B B Guldan

Katsumi Ando
"He's got what it takes, there's no question about that. He came in fourth in his last race despite a difficult trip. He can handle any going, and has no problems with the hill at Nakayama. An outside barrier would make life a lot easier for us, but either way, he'll bounce back."

Taku Narumi (assistant trainer)
"The orders were to push him just over the last furlong. Everything has gone according to plan. He looks sharp and I think he's ready to run a big race. He's in as good a shape as he was last year. You have to remember, he ran with 59 kilograms in Hakodate and 58 in Sapporo. We gave up a lot on One Carat then."

Dasher Go Go

Takayuki Yasuda (trainer)
"We don't want to leave anything to chance because it's a Grade 1 race. He worked hard from start to finish and he's in very good condition. He hasn't completely filled out and there's a lot of room for improvement, but if the pace is right, he is good enough to win it. He's only three but we have nothing to lose here; we're going for broke. He's got some power and he can handle the off track, too."

Fine Grain

Kazuma Kageyama (assistant trainer)
"He worked today like he always does. He put in a lot of fast work after coming back from his break, and he doesn't look unusually heavy. "

Headliner

Masato Nishizono (trainer)
"He looked strong throughout his workout; I think he's in good shape. He was really frustrated for his last race, constantly sweating. But he's already had one race this fall, which has him loose now. This time, we want to be the one to set the pace. He's had a better record when he's on the lead, which takes the pressure off him. It'll be interesting to see where we draw and what the other frontrunners do. But I'll tell the jockey to stay in front no matter what. I'm really looking forward to the race."

I'll Love Again

Takahisa Tezuka (trainer)
"He had a couple of weeks in between starts last year when he came in fourth, but we've spaced out his races more this year. He'll be racing at a decent weight, and this race has been good to him in the past. He seems to like the 1,200 meters at Nakayama, and we're looking forward to the race. He always picks it up at this time of the year, and I can say with certainty that he's in much better shape than last time. He's come in third (2007) and fourth in the Sprinters Stakes. He just needs a slow pace and decent weather. We're not far behind – at all."

J K C'est la Vie

Katsumi Sakamoto (trainer)
"He gets better with each race. Mentally, physically, he's been on the up since his last race. We're going into the race in peak condition. The C course at Nakayama is tight and the race tends to bunch up. That works well for us because our horse can handle the traffic. Right now, the longer the jockey waits to unleash him, the more he'll explode on the straight. He's a natural born sprinter. People talk about being born to do something, but I assume they're talking about horses like him. His action is incredible right now."

Kinshasa no Kiseki

Atsunori Hashimoto (assistant trainer)
"You can tell he's raring to go. His training time has been a little faster than what we wanted, but all in all, it was a good workout. He developed the stomach pains on the Friday night before the race last time (Grade 2 Centaur Stakes). He was back at the stable that Sunday, and was already cantering by Tuesday. It has been smooth sailing since, and I like to think it may have been better that he didn't run with 59 kilograms in the Centaur Stakes. Last year, he just wasn't where he should have been, mentally and physically. This year, we rested him full over the summer and he can't wait to get back out there on the course. We still have a few days to the race so we don't want to get ahead of ourselves, but I like where we are at the moment. "

Laurel Guerreiro

Mitsugu Kon (trainer)
"He took it nice and easy in training today – but still clocked 51.0 seconds (over 800 meters). We had a hard time getting his weight back for the race last year, so it has been a breeze this year. It was tough getting him ready in Dubai and in Hokkaido without the uphill training track. I can see how the younger horses might be appealing, but it's not easy to win a Grade 1 race, I can tell you that. Green Birdie is tough. But we're at home this time. It's our turn. Laurel Guerreiro is nearing the end of his career, but I believe he can accomplish what no other horse has been able to accomplish – win three straight Grade 1 sprint races. It's his last race in Japan. We want to win, no matter what."

Maruka Phoenix

Masahiro Matsunaga (trainer)
"He was exercising at the farm, and he's done his fair share of fast work since coming back – at least four times. He should be just about right when the race rolls around. He looks lighter and lighter on his feet."

One Carat

Yusuke Fujioka
"She ran a strong race. I don't think she takes a backseat to any of the horses in the field, and my job is to make sure she has as smooth a trip as possible. We're taking a lot of momentum into the race and I don't want to disrupt the flow. She won two graded races over the summer, first the Hakodate Sprint Stakes (G3) and then the Keeneland Cup (G3). I don't think we could have asked for more going into a Grade 1 race, which has been our goal all along. To be perfectly honest, I wasn't very confident after her workout for the Keeneland Cup, and a lot of things went wrong during the race itself. But she still won, which says a lot about how much stronger she's become. If you think about it, she's been racing in graded races after she made her debut. She really hasn't taken much time off, but she doesn't tire and keeps getting bigger after each race. I couldn't be more confident at the moment. I might be a little nervous because One Carat is trained by my father. I won my first graded race at his stable, but I think it'll be a gift from him to me, rather than me to him."

Kenichi Fujioka (trainer)
"We've got nothing to worry about. Her time in the workout was very good; she moved better than I ever expected. She wasn't even 100 percent last time and her performance was still good. She was knocked around on the next to last turn and she had to make her move earlier than we wanted. But she still came home strong in the end. This will be her first time at Nakayama, but the course is shaped a lot like Hanshin so I can't imagine it being an issue for her. She's just in very good form at the moment. "

Premium Box

Hiroyuki Uehara (trainer)
"His time was pretty much the same as last week, and he went at it hard both weeks. I don't think you can really argue with his condition. He had some time to freshen up, which helped him a great deal. Now it comes down to the pace. We're looking for something fast, something that will fry the horses in front. The track conditions at the last week of the meet will suit him, especially with rain forecasted for the weekend."

San Carlo

Yokichi Okubo (trainer)
"His training time is what you would expect with the poor course conditions. He looks to be in pretty good shape to me. This will be his second time at 1,200 meters, and the experience should count for something. The hill on the straight definitely works to his favor. He's done well on the slippery surface; a bad going should be a plus for him."

Sandalphon

Mikio Matsunaga (trainer)
"We saved him a little with the travel ahead of us, and since I thought we overworked him for his last race. He jogged through the first half of the workout just as we wanted him to. We definitely want a fast pace here. "

Western Venus

Yoshitomi Shibata
"She doesn't get worked up like she used to. "

Yasuhiro Suzuki (trainer)
"She's showing no signs of fatigue and has managed to stay in decent shape. Her appetite is there as well. Her response isn't quite what it used to be, but she probably finishes races better than she used to. Great if we're allowed to set the pace, but we're not going to force it. Her best time of the year is the summer, but she's pretty close to that in the autumn, too."