Gearing up for his second attempt at securing Group 1 glory in Japan, Victor The Winner got a first feel for Nakayama’s turf course on Wednesday morning (25 September) with jockey Joao Moreira in the plate for trainer Danny Shum.

Victor The Winner is one of two Hong Kong-trained runners readying for Sunday’s (29 September) G1 Sprinters Stakes (1200m) at Nakayama, a racetrack located in the Chiba Prefecture of the Greater Tokyo Area, while the other representative is Mugen, who exercised slowly alongside partner horse Island Surprise today.

“He’s (Victor The Winner) in very good shape, very healthy, he’s shining. Which is what any jockey would ask for – a horse that is expressing to me how he is at the moment. That was the first impression I had about him when I first saw him this morning.

“We went onto the track for the workout and he went along for a nice, beautiful breeze-up. He gave me such a nice feel, which does get me very excited to ride him in the race,” Moreira said.

Winner of the 2024 HK$13 million G1 Centenary Sprint Cup (1200m) at Sha Tin, Victor The Winner placed third on yielding ground in the 2024 G1 Takamatsunomiya Kinen (1200m) at Chukyo.

The turf home straight at Nakayama is a steep uphill, which is only 310m in length. 

“I hope he can handle the track, also it’s a clockwise track. So, I do think he has the experience, and he is quite smart,” Shum said. 

Moreira arrives in Japan fresh after Group 1 success in Australia, where he claimed the G1 Underwood Stakes (1800m) at Caulfield aboard Buckaroo for trainer Chris Waller.

‘Magic Man’, who has ridden more than 1,000 Hong Kong winners, will aim to capture a third top-level victory in Japan on Sunday after successes aboard Lys Gracieux in the 2018 G1 Queen Elizabeth II Cup (2200m) and Stellenbosch, winner of the 2024 G1 Oka Sho (1600m).

“The main points, in my point of view, is that he (Victor The Winner) does have a lot of gate speed and that it will help him place himself so well in the race. As you can see, most of the races that he has performed in, he has shown himself up there straight away after they jump out from the gates,” Moreira said.

“As Danny did mention to me before – he loves racing fresh. Usually, when he comes back after a break is when he actually performs at his best, so it’s very nice to hear when he actually should perform at his very best, and I really think they’re going to be the keys this time, because just by looking at him you can see he is so well within himself.

“And I would be very disappointed if he does not perform – I think he’s going to be right there. Winning the race is a different story because we will be racing against some really strong horses, the competition is very strong, but at the same time I have to express that I do have faith in the horse.”

Last year’s Sprinters Stakes winner Mama Cocha is expected to return, among 18 nominations for the race which also features multiple Group 1 placegetter Namura Clair, who was third in this race in 2023. Mad Cool is also entered after his win in this year’s Takamatsunomiya Kinen.

Satono Reve has won his last two outings at Group 3 level. He is a five-year-old with seven wins from nine starts. Trained by Noriyuki Hori, Satono Reve is a son of Lord Kanaloa, a two-time Sprinters Stakes champion in 2012 and 2013.

Toshin Macau comes into the Sprinters Stakes after victory in one of Japan’s main lead-up races to this Sunday, the G2 Sankei Sho Centaur Stakes (1200m). The son of Big Arthur is also a Group 3 winner at Nakayama – his only previous run at this weekend’s course.

Only four horses since 1998 have completed the Centaur Stakes-Sprinters Stakes double in the same year: Meiner Love (1998), Believe (2002), Fine Needle (2018) and Tower Of London (2019).

The Sprinters Stakes was first run in 1967. This year’s renewal is the 58th edition.