Japan Cup Dirt (G1) - Preview (2)

Tizway

The 10th Japan Cup Dirt to be held this weekend at Hanshin Racecourse was set to feature Belmont Stakes champion Summer Bird, due to be the first winner of an American Triple Crown race to run in Japan.

But Summer Bird fractured his right front leg while training on Sunday and withdrew from the race. That left the Japan Cup Dirt with just one entry from overseas in Tizway, and denying Japanese dirt horses the rare opportunity to face a multiple Grade 1 champion from the United States.

Yet even without Summer Bird and the race's 2008 winner Kane Hekili, the field should still impress with 2007 Japan Cup Dirt champion Vermilion; this year's February Stakes winner Success Brocken; last year's Japan Cup Dirt runnerup Meisho Tokon, as well as rising 3-year-old Wonder Acute.

The Japan Cup Dirt will wrap up the Japan Autumn International, the four-race series in its sophomore year. The winner will receive 130 million yen. The following are the early favorites for the 1,800-meter race:

Espoir City ESPOIR CITY: The 4-year-old son of Gold Allure has won three straight, the last two at the top level in the Mile Championship Nambu Hai and the Kashiwa Kinen. His wire-to-wire victory in the Oct. 12 Mile Championship Nambu Hai was particularly impressive, blowing away February Stakes winner Success Brocken by a cool lengths. With three of his eight wins coming at 1,800 meters, the Akio Adachi-trained Espoir City should have no problems handling the nine furlongs at Hanshin. With Summer Bird out of the picture, the only obstacle standing in the way of the colt and his first Grade 1 title in the Japan Racing Association is himself.

Makoto Sparviero MAKOTO SPARVIERO: The Ippo Sameshima-trained horse is coming into his own at five years of age, having won two of his last three. In his previous race on Nov. 3 - the 1,900-meter JBC Classic - Makoto Sparviero took second only to Vermilion (and only by a head), who won the race for the third straight year for his eighth victory in the top class races. With jockey Katsumi Ando - who leads the nation in winning percentage - set to take the reins once again, the Brian's Time offspring could be due for a breakthrough this coming Sunday.

Maisho Tokon: horse number 5 MEISHO TOKON: The 7-year-old came within a head of Kane Hekili to finish runnerup in last year's Japan Cup Dirt, clocking the fastest time over the final three furlongs at 35.9 seconds. Meisho Tokon trailed Vermilion by eight lengths to finish fourth in the JBC Classic, after three consecutive races in which he was eighth. Trainer Hiroshi Takeda believes the horse is showing signs of finally turning it around: "There was a string of lackluster performances, but looking at his last race, I think he's getting it back together. It all depends on the pace, but he did finish second last year so we have our hopes up." Shinji Fujita has ridden well during the autumn campaign, and without a dominant horse in the field, the time could be now for Meisho Tokon.

Success Brocken SUCCESS BROCKEN: The reigning February Stakes champion hasn't quite been able to follow up on his Grade 1 success of the spring. After a break of seven months following the record February Stakes victory as the sixth choice, Success Brocken was beaten comfortably by Espoir City in the Mile Championship Nambu Hai at Morioka before flopping to 10th in the Tokyo Chunichi Sports Hai Musashino Stakes over a mile at Tokyo on Nov. 7. Yet the 4-year-old colt is one of just two Grade 1 winners in the field alongside Vermilion. And under the Japan Racing Association's leading jockey Hiroyuki Uchida - who should find added motivation for the race after the narrowest of defeats to Vodka in the Japan Cup - it would be a shock if Success Brocken, at the very least, does not approach his winning form in February this weekend.

Suni SUNI: The American-bred by Soto, owned by Northern Farm's Katsumi Yoshida's significant other Kazumi, won his debut by seven lengths in October last year, the first of four consecutive victories he would rack up on dirt. Suni was made the second favorite in his first turf test, the Grade 3 Arlington Cup at Hanshin, but flamed out to 12th among 13. He has not run on grass since. Suni won his first race back on dirt in April, and the Naohiro Yoshida-trained colt is coming off victory in the 1,400-meter JBC Sprint on Nov. 3, holding off February Stakes entry Admire Subaru by three-quarters of a length for the Japanese Grade 1 win under Yuga Kawada. Suni has yet to face the kind of competition he will get on Sunday, but remains a very intriguing pick for the betting man.

Vermilion VERMILION: The 7-year-old record breaking machine is not showing too many signs of slowing down, notching his eighth top-level victory in the Nov. 3 JBC Classic over 1,900 meters at the Nagoya local track. Vermilion, by El Condor Pasa out of Scarlet Lady by Sunday Silence, won the Japan Cup Dirt two years ago, the last version of the race to be held at Tokyo (Fuchu) at 2,100 meters. With the switch to Hanshin in 2008, the Sei Ishizaka-trained behemoth topping 520 kilograms slid down the table to third under Yasunari Iwata pinch-hitting for regular rider Yutaka Take, and Vermilion finished an uncharacteristic sixth in this year's 1,600-meter February Stakes. The defeat, however, probably said a lot more about the horse's aptitude at the mile rather than a decline in form. After a break of four months, Vermilion rebounded to win the 2,000-meter Teio Sho on June 24 at Ohi before capturing his latest title in the JBC Classic. Take's mount should be the betting favorite this coming Sunday, and there's more than a good chance for him to win a second Japan Cup Dirt title. "He's eight now, so there's no telling if he can run like last season race in, race out," says assistant trainer Shinji Furukawa. "But the horse is full of energy. We weren't happy with the result in the Japan Cup Dirt last year, and it's a title we want to win badly."

Wonder Acute WONDER ACUTE: Like Suni, Wonder Acute is another 3-year-old colt looking for his first taste of Grade 1 glory, but this son of Charismatic carries momentum into the Japan Cup Dirt with three straight wins in the autumn, the latest being the Musashino Stakes which he won as the fifth choice under Katsumi Ando. Before that, Wonder Acute won the 2,000-meter Sirius Stakes at Hanshin by three lengths and the 1,800-meter Auckland Racing Club Trophy, also at Hanshin, by five lengths. With regular jockey Ryuji Wada back in the saddle, he is bound to give the older horses a run for their money. Said trainer Masao Sato: "He's young and he still has to fill out his frame. But he ran a heck of a race the last time out, and he's completely recovered from his last race. We like to think he can compete, even at the Grade 1 level."

Wonder Speed WONDER SPEED: The 7-year-old son of King Glorious has been one of the JRA's top dirt performers over the last couple of years, and there's no reason to think trainer Tomohiko Hatsuki's frontrunner won't be high up on the leaderboard again in the Japan Cup Dirt. Wonder Speed finished a neck behind Makoto Sparviero in the JBC Classic for third place, and jockey Futoshi Komaki is confident his mount can make up the gap this weekend. "Against any ordinary horse, he would have won it," Komaki said. "But at this level, they make it difficult for you. This race has been our target all long, and we'll leave everything we have out there."