Horse Racing: Japan Cup to feature some strong contenders
The richest Grade I turf event will be attracting a huge deal of fan following to the racecourse as the most talented colts will be starting the 30th running of the Japan Cup on Sunday at 6.20 a.m. GMT. Joshua Tree the winner of the Canadian International
is the most prominent overseas contender. His trainer Aidan O’Briens will also be joining with the racehorse Colm O’Donoghue. Amongst the other foreign competitors is Dandino, the James Given trainee and runner up to the winner of the Gordon Stakes. He will
be representing Britain in Tokyo.
Mores Well is also a powerful name in the list of 18 competitors of the Sunday meeting. The winner of the Stockholm Cup will be ridden by jockey Sebastien Maillot under the training of Richard Gibson. Wells, one of the four competitors from France, was marginally
defeated by the champion Joshua Tree in the Canadian International. Other three runners who will be representing France in the Japan Cup, this Thanksgiving weekend include Timos (under jockey Olivier Peslier and Thierry Douman trainee), the sixth place finisher
of Arc, Marinous (under jockey Davy Bonilla and Freddie Head trainee ) and winner of Prix Dollar, Cirrus Des Aigles (under jockey Franck Blondel and Corine Barande-Barbe trainee).
Trainer of Marinous is satisfied with the development of the racehorse before the event and is still working for the better. Marinous will be starting the meet from the 17th spot while Cirrus Des Aigles will be running from the 18th
gate. On the other hand, the local racehorse Buena Vista will be running from the 16th position under jockey Hiroyoshi Matsuda and has been trained by Christophie Soumillon. The colt has won the Classic events twice last racing season and now hopes
to hold off the superstar Nakayama Fest, who held her off by half a length in the Takarazuka Kinen which took place in June this year.
Masayoshi Ebina, trainer of Nakayama Festa is delighted to proceed to the Japan Cup, since the filly has now recovered from the minor injury issues that kept him from winning the Arc meeting.
As Ebina said, “We are in no position to brag because we were second, but I think he put everything out there. He ran the best race he could and I am proud of what he accomplished. He ran a heck of a race away from home and I want to show the fans what ‘world
class’ is all about.”
On the other hand, Buena Vista is popular amongst the European fans for her second place finish in the Dubai Sheema Classic behind Dar Re Mi. Moreover, she is also the winner of five Grade I events so far, the most recent one being the Tenno Sho on the 31st
of October against Pelusa.
Christophe Soumillon said, “I wasn’t surprised by her performance in the Tenno Sho because I already knew what a great horse she was. This is the race I most want to win in Japan – growing up as a kid it was as prestigious to me as the Arc.”
Other strong participants of the Japan Cup include Okan Bruce Lee (the runner up of Japan Cup 2009), Eishin Flash (the winner of this year’s Classic victory in Derby) and the winner of Japanese 2000 Guineas and seventh place finisher of the Arc meeting,
Victorie Pisa.
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