Only one foreign horse has won the Japan Cup in the last seven years, but this year’s contingent from abroad is determined to put an end to the hosts’ domination.
The pack of six overseas entries for the 25th Japan Cup on Sunday afternoon at Tokyo Racecourse is arguably the toughest ever, a group headlined by last year’s Prix de l’Arc de Triomphe winner Bago and OuijaBoard, the top European thoroughbred of 2004.
The rest are far from pushovers, as BetterTalkNow, King’sDrama, Alkaased and Warrsan look to wrest the cup from Japanese holder ZennoRobRoy.
The Japan Cup will be the final run for 4-year-old Bago, who will be retired to stud in Japan following his 16th career start. The French colt, however, has won just one of his six races this season.
In his previous run, the Thierry Gillet-ridden Bago finished fourth among 13 in the Breeders’ Cup Turf in October. Gillet figures his horse is in better shape than he was at the Breeders’ Cup.
“He is better than she was in America,” the French rider said on Thursday morning following training. “Her weight’s good, mentally he’s good. He’s very relaxed.
“He was good in his workout this morning. I think the track here will suit him.”
Arc winners have not particularly fared well in the Japan Cup, the highest finisher being Helisio in 1996 with third place. Gillet believes the time has come to rewrite history.
“There is a first time for everything,” said Gillet, who has jockeyed every one of Bago’s races. “Hopefully, we are the ones to break that trend.”
The Edward Dunlop-trained OuijaBoard will feature Kieren Fallon in the saddle. Fallon, no stranger to Japanese racing, believes the Kazuo Fujisawa-trained ZennoRobRoy will be difficult to dethrone.
“I think ZennoRobRoy’s going to be very hard to beat,” Fallon said. “I know Kazu and his team will have him spot on for the day of the race.”
Having said that, Fallon thinks his 4-year-old filly can give Fujisawa’s horse of the year a run for his money. The Irishman anticipates OuijaBoard will adapt to the Tokyo course just fine.
“I can’t see any reason why,” Fallon said. “The track is similar to the American track. She’s probably the best filly in Europe. She’ll suit here.
“Hopefully, we can get a good draw. I think she can run a big race.”
Apart from Warrsan, who put in his prep work a day earlier, all the foreign entries worked out at the Fuchu track on Thursday. Most of the Japanese horses, including early favorite ZennoRobRoy and autumn Emperor’s Cup champion Heavenly Romance, went through their final motions on Wednesday at the two training centers.
The three overseas participants in Saturday’s Japan Cup Dirt also trained on Thursday, 4-year-old Lava Man looking the liveliest of the three against defending champion TimeParadox and 3-year-old sensation KaneHekili with Yutaka Take in the irons.
Leandro Mora, acting trainer for LavaMan, said his gelding, winner of the Hollywood Gold Cup in July, is poised to bounce back from a disappointing seventh-place outing in last month’s Jockey Club Gold Cup.
“That trip was not too good for him, and he was pretty nervous back in New York,” Mora said. “He was not a happy horse there. By the time he was up at the gate, he had already had the race thrown away and we’re trying to blame it on that. He’s moving better he because he seems like he’s home.
“These last two days, he’s been nothing but motivated. Hopefully that will carry over to the race.”
Mora said Lava Man will have no problem handling Tokyo’s sand-covered dirt course.
“The track is excellent, it’s a little sandy on top but it has a great bottom which is what most horses like to have, something to grab on,” he said. “It’s not as deep as people think it is.”
Post time for the 2,400-meter Japan Cup and the 2,100-meter Japan Cup Dirt is 3:20 p.m. The winner will receive 250 million yen and 130 million yen, respectively.
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