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

Training Report of Foreign Entries

June 5, 2009 (Friday)

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. 10 minutes), light canter ~ light gallop in last 800m on dirt course, schooled saddling area and paddock (ridden by John Size from 8:02 to 8:25)

"I thought he felt normal this morning - he did the work that he normally does at home and that he's used to. As he's got older, he's probably a little bit lazier, but I think on race day he'll show his best. He'll be racing in blinkers because he's not so lazy with them on and he shows a little bit more interest, which I think is a natural progression for an older horse. (Regarding drawing stall no.16), that's fine because he was in there last year, in exactly the same one and it didn't seem to affect his chances adversely. I think he'll have the speed to begin and cross most of the runners - obviously there will be a couple of local horses who have good speed and if he crosses quickly he'll have to follow two leaders or whatever. So I'm not terribly concerned about the gate. If he begins normally or as well as he usually does, I think he can get across most of the horses.
He was runner-up last year on a firm track, but he would appreciate a softer going. Tomorrow, both horses will just do slow work - they won't be doing anything fast. I think they've done enough. They'll do exactly the same thing they did on Wednesday morning."

(Comments taken from John Size)

SIGHT WINNER (NZ, g6, bay)

- jogged in riding arena (appr. 11 minutes), light canter ~ light gallop in last 800m on dirt course, schooled saddling area and paddock (ridden by John Size from 7:35 to 8:00)

"He has settled in quite okay. His track work - he seemed to settle quite nicely. Today he felt quite good, he certainly appreciated the dirt track - his action was perfect on that track and he felt very very good. He was well gathered up underneath me. He felt quite keen to work without rushing and he was very clean winded - he pulled up like a pretty fit horse. It felt like he was controlling his energy which is a very rare thing that horses do. I was very happy with him today.
He goes a length or two better on a rain affected track, but he's still competitive on a fast track - he's not hopeless, he'll run very well even if it is quick. The day he won his big race (Champion's Mile), we did have rain, so we think that he liked that. But I think even if the track is quick, he'll run okay and it won't stop him. Regarding the draw (no. 18), he's a horse that runs on the pace so he has no option - he'll just have to show good speed from there and try to cross over and get behind the leaders. This field is obviously a little bit stronger than what he's been against, but he's improved race by race and is at the peak of his career. With the consistency that he's shown this season, he still may be able to compete with them. Tomorrow he'll do slow work as he did on Wednesday."

(Comments taken from John Size)