HKJC...
Yasuda Kinen 2008 - Trackwork Notes, Tues, 3 June
3 June 2008
The big news on Tuesday morning regarding the trackwork for the Yasuda Kinen 2008 concerned the reported withdrawal of one of the leading Japanese hopes, Company, from the line-up.
An eye injury is said to be behind this significant defection and his possible absence will no doubt strengthen the chances of the Hong Kong runners Good Ba Ba, Armada and Bullish Luck, all of whom travelled to Tokyo Racecourse on Tuesday from their quarantine facilities east of Tokyo. Confirmation of the withdrawal of Company is expected on Thursday when declarations are published.
The three envoys from Sha Tin have reportedly settled in very well in Japan and Bullish Luck had an easy gallop on Monday after a 1000m hit-out on dirt a day earlier to the satisfaction of work rider Cody Mo.
Tokyo has entered the rainy season early this year but the long-term forecast for the remainder of the week seems to point towards a track that should ride no slower than good.
Armada, runner-up in the Champions Mile, was due to perform fast work on Wednesday having completed light laps on Sunday and Monday.
Andreas Schutz, meanwhile, trainer of the leading Hong Kong chance, Good Ba Ba, said his six-year-old star would likely to stick to work on the turf track at Fuchu with breezes slated for Wednesday and Friday morning.
Among the locals, both Suzuka Phoenix and Derby-winning filly Vodka are said to be looking good, improved from their previous starts. Vodka, whose lighter-than-normal bodyweight had been cause for concern, has regained condition in the past week or so.
Elsewhere, trainer Yoshito Yahagi, responsible for perhaps the leading home-based runner Super Hornet, is confident his five-year-old is the one to beat.
"As Japan's number one representative, we want to beat the Hong Kong horses," he trumpeted.
"He has become more muscled and powerful in the past year and he has never been better," Yahagi added of his runner-up in the Mile Championship last November.
Super Hornet's previous inability to weather the haul from Ritto training center to Tokyo is no longer a factor as his solid win in the May 17 Keio Hai Spring Cup at the Fuchu circuit indicates.
Taking no chances, however, Yahagi has kept Super Hornet training at the Miho training center near Tokyo following the Keio. Cutting transport time to a fraction of what it takes from his home base at Ritto is a strategy that can only pay off on race day, the trainer concluded.
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