Training Report of Foreign Entries
(Joint Press Conference)
Japan Cup (G1)
November 24, 2011 (Thursday)
<At Tokyo Racecourse>
Sarah Lynx
Sarah Lynx (IRE, F4, bay)
- walked 1/4 lap, jogged 1/4 lap, walked (5 min.), breezed 3/4 lap, walked 1/4 lap, on dirt course
(exercised from 8:02 AM to 8:25 AM, ridden by Kate Bradley)
Trainer: John Hammond
Q: When and why did you decide to run your horse in the Japan Cup?
T: The filly won the race in Canada and she was kindly invited to the Japan Cup, so this was pretty much on the schedule. But we deliberately started her year quite late. She had her first start in June with a view, hoping that she would be good enough to run in the international races in the autumn, so we slightly had it in the back of our minds from somewhere out.
Q: Please tell us about the training and condition of the horse after arriving in Japan.
T: She's a very light-framed filly and she doesn't need much work. I think she's definitely fit, she seems happy, she seems well, and so we just have to see whether she's good enough to compete against these horses.
Q: What is your training schedule until the race day?
T: She just did a steady canter this morning. She'll probably go a little bit quicker tomorrow, and have very light exercise on Saturday. She did good work in France before coming here. The journey takes quite a lot out of them, and also the trip from the quarantine station to the race track. So I don't think she needs a lot of work.
Q: What are her strong points, and what are your expectations in the race?
T: She stays the distance well, she relaxes in the race and has very good acceleration. The moment you have a horse who's capable of staying the distance and accelerating, you always have a horse with a chance. The big question is whether she's really good enough to beat the best Japanese horses and Danedream. Her form to date suggests that she probably isn't quite as good as them, but it's a horse race, anything could happen, and we hope she gets a good run.
Q: Which post position would you hope for in the full gate of 18?
T: Preferably not 18.
Q: Danedream and Victoire Pisa are in the race. Who is your rival?
T: It's a really strong field with very good Japanese horses—Buena Vista and Rose Kingdom from last year, and Danedream put up an amazing performance in the Arc when she won very easily and broke the track record. If she's at her best and if she runs as well as she did in the Arc, she's going to be very hard to beat for anybody.
Q: Last year you were seventh in the Prix Solitude and a year later you're here as a group 1 winner. When, during the year, did she start to show the form to justify this?
T: She put up some good performances last year. She only started her career in June of her three-year-old career so she was still quite an immature horse. She's a late maturing horse and she's improved with time and with racing. This is a big jump-up against this opposition, without a doubt.
Q: She's had her most recent racing on soft ground. How do you think she'll find the track, or are you praying for rain?
T: She is probably better on a slightly softer track and here, even if it rains, this track drains very well. I had a walk on it this morning and it looks like pretty good ground, I don't think it's firm firm. So I think it will be very fair ground, the track looks good and we'll just hope for the best.
Q: Have you given any instructions on the strategy for the race to your jockey Christophe Soumillon, who is very well known in Japan?
T: He knows the filly well, he's won on her, he's had some experience here in Japan and he had a lot of experience here this time last year. A lot will depend on what the draw will be. If the horse has drawn 18 or drawn five, you're not going to ride the same race, so that's quite a big factor. We're happy that Christophe will be on the filly because he's a dynamic jockey.
Shareta
Shareta (IRE, F3, bay)
- walked 1/4 lap, jogged 1/4 lap, walked (5 min.), cantered 1/2 lap, walked 1/4 lap on dirt course
(exercised from 8:02 AM to 8:27 AM, ridden by Jeremy Lobel)
Assistant Trainer: Jean Michel Rou
Groom: Jeremy Lobel
Q: When and why did you decide to run your horse in the Japan Cup?
AT: The trainer, Alain de Royer Dupre decided to enter her in the Japan Cup after the Prix de l'Arc de Triomphe.
Q: Please tell us about the training and condition of the horse after arriving in Japan.
AT: She's been doing the same kind of exercise as in France—she has jogged and has done a light canter. She hasn't been doing any strong work because her condition is very good.
Q: What is your training schedule until the race day?
AT: We may try a bit of fast work tomorrow, but basically, we'll continue to tune her up doing the same kind of light work.
Q: What are her strong points, and what are your expectations in the race?
G: As long as it doesn't rain, this firm track will be an advantage to our filly. If she's able to press the pace in third or fourth, she has a good chance.
Q: Which post position would you prefer?
G: Three or four.
Q: In the Arc, Shareta finished in front of Snow Fairy, who just scored an impressive win in the Queen Elizabeth II Commemorative Cup. That must have given you high hopes.
G: She was a bit uptight before the Arc, but she's much more relaxed now so I think she will show a better performance this time.
Q: The Arc champion, Danedream, is one of your opponents in this race. Are you confident that your filly will settle the score this time?
G: I think it's possible.
Q: You were five lengths behind Danedream in the Arc. What is your confidence based on?
G: She's been improving by the day since the Arc. There is no reason to think she doesn't have a good chance.
Q: It's been a while since she was raced on a left-handed course. How did she run in her last left-handed race, which was at Saint-Cloud? And does the left-handed course worry you?
G: She's developed a considerable amount of muscle and is well balanced on both sides, so she can handle whichever direction the race is run in. She was still immature when she ran at Saint-Cloud, and she's a much more experienced filly now, so I'm not worried.
Danedream
Danedream (GER, F3, bay)
- jogged in exercise arena (7 min.), jogged 1 lap, walked, on dirt course
(exercised from 8:02 AM to 8:25 AM, ridden by Cynthia Atasoy)
Owner: Heiko Volz
Trainer: Peter Schiergen
Jockey: Andrasch Starke
Q: When and why did you decide to run your horse in the Japan Cup?
O: The main reason was that she was getting stronger and that she won the Arc. We entered her in the Japan Cup because we thought that it would contribute to her further improvement.
Q: Please tell us about the training and condition of the horse after arriving in Japan.
T: I worked her yesterday, and she's in good form. She's fit for the race.
Q: What are her strong points, and what are your expectations in the race?
T: Her strong point is that she is very flexible and versatile to any condition. She's a very tough filly, and we hope that she will show her best performance at the race.
Q: What is your preference in the post position?
T: I wouldn't want an outside draw. I would prefer a draw to the inside—between one and ten.
Q: Snow Fairy, who was placed third in the Arc, had a sweeping victory in the Queen Elizabeth II Commemorative Cup. Since Danedream won over Snow Fairy in the Arc, can we also expect a very good outcome from your filly in the Japan Cup?
J: I think that the fillies and mares are very strong this year, including Snow Fairy, Shareta and Buena Vista. Our filly is also one of them, and we hope she can race in her best condition, with the best outcome.
Q: Shareta, runner-up in the Arc, and Victoire Pisa, winner of the Dubai World Cup, will also be running in the Japan Cup. Who do you think will be your strongest rival?
J: Though I believe it (Japan Cup) will be the first start for Victoire Pisa after coming back from Dubai, I'm sure he's in good form. All the horses should be in their best condition, so I think all the runners will be very hard to beat.
Q: Can you describe her condition over the past 3-4 months? Also, how do you feel about the firm ground?
J: She can handle any type of ground, so there should be no problem. She travelled well, she's in good form and everything is going well. She weighs the same as last time.
Q: What is your overall impression of Japanese horseracing?
T: My impression is that everything is very well organized.
Q: The filly seemed to be in good form at yesterday's workout. Do you usually do strong work before the race?
T: I do the same strong work with her as necessary in Germany. Yesterday, she galloped about 600 meters, that's why we kept her workload light today.
Q: The filly won the Arc with a 5-length margin and in record time. She looks like a superstar to me. How highly do you rate her among the best horses you've ridden?
J: She's definitely the best horse I've ever ridden. She gave me the best time in my career on October 2. To have a horse like her is a dream for a jockey. If she performs like her last run on Sunday, we'll be very confident. Of course, we'll need a clean race and a good draw, which helps a lot here. Anyway, I'm very confident with the filly. She's given me so many great times this year, and I hope she'll have a good day on Sunday. The direction of the race, left-handed or right-handed, doesn't matter for her.
Mission Approved
Mission Approved (USA, H7, bay)
-jogged 2 laps right-handed on dirt course
(exercised from 7:16 AM to 7:31 AM, ridden by Naipaul Chatterpaul)
Owner: Terikchand Chatterpaul
Trainer: Naipaul Chatterpaul
Q: When and why did you decide to run your horse in the Japan Cup?
O: Since we won the Manhattan Handicap. My brother, the trainer, said that the horse is working well and doing well, and so he thought that he would bring him to Japan.
Q: Please tell us about the training and condition of the horse after arriving in Japan.
T: The horse is doing very well. He has adapted well to the traveling and to Japan's surface, and I think he should run a great race.
Q: What is your training schedule until the race day?
T: Any fast work tomorrow should be like a brisk gallop, and the following day should be like cantering along the track. I think he's fit enough to run already. He's showing signs of a lot of fitness and he's feeling good.
Q: What are his strong points, and what are your expectations in the race?
T: The Japan Cup is now probably one of the toughest races with very competitive field. There are strong horses from Europe and Japan, but my horse is in good form, and he should run a great race.
Q: Do you have any preference in the drawing?
T: With 18 horses, I'm sure we're not going to get what we want, but we'd love to get anywhere between no. 5 to 10.
Q: What is your impression of the Tokyo Racecourse?
T: I acknowledge that there is a long stretch of about 3/8 of a mile. Hopefully, we would be sitting with some of the frontrunners but not in the front this time. We want to run with the horses that are going to close, and hopefully get ahead of them at the right time.
Q: You've seen your horse on the lead in almost every race you've had since you bought him a year and a half ago. Do you really think he could be effective from just off the pace, or is it going to be more of a play-it-by-ear situation?
T: My plan, basically, is to play it by ear, but there are few other horses that also have speed in the race, and I'm hoping that they would want to take the lead and we could sit right off the pace, and try to make the run home.
Q: I understand that you're training your horse right-handed every morning here (when it's a left-handed course). Is that common for you or is there a special reason behind it?
T: In the United States, basically we train that way. If I turn him around left-handed, he tends to get very tough and wants to do more than I want him to do, so that's one of the reasons why I train him right-handed here.
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