Air Shady

Masanori Ito (trainer)
"We managed to get some good work in today. He'd done his fast work last week so he's just been going through the motions this week. He ran 65.3 seconds over five furlongs barely working a sweat so I think it says a lot about the condition he's in at the moment. Everything's gone exactly according to plan. I wouldn't be surprised if his best race is still ahead of him. We hope to have him in the best shape yet by the day of the race. He used to have a difficult time keeping his head in the races, but now he's always into it."

Buena Vista

Norirhiro Yokoyama
"I've worked hard all year, and I've been rewarded for it with this great opportunity. I can only thank the connections. I'm not worried about a thing. She's been unfortunate this fall, but I hope to come through for the fans. Of course I think she's a good horse; I don't think there's a whole for me to say about her that hasn't already been said. We can't be saying if this, if that if we're in this to win. I think anyone who's in the jockey business would love to ride a horse of her quality."

Hiroyoshi Matsuda (trainer)
"The work was no different to what she usually does. Same as always is good for her. The jockey has raced against her a number of times, and he knows the field real well. He knows Nakayama well, too, so I think she'll be in very good hands. I'm looking forward to see how he rides. This is the Arima Kinen; all the horses in it are strong. But I think the 53 kilograms is a definite advantage and I want her to end the year on a good note because she hasn't raced particularly well the last two, three races. She won a lot of votes from the fans and we need to get it done here for them, too."

Cosmo Bulk

Fuyuki Igarashi
"We're in a terrific field among some great 3-year-olds like Buena Vista so we have our work cut out for us. At least he's in better form than he was for his last race (Japan Cup, 12th place). Improvement is all we ask of him."

Dream Journey

Kenichi Ikezoe
"His footwork, his breathing is much better than it was a week ago. He's in the best shape of the autumn. He didn't accelerate like he's capable of doing last time (in the Tenno Sho) because he struggles running counterclockwise. He's a completely different horse when he runs to his right, and the distance is not even an issue. You can always count on him to finish strong. It's up to me now to ride him with total confidence. I know his rhythm, I know how he likes to run."

Forgettable

Christophe Lemaire
"He's a very easy ride, has great footwork. Watching him in the Stayers Stakes, I thought he's a horse with a lot of stamina and runs well on the straight. He is improving as we speak. The strongest horses from the Japan Cup are not here, which means there's a chance for everyone else. My horse is definitely good enough to win a Grade 1 race, but Buena Vista has a lot of experience at this level. The race didn't go her way last time (in the Queen Elizabeth II Commemorative Cup) but she ran the strongest race. She is the horse to beat. It looks like there are a lot of horses who like to be in front this time, and the pace in the Arima Kinen is always tough. Stamina is very important, and the last 400 meters will be very difficult. So in that sense, Forgettable is reassuring. It's a tricky track and the positioning turning for home is important. I hope we can come off the pace and wait for our opportunity."

Yasuo Ikee (trainer)
"He's getting better with each race, and he's clearly in top form. Back in the spring he was a little thin, but he's matured much faster than anyone of us had imagined. I'm a little relieved because he finally looks like a horse who would do his mother (Air Groove) proud. Watch out, because he has much more upside."

I Ko Piko

Masato Nishizono (trainer)
"His training was ideal today; it was picture perfect. He was the favorite in the last race (the Naruo Kinen) so he could have been a lot more aggressive. It was a tough race for him because there were only two turns and he couldn't settle at all, and the pace was very slow. He should travel much better this time because there are six turns, and the distance won't be a problem because he can run a record race at 2,400 meters. We think he has a shot here and at the very least, we want him to run a race which gives us hope for next year."

Matsurida Gogh

Masayoshi Ebina
"I didn't work him ahead of his last race, but he felt really good today. I'm not worried about the last result (15th place) because when he won it two years ago, he was also way behind in the Tenno Sho (Autumn). I think he's more relaxed than he used to be. I know the 3-year-olds are coming in here with a lot of momentum, but sometimes it helps to have aged. There are all kinds of horses so I think it'll be a tough race to read. But we can count on one thing, and it's that he runs well at Nakayama so I have to make sure to capitalize on that because he's in great form. He's run hard for the last two years, representing Kanto well, and I just hope he has a race he can be proud of before he heads off to Hokkaido (for retirement)."

Meiner Kitz

Kosei Miura
"His footwork is superb. I was told to work him without upsetting him and I think I managed to do that. He's won a Grade 1 race and you can tell he's a horse in a different class. He has that air about him - an aura. I always felt this was a race in its own place, even different from the other Grade 1 races like the (Tokyo Yushun Japanese) Derby. I wanted to be in it somewhere down the road, but I never thought I'd get the opportunity so soon. I was watching the race a year ago and now I'm in it, and I want to soak in everything I can. I'm excited."