TRAINING REPORT
59th Running of the Yasuda Kinen (G1)
The Final Leg of Asian Mile Challenge

Training Report of Foreign Entries

June 4, 2009 (Thursday)

At Tokyo Race Course

*The following comments are excerpts from quotes given by the connections and transcribed as faithfully to the original text as possible.

ARMADA (NZ, g8, chestnut)

- jogged in riding arena (appr. 11 minutes), lightly cantered 1 3/4 laps and walked on dirt course (ridden by Lik Yau Lin from 7:36 to 8:03)

"(Compared to last year) his racing form isn't as good on paper, but at home he's quite healthy and well, and he seems happy to go to the races. His weight also isn't exactly the same as last year, probably putting that down to his age - he seems to be a little bit lighter, but he eats all his feed, he drinks well and he feels well underneath you even though the weight is not there. He feels well within himself and has done well. As he demonstrated last year in the Yasuda Kinen, he's always liked to race left-handed and I think probably the strong 1,600 test suits him, and he seemed to run it out quite well. He broke from stall 16 and it didn't seem to trouble him, so I'm not worried about the draw this year.
I haven't looked into the field closely yet, but Vodka was just too brilliant for us last time - just too good, a different class. I understand some of the Japanese horses are going very strong, and I've heard Deep Sky will also be a big rival. We'll work fast tomorrow and I'll be riding him."

(Comments taken from John Size)

SIGHT WINNER (NZ, g6, bay)

- jogged in riding arena (appr. 11 minutes), lightly cantered 1 3/4 laps and walked on dirt course (ridden by John Size from 7:36 to 8:03)

"He seems to have traveled okay - he eats and drinks well. He's a younger horse with less experience, and he's a little bit impatient and becomes a little restless. But once he's seen and done something once, the second time around he's quite okay, so he was more relaxed today than he was yesterday.
He's had a very long campaign and his last run was the best race of his life. Probably it's difficult to repeat that sort of performance, but he's consistent and I'm hoping if the track is not too fast, he'll put himself in the race with a chance. We'll do something fast tomorrow and I'll be riding him also."

(Comments taken from John Size)