Mile Championship (G1) - Eva's Request lands safely in Japan

Great Britain mare Eva's Request arrived to Japan on Tuesday, Nov. 10, in good form and was transported to the quarantine center to prepare for the Grade 1 Mile Championship next week at Kyoto Racecourse.

The Irish-bred, 4-year-old mare landed at Kansai International Airport and arrived at Miki Horseland Park in Hyogo Prefecture at 19:20, completing a 30-hour travel. Assistant trainer Andrew Larkin said Eva's Request had good appetite throughout the long travel.

With groom Amy Routledge on the mount, Eva's Request had light exercise around the stable area on Wednesday morning for about 30 minutes.

"She seems to have lost some appetite after the trip, but that is nothing new for her," Larkin said. "She's in good form. We wanted to get some more exercise in today, but with the rain we shortened her work schedule. We plan to go out to the track tomorrow, regardless of the weather, and go through the motions as planned. We will not work her hard at Miki Horseland Park, but will do so after moving to Kyoto Racecourse (planned for Monday, Nov. 16) on Thursday or Friday (of race week)."

Eva's Request, with a 7-for-25 career record, will head to the Mile Championship with some momentum. She has won four races in 10 starts this year, winning the last two races, the most recent coming at the Premio Lydia Tesio (2,000 meters) in Italy for her first Grade 1 victory. Eva's Request will be joined by France's Sahpresa - scheduled to arrive in Japan on Thursday, Nov. 12 - as the two foreign entries scheduled to run in the 26th Mile Championship.

Out of Ingabelle by Soviet Star, Eva's Request is owned by Liam Mulryan and trained by Michael Channon. She has career earnings of ￡516,445 (about JPY 68,400,000).