Absolute

Yoshitada Munakata (trainer)
"We just went through the motions on the upslope today because he was already in good form last week. All I wanted was for him to maintain his condition from the last race. Rather than worry about who were facing, we need to make sure we have him in competitive form. He's in much better shape compared to what he was in the Yasuda Kinen (13th out of 18). I think he'll do fine running to his right because he's won at Nakayama. He's faced a lot of tough horses at the Grade 1 level and hopefully the experience will lead to something this time."

Captain Thule

Yuga Kawada
"The shorter distance won't be a factor. He starts fast, and he can sustain the pace throughout the trip. I'm convinced he can perform at 1,600 meters. He tried to keep up with Matsurida Gogh (in the Tenno Sho) and was forced to use too much horse too early. The pace wasn't particularly fast but the race got tough for him."

Hideyuki Mori (trainer)
"He's come along well. Considering how heavy the upslope was today, I thought his action was better than good. I had the jockey run him at a nice, easy rhythm and finish strong. He has excellent speed, and he should be able to keep up with a fast race. Everything's pretty much gone according to plan."

Company

Hidetaka Otonashi (trainer)
"He's in outstanding form at the moment. He moves well regardless of the track conditions. He's showing a little bit of his winter fur, but it's only been two weeks since his last start so you won't see much of a change in him, physically. But this will be his last race, and we've done everything within our powers to get him ready. If anything, he's in such good shape his work is fast - too fast, maybe. He hasn't had one injury in his career yet, and now he's a Grade 1 champion. He's completely recovered - he put all the weight he lost in the Tenno Sho (Autumn) back on in a week - and although it'll be his first mile in a little while, he's won three at this distance on firm and not firm going. He's not doing a retirement ceremony so win or lose, this race really will be his last run. We want him to go out in style and leave everything out there before he moves on to his stud career."

Fifth Petal

Yukihiro Kato (trainer)
"(Shadow Gate) is in such good form right now we're not the least bit concerned about finishing behind in the workout. He's been much sharper since his last race (the Mainichi Broadcast Swan Stakes on Oct. 31). He got hit from the outside and ran into the rails, which made him lose the bit after the first 600 meters. That pretty much did it right there. It was his first race in a while, and he didn't break well."

Fine Grain

Hideaki Miyuki
"He felt fine in training, but with him, it's all mental. If he can concentrate on the race, I believe he can still compete even at this level."

Kazuma Kageyama (exercise rider)
"He's the type to get better with each race, and I would like to think he has a shot here, but he didn't even come close to his finish from last year (fifth place, Swan Stakes) the last time out. He was just never in it at all in this year's race (16th). It's really hard to say how much he'll be better this time."

Hikaru Ozora

Yasutoshi Ikee (trainer)
"The owner wanted to enter him in this race, so here we are. He's at least 70 to 80 percent fit, and his action wasn't bad. He can't keep his head down in front of the line and it forces him to slow down. But you can't expect much at the top level with just one week of work. Grade 1 races aren't that easy. It's different from winning plain old race."

Live Concert

Toshiaki Shirai (trainer)
"We had been planning to go all out here, and I thought he moved all right today. He doesn't run at all when he's overweight, but he's been as sharp as he's ever been.

Maruka Shenck

Hiroshi Kawachi (trainer)
"The horse he worked against was a little overweight, but he left him behind in a heartbeat. But for him run his best race, he needs a good going because his race comes down to the straight. It's a good sign the weather forecast has improved for this weekend, and while it's never easy to win a Grade 1 race, it looks like we'll at least have the going working in our favor. I don't know if it's a coincidence or what, but he starts fine in Kansai unlike in Kanto. We may take the blinkers off this time, but he does need to get off to a good start so he can position himself well. All the stars will have to be aligned for this horse to win, but he definitely has the potential to get the job done."

Meiner Falke

Koji Kayano (trainer)
"He's not responding that quick right now, but he looked light on his feet when he worked with a partner last week. The work today went according to plan, and there are no worries over his condition. But he's only won when he's been on the lead, so maybe it's the best approach for him right now. He doesn't have the option of coming from behind so we're prepared to run with it. And there shouldn't be any problems with the travel to Kyoto or him running there for the first time."