Axion

Yoshitaka Ninomiya (trainer)
After the Nakayama Kimpai he showed some fatigue so I gave him some time off. His first time back was the Kinko Sho, where he finished in seventh place. I didn't really train with the Takarazuka fully in mind, so I think he needed more work. After racing once he's shaped up and his weight is down but I feel that he's moving a little bit heavily.
Last week and again this week, I worked him in tandem and pushed him quite a bit. Until now, I've always had something in mind that needed work but there's nothing anymore that I feel needs working on. We're right on schedule.
I'd say he's in the same shape he was when he won three in a row coming up to the Nakayama Kimpai. There'll be a lot of strong horses since it's a G1but we'll be OK if he can give us his best.
He can run patiently while running with the others so I plan to save energy during the race and then give it his all for the finish. He's not especially good over rough ground but he's not bad either. He does prefer dry ground though. I would have liked a draw a bit more to the inside but this is better than risking being blocked in.

Buena Vista

Hiroyoshi Matsuda (trainer)
She's doing as she always does for her final fast work before a race. Her movement is as it always is and it's good. Everything is coming along to schedule. After we came back from Dubai we didn't have time until the next race and we really had to push her. This time we had time and she's come along well. I think she's in top condition.
Last time out I really wanted to take my hat off to her. That she could do that well in the condition she was in was impressive. About halfway down the stretch, I was thinking, "Oh, no, she can't do it today." I really have to take my hat off to her.
She's up against males this time but she ran with them in the Arima so I'm not concerned. She'll be carrying 56 kg for the first time so I've put a heavier rider up on her for work. I think she can handle it.
She can also do well on a less-than-firm track. What position to take, of course, depends on the pace so I'll leave that up to the jockey.
I am grateful to all the fans for voting her the No. 1 pick in the balloting. We'll do our best to meet those expectations.

Dream Journey

Yasutoshi Ikee (trainer)
We gave him, as usual, his last fast work on the hill with jockey Ikezoe. The fetlock injury has stabilized so we were able to push him harder than we had the previous week. There's less weight placed on the front legs going up the hill so I wanted to incorporate this kind of training into his pre-race training. The tempo is slower going up the hill but his movement I'd say was good. He looked as he always does though as far as how good his heart and lungs are, there are points we an't really tell until we see him race. He'll have less weight to carry than his last two races which can only help.

Kenichi Ikezoe (jockey)
I was told to put the pressure on a bit more than I had in last week's work. I hadn't had the opportunity to work up the hill before and I'd have to say that his attitude, movement and response were greatly improved. I'd have to say he is not up to the shape he was in last year but he is better than he was last week. He'd do better over firm ground but if the weather's too good and too hot he may not feel enough like running.

Earnestly

Shozo Sasaki (trainer)
I was a bit worried about being able to make the Takarazuka in time since we had to take time off because of some hoof problems but he has come along very, very well. I'd say he's better than 90 percent. We did the last fast work on the hill and were careful not to let him injure himself by hitting his front legs with his back ones as he had before the Chukyo Kinen. He did well. We'd aimed him for this race last year but weren't able to run so I'm very glad we made it this year.

Forgettable

Toshiyuki Ikee (assistant trainer)
Last time out in the Tenno Sho (Spring), he'd had 2 1/2 months off and was not really stretching out when he ran. This time, he's running better, really stretching out and using his body well. He's totally different.
There are strong horses in the lineup but he's really looking good.
I think we'll try to keep up right on the pace and bring out the best of his stick-to-it attitude.

Yasuo Ikee (trainer)
He can handle the distance and if the going is less than firm he can handle that too.

I Ko Piko

Masato Nishizono (trainer)
I'd say he's doing the same kind of work he did before last year's Kobe Shimbun Hai. It's good work. And he's put on more muscle. We're pushing him and this is the best he's been since Kobe last fall. He's matured and he's suited to the Hanshin track.

Jaguar Mail

Terumasa Suganuma (assistant trainer)
We pushed him hard last week. This week Williams rode him mainly to get a feel for how they work together and everything went as we wanted it to.
After the Tenno Sho (Spring), we brought him to Yamamoto Training Center right way and they took care of him there. After coming back to Miho, he's had three fast timed workouts and is right on schedule. His times are not much different from what they were for the Tenno Sho (Spring). He's eating well and after his afternoon massage I was told the muscling on his legs is better than last week.
He ran last from the No. 12 slot and No. 6 in the Takarazuka. No. 10 is right in the middle and I think the draw is perfect.
From the beginning, he hasn't been a horse that easily shows how he's feeling, but you can see that mentally he has greatly matured and is very relaxed now.
The lineup is strong but he's been overseas and raced alongside very strong horses. I don't think it will bother him at all.
As in the Tenno Sho (Spring), we want to make the most of the finishing moments. Williams was happy with him this morning. He hasn't ridden him in a while but said he was in great shape. We didn't put blinkers on his this morning but when he got the go sign he responded well.
One of the good points of this horse is that he's not easily affected by the weather. This year we have Buena Vista and last year's Takarazuka winner and I expect it'll be a tough race but I have confidence that they can't beat Jaguar Mail.
The distance is shorter than the Tenno Sho (Spring) but he's done well at anything from 2,000 to 2,400 so he'll be OK. We plan to put blinkers on him for the race. I hope a lot of people will turn out to see him at Hanshin Racecourse.

Logi Universe

Kiyoshi Hagiwara (trainer)
The last bit of fast work we did it suddenly started raining and so the time wasn't so good but he was moving as I wanted him to. Since moving to Ritto, I can't say we've progressed exactly as I wanted to but I think he has improved.
I don't know just what is this horse's best when it comes to certain aspects but I would say he's in the same kind of shape he was for the Derby. His weight shouldn't be that far off but it may be less than what it was for the Derby.
We'll be OK with the muscle pains and will just be focusing on maintaining his condition. It's a G1 and he's a Derby winner. I just want him to give us a worthy performance.
I was impressed by the fans' support voting him to the No. 4 favorite even in light of the fact that he hasn't run in a while.
Katsumi Ando rode him in last week's work and I'll be leaving things up to him since he is the veteran he is. I'd like the going to be firm.

Makihata Cyborg

Megumu Shinkawa (trainer)
I thought he could have given us a bit more than he did in the Meguro Kinen even though it was his first time back in a year. But the long time off must have had its repercussions. Since using him, he has lightened up. We did his last bit of fast work on the hill and then the artificial surface and his movement was good. I think he'll be at about the same weight as last race but he may be a bit lighter. He likes a track that is a bit slow but we don't want it to get too bad. He's won a graded race over distance so he could win on stamina. The others are strong, though, so we'll have to do our best.

Meiner Answer

Hiroshi Miyamoto (trainer)
When I went to register for the Takarazuka there were already 17 horses registered but I went ahead and registered after discussing it with the owner. We wanted to make the club members happy. And being able to actually race is great. He's gotten stronger and he has stamina. We'd welcome the rain.

Meisho Beluga

Kaneo Ikezoe (trainer)
I had planned on working her up the hill but last week's workout was a little light so we took her over the woodchip course and she did well. Her response over the last furlong was very good. I have no complaints. She can do well over a sloppy track and she can also handle a righthanded track.

Nakayama Festa

Yoshitaka Ninomiya (trainer)
His run in the Metropolitan Stakes was ideal. I didn't really want to run him after that and he has had time off. He doesn't do well in transport so I brought him to Ritto after last week's fast work. He gave us a good time this week and things are coming along to plan. It'll be his first time at Hanshin, but of more concern than the track or the distance is how he feels. The biggest factor for this horse is how he feels mentally on race day. The others are strong and he is still 4. This is a step up for him and I'll be watching with high expectations.

Namura Crescent

Futoshi Komaki (jockey)
A lot will depend on the break as he is known to sometimes break quite poorly. He can be a threat if he's able to take the lead. He likes the more distance he can get and he'll like this so I think I'll be able to give him a good ride.

Never Bouchon

Masanori Ito (trainer)
His last time out in Hong Kong we hadn't really wanted to lead but we had an inside draw and no one else was going so we did. I think it was a good experience for to meet others like that in an international G1. It wasn't a frustrating kind of race. He didn't show any fatigue after the race either. We gave him a rest and he came back to bring him back up to a peak again and everything has gone well.
We've been able to do everything as I had planned at the end of last year, taking on the AJC Cup, Hong Kong and now the Takarazuka this year. He's a strong horse but the broken bone and some other accidents gave him a slow start. I think he can finally show us his best.
I don't think there's any one standout among the male runners. The females do have a lighter weight to carry but I think it'll all depend on how the race itself pans out. He is pretty good with bad going but I wouldn't want anyone to say he won because the ground was bad. I'd like to see a firm track. He's in good shape and I hope to see that reflected in his race.

Seiun Wonder

Masazo Ryoke (trainer)
I did want to use him once before this race, but wasn't able to. Instead, we pushed him hard in work to bring him to shape. He's done well at Hanshin. He'l be up against strong horses but I've had a feeling he's going to give us another G1 win.

Smart Gear

Shigetoshi Saruhashi (assistant trainer)
His breathing has gotten better from last week's fast work and his responses this morning (Thursday) were good. There's no big change. His work the other day was in the rain and the going wasn't good. Today the weather was nice and things were easy. I think the draw was good. It's better than having the extra ground to run over. We'll bring him out on the outside at the end.

Ryuji Wada (jockey)
I want him to have firm ground.

Top Coming

Naoyuki Sakai (trainer)
He's about the same as he's been. I wanted to race him in the Takarazuka so everything is going to schedule. He likes races over 2,000 meters and they're easy for him. The other members are strong but he's a solid runner.