan Cup Dirt and is flaunted much because it will be featuring the veteran, Vermillion, who will be running in this event for the fifth time. He was the winner of the start, back in the year 2007, and is all set to take over the field, this time. The eight-year-old colt is the son of the Arc runner-up, El Condor Pasa. His jockey, Yukata Tree is looking forward to this event, especially after his colt, Rose Kingdom was promoted as the winner of the Japan Cup. If the colt is successful in winning this race, he will claim his tenth Grade I victory, of his racing career. The 235 million yen event has come as a challenge for Vermillion, the last time he raced before this was back in June, this year.His trainer Sei Ishizaka, who also trains Vermillion’s half brother King’s Emblem, said that the racehorse needed some time off from racing, keeping in mind his age. He was reported as saying,
“We had given him enough time to recover the Teio Sho.”
The enthusiastic trainer further insisted,
“On top of that, we feel like he’s always run well even after a long layoff so that’s why decided to pass on the JBC Classic and start directly with the Japan Cup Dirt. He’s in good form at the moment, and we’re counting on the ability which has gotten him through over the years.”
Vermillion is expected to face tough competition in the race, by his stable mate, King’s Emblem, who also claimed victory in a graded event at Hanshin in October, this racing season. Moreover, the three-year-old Aliseo is also being considered a strong contender of the race, as he has won against some of best racehorses this year. Nonetheless, he has switched from turf to dirt and thus some sports critics reckon that he might not be able to perform that well, on a dirt surface. Another significant competitor is the runner-up of the last year’s edition of the event, Silk Mobius.
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