The barrier draw...
http://japanracing.jp/_news2008/080606.html
From our friends at SCMP.....
Friday, June 6, 2008
Old warhorse still young enough to shock handler
ALAN AITKEN
He might be nine years old, but it wouldn't seem a top-class mile event in the region without Bullish Luck and he was still young enough to spring a surprise on long-time handler Cody Mo Wai-kit at Fuchu yesterday morning.
The old warhorse tipped Mo off when he unexpectedly leaned down to the track on his way off the course after he completed a 600m test starting from the barriers.
"I think he was tired of his normal food and trying to get a mouthful of real grass," Mo said after the harmless incident and that accords with trainer Tony Cruz's assessment of what Bullish Luck has been about in Tokyo.
"At first, loneliness was a problem but he got used to it - as long as he has his food he is not worried," laughed Cruz. "I'm very happy with him and I liked his work this morning."
The loneliness has come about by quarantine protocols which saw Bullish Luck separated from Armada and Good Ba Ba in the quarantine station and at the racecourse - due to Bullish Luck's participation in Dubai - but, strangely, he was allowed to travel alongside the other horses from Hong Kong to Japan and from the quarantine centre to the racecourse.
Bullish Luck is back for his third Yasuda Kinen after a win two years ago and a fourth the year before that and the only reason he isn't looking for four in a row was injury.
"He was galloped on in Dubai last year and I wasn't able to get him fit to run in the Champions Mile, so he wasn't invited," Cruz said. "His win was brilliant and his unlucky run when he was fourth was also very good."
Friday, June 6, 2008
Ba Ba ready to take his Yasuda revenge
Alan Aitken in Tokyo
Good Ba Ba's light canter at Fuchu yesterday left trainer Andreas Schutz and on-lookers to believe the world's joint top-rated miler is ready to take revenge for his Tokyo defeat last year.
Hong Kong's star entry for the US$1.85 million Yasuda Kinen on Sunday was never set a task, but it was the way he went about the leisurely jog rather than the work itself.
Good Ba Ba punctuated both his path from the quarantine area to the track and the canter on the track itself with snorts and playful bucks more in keeping with a horse fresh from a break than after a long campaign, and his bright appearance underscored Schutz's confidence.
"There is a big difference between 2007 and how he has come here this year and I couldn't be happier. I don't think he's even close to empty and he's the best chance I've had in five visits to win a major in Japan," the German said.
Schutz took the opportunity to use Fuchu's turf track despite not asking Good Ba Ba for much of an effort but there was deliberate method to the move.
"With heavy rain on Wednesday, the dirt was very sloppy but the main reason for going on the turf was to keep Good Ba Ba happy," Schutz said. "Last year he gave the impression that he preferred the turf. He travels quite strongly on the dirt but is more relaxed on the turf. Also, going around the racetrack, he learns more about the track - the undulations in the back and in the straight are quite significant."
In last year's seventh to Daiwa Major, Good Ba Ba had left his best at home after a tough season and Schutz is confident that isn't going to happen this time.
"His jockey Olivier Doleuze and I have talked about this a lot with the owner," Schutz said. "Last year, the horse had a stable change during the season and came to me as a Class 1 horse and had some tough races getting through to the top grade. He then came to Japan off a disappointing run in the Champions Mile and was on the way down. This time, he has been racing since October in top company but has done it all so easily. Even in a close finish in the Hong Kong Mile, Olivier only used the stick once and he has said all season that he has not had to be so hard on the horse."
Victory would earn Good Ba Ba a US$1 million bonus as the winner of the Champions Mile at Sha Tin, as well as the title of Asian Mile Challenge champion and certainly Hong Kong's Horse Of the Year - a title which may already be his anyway.
A dominant foreign win may even see his ranking as world's joint top miler adjusted to give him a clear margin.
John Size, meanwhile, gave Armada a canter around on the dirt track in equally quiet fashion and is just as pleased with his runner.
"All the weight he lost on the way over he put straight back on. He's enjoying the cooler weather and I'm not concerned about his condition," Size said. "He looked around a bit this morning on the track but I don't think he'll do it in a field. And he's comfortable with the left-handed direction. I'm looking for something to worry about and haven't found it yet."
Declarations were taken for the race yesterday with Japan's highly-rated Company missing, as expected, due to an eye injury.