A strong tempo is on the wish list as Western Express heads into Sunday’s (3 June) G1 Yasuda Kinen (1600m) appearing for all the world a horse content with life and fit for the fray.

“He seems to run his best races when the overall time is fast,” trainer John Size said. “He doesn’t appreciate a slow tempo but the speed’s usually pretty solid in this race – when I’ve been here before, even when, on paper, there’s been a distinct lack of pace, on race-day it hasn’t happened that way.”

The handler ruled out his charge leading, when pressed by local media: “He doesn’t jump fast enough to take a position in front.”

Big-race rider Sam Clipperton, in the plate when Western Express posted career best efforts to place second in both the G1 LONGINES Hong Kong Mile and G1 Champions Mile, concurred with the handler.

“I think the race will suit him, he’s a big horse and he likes the pace on, and they certainly go a strong pace in Japan,” he said.

“His two Group 1 seconds, he’s probably been beaten by pace a little bit – they’ve gone fast early then really slackened up mid-race, whereas in Japan they should go a solid gallop right through.”

The Encosta De Lago five-year-old will break from gate seven of 16. Size was indifferent to that fact and history suggests that the draw number is largely irrelevant. Since 1984, two horses have won from the seven berth and a total of 15 from gates one to six, but low-drawn contenders have not had it all their own way with five winners coming from stall 14 and two – from 20 to have tried – breaking from 18.

“It’s a very big course and the horses in the wide gates still have a chance to drop in,” the champion trainer said.

Size was also unconcerned about the prospect of racing counter to Sha Tin’s right-handed configuration.

“It’s a very good racetrack, it’s big and the surface is quite forgiving and a beautiful track to race on – this course will suit my horse,” he said. “His first start in a race (in Australia) was on a smaller circumference and he won at a shorter distance, so he would have trained left-handed as a young horse ahead of that first start. He should be comfortable.”

Western Express has looked just that in his track work this week. It was the same again this morning (Saturday, 2 June) as the chestnut completed a few laps of the trotting ring before taking to the dirt course. Hong Kong’s hope completed a circuit at a solid canter and wound down through another lap at a slow hack.

“He’s fine, he’s normally a pretty happy horse, that’s usual for him, he’s not worried about anything. He’s strong and healthy so I’ve got no excuse for him. We’ve got a lot of big, strong horses to compete with – it’s always a strong event,” Size said.

“He’ll do the same again tomorrow morning, trot and canter, and tomorrow afternoon we’ll see if he’s good enough.”

Western Express tipped the scales this morning at 1,234lb.

The gelding will attempt to go one better than owner Larry Yung’s past champion, Oriental Express, runner-up to the outstanding Taiki Shuttle in 1998.