Eighteen horses will leave the gate at 2:40pm (HKT) on Sunday at Chukyo Racecourse for the 1200m Takamatsunomiya Kinen, one of only two G1 turf sprints in Japan.
Danon Smash, an up-and-coming son of sprint champion Lord Kanaloa, is poised to capture his first G1 victory on Sunday and if successful, a hat-trick. The four-year-old has notched up three wins and a second since dropping in distance to 1200m, but his three anti-clockwise runs have failed to bring him a win; with his best result coming on debut at Niigata where he finished second.
Trainer Takayuki Yasuda is optimistic. “Physically, he’s much more solid compared to last year.”
On Wednesday morning, jockey Yuichi Kitamura eased Danon Smash up the hill course at Ritto and the numbers on the screen – 51.3 seconds over 800m, were greeted with a smile from trainer Takayuki Yasuda.
“I thought it’d be around 53-some seconds, but he climbed right up with ease,” he said nodding with satisfaction.
Four-year-old US-bred filly Mozu Superflare is also seeking a hat-trick, after winning the G3 Ocean Stakes (1200m) at Nakayama on 2 March, beating Nac Venus by one and a quarter lengths. Mozu Superflare has returned two unplaced runs at Chukyo, with her most recent at the track returning a fifth in the G3 Falcon Stakes (1400m), just one year ago.
“She’s totally different from that race,” trainer Hidetaka Otonashi said. “She’s much stronger now.”
Mozu Superflare clocked a 49.2 seconds trip up the Ritto hill course on Wednesday with no urging. Trainer Hidetaka Otonashi saw no cause for alarm for the fast time. “The ground was fast today and I think she looked like she normally does.”
Seven-year-old veteran mare Let’s Go Donki ran second in both the 2017 and 2018 editions of this race. She comes into this race fresh, having only had the one run this year and as always, is expected to be popular amongst fans.
Six-year-old mare Nac Venus, who surprised with a third-place finish behind Fine Needle in this race last year, has finished runner up at both starts this year and her most recent run saw her place behind Mozu Superflare in the Ocean Stakes.
Trainer Hiroaki Sugiura said he had given Nac Venus relatively light work, due to only having three weeks between races.
At Miho, Nac Venus worked in tandem on the flat over the artificial surface and clocked 62.9 seconds over 1000m and looked to have maintained her condition nicely, following her run in Ocean Stakes.
Trainer Hiroaki Sugiura said, “I think she looked good and in even better shape than she did in her last race. I’m looking forward to the race.”
Meanwhile, Logi Cry, Mr Melody and Ares Barows looked good in track work at the Miho and Ritto training centres.
On Wednesday, Christophe Lemaire, who is returning from a nine-day suspension, took Logi Cry through his paces. Lemaire breezed the six-year-old up the hill course at Ritto clocking 55.2 seconds over 800m.
“It was a light workout, but he felt good,” said Lemaire. Logi Cry’s trainer Naosuke Sugai is confident the miler can handle his first sprint and that he should benefit from the long straight at Chukyo.
Mr Melody, a four-year-old colt taking on his first 1200m on the turf, ran second in the 1400m G2 Hanshin Cup on 22 December and returned for a seventh in the G3 Hankyu Hai (1400m) on 24 February.
He looked sharp under jockey Yuichi Fukunaga on Thursday morning for a time of 65.1 seconds over 1000m on the slightly yielding grass course at Ritto.
Ares Barows who has won at G3 level on the Chukyo 1200m turf track was forced to overcome the wide draw last start, which saw him finish fifth in the G3 Silk Road Stakes (1200m), three lengths behind winner Danon Smash, who carried 2lb less. He was urged strongly up the hill at Ritto on Wednesday for a time of 52.7 seconds.
