A Shin F Danz

Tetsuro Sukeda (assistant trainer)
"It's difficult to get your hopes up given his recent results, but the horse himself couldn't be in better shape. I like our chances here – just as long as it doesn't rain."

Copano Oceans

Akira Murayama (trainer)
"She's in great form – even though it'll only have been two weeks since her last race. I was pretty impressed with her performance from the last race and I think she's got a shot here given the condition that she's in, despite a much tougher field this time around. She always runs well in the summer and the potential is there for her to run a big race."

Dasher Go Go

Takayuki Yasuda (trainer)
"He's been good since his last race and he's moved well this week. But he still needs the pace to suit him; he can't take the race to the opponents, if you know what I mean. He'll have to cross his fingers, hope that the race will unfold to his liking."

Headliner

Masato Nishizono (trainer)
"He's as ready as he could be. We've been working toward this race since he was scratched the last time, and I don't think we could be more prepared. Our only concern is how he handles the straight at Hanshin; he has a tough time with the undulation."

Kinshasa no Kiseki

Atsunori Hashimoto (assistant trainer)
"Usually at this time of the year, he's been exhausted because he's had a lot of races by the summer. This year though, the focus has been on keeping him in shape over the summer and we're going into this race with our hopes up. The workout went as we had anticipated, and the horse responded very well. He's getting better every time we work him and he should be able to get the most out of himself. Our only worry over the summer was the heat, but he got by it. To be perfectly honest, the 59 kilograms will be hard on him but we like to think he can overcome it given his potential, his current condition."

K T Love

Akiyoshi Nomoto
"She just couldn't keep up in her last race but physically, she's pretty much where we want her to be. If she can find a way to be on the lead without being intimidated, then she might have a shot here."

Lady Rouge

Takayuki Yasuda (trainer)
"We wanted to keep racing her while she was in good condition. She had a little extra weight on her so she worked pretty hard today. Plus, she always runs better when it's hot."

Melissa

Shigetoshi Saruhashi (assistant trainer)
"If she can carry over her form from the Kitakyushu Kinen (1st place), that will be more than good enough for us. She's got a legitimate shot here so we're just praying for good weather over the weekend. It was a bit chilly last summer and she wasn't in very good shape. This year, everything has gone smoothly and she's not showing any signs of fatigue."

Sandalphon

Mikio Matsunaga (trainer)
"We worked him just on the stretch today. I thought he looked good out there. In training before his last race, he was practically stumbling but my people told me today he's an entirely different horse this time."

Shigeru Hasrat

Kazuhiro Yamada (assistant trainer)
"He's in good shape, that's for sure. For him, it'll come down to being able to keep up with the pace of 1,200 meters and how he stacks up against a group of horses at this level."

Shonan Alba

Kenji Miura (assistant trainer)
"We could have gotten more out of him if we wanted to because he always works hard. But he went pretty hard last week so there really wasn't a need today. We had to scratch him the last time because he developed a little fever from the travel, but he's completely fine now. If he can just learn how to settle during the trip, then he can surprise a lot of people."

Shonan Kazan

Shinobu Honma (trainer)
"He's starting to pick it up, day by day ever since he worked with his partner last week. He performed all right the last race and we're hoping he can add a little bit to his earnings here."

Sky no Dan

Ryuji Okubo (trainer)
"Everything's gone according to plan so far. She was responding well, and she can handle the track to a certain extent. She's shaping up well."

Street Style

Suguru Hamanaka
"Her action was good as you always expect it to be. She's filling out, and she continues to be in superb shape."

Tamamo Nice Play

Kunihiko Watanabe
"He put up a fast time last week so he just went through the motions today. His style is to travel toward the front and hang on like he did two races ago (in the Yonago Stakes). If he can do that, then we've got a chance here."