Danedream, last seen in her record-setting romp in the Group 1 Prix de l’Arc
de Triomphe, will try to become the first to follow up Longchamp heroics with a
victory in Sunday’s Grade 1 Japan Cup at Tokyo. Germany’s world-class
three-year-old filly is also competing for a lucrative payday. Aside from the
winner’s share of the $6 million purse, Danedream is in line for a $1.25 million
bonus should she turn the Arc/Japan Cup double.
But hers is hardly the only story line. Reigning Japanese Horse of the Year
Buena Vista is on a revenge mission after her controversial disqualification
here one year ago, the promoted winner Rose Kingdom aims to become the first
two-time Japan Cup hero, and Victoire Pisa returns for the first time since his
Dubai World Cup win.
A May 7 foal, Danedream has improved mightily over the course of the 2011
season. The Peter Schiergen trainee began to turn the corner with a 6 1/2-length
tour de force in the Group 2 Oaks d’Italia, and she’s been invincible of late,
winning her past three by a combined 16 lengths. After slamming older males in
both the Group 1 Grosser Preis von Berlin and Group 1 Grosser Preis von Baden,
Danedream was supplemented to the Arc, where she made a mockery of her 26-1 odds
with a five-length conquest in record time.
Teruya Yoshida astutely purchased a half-interest in Danedream just prior to
the Arc. Her itinerary, which was originally supposed to include the Breeders’
Cup Filly & Mare Turf, was changed to Tokyo. To extend her winning streak to
four in this 1 1/2-mile test, Danedream must overcome a deep Japanese team, as
well as an unfavorable post 13 with regular rider Andrasch Starke.
Arc runner-up Shareta and Grade 1 Canadian International victress Sarah Lynx,
both French-based fillies, are likewise eligible for bonus money. The Aga Khan’s
homebred Shareta, winner of the Group 3 Prix Minerve in August, is another
progressive sophomore. The Alain de Royer-Dupre pupil was third in the Group 1
Prix Vermeille before outperforming expectations in the Arc. Prominent
throughout, Shareta kept on gamely for second, defeating such high-profile
rivals as Snow Fairy, So You Think and St Nicholas Abbey. Christophe Lemaire,
who guided Vodka to 2009 Japan Cup glory, will try to minimize ground loss from
post 14.
The John Hammond-trained Sarah Lynx has captured two of her last three, with
a fourth in the Prix Vermeille in between scores in the Group 2 Prix de Pomone
and the Canadian International. The four-year-old was overlooked at Woodbine,
going off at 22-1, but reveled in the yielding ground to sprint four lengths
clear. All three of Sarah Lynx’s career wins have come with Christophe Soumillon
aboard, and he sticks with her. That riding assignment provides an intriguing
subplot, for Soumillon had ridden Buena Vista in her misadventure in the 2010
Japan Cup.
Rounding out the international quartet is American hopeful Mission Approved,
who has paid handsome dividends on his $35,000 claim by Naipaul Chatterpaul.
Nearly upsetting Gio Ponti in the Grade 1 Man o’ War in 2010, he returned from
an 11-month layoff to shock that three-time Eclipse Award champion in the Grade
1 Manhattan Handicap in June. Mission Approved has failed to prosper in three
subsequent starts, and rates as a longshot here with Jose Espinoza.
The invaders are looking to buck a daunting trend: no foreign-trained horse
has won the Japan Cup since Alkaased in 2005, and worse still, none has even
cracked the top three since Ouija Board (third in 2006).
Buena Vista crossed the wire an emphatic winner in last year’s running, and
can be justifiably viewed as the defending champion morally, if not officially.
As if aware of the lese-majeste committed against her in the stewards’ room, she
hasn’t won since. Buena Vista, a champion in each of her seasons of racing, is
on the verge of losing that distinction.
Yet, except for her flop in the Dubai World Cup on Tapeta, Buena Vista has
continued to run well. Last time out, the Hiroyoshi Matsuda mare met with
trouble when fourth as the defending champion in the Grade 1 Tenno Sho Autumn.
Back up in trip over her favorite course here, the five-year-old is eligible to
recapture her former glory. Yasunari Iwata will be able to save plenty of ground
from post 2.
Rose Kingdom, Japan’s top two-year-old colt of 2009, is the defending Japan
Cup champion of record. Since he was tightened up briefly by Buena Vista a year
ago, he has had limited success for trainer Kojiro Hashiguchi. Rose Kingdom
appeared to be back in form when landing the Grade 2 Kyoto Daishoten, but wound
up a disappointing 10th next time in the Tenno Sho Autumn. French-based rider
Ioritz Mendizabal will try to click better with Rose Kingdom this time from post
3, right outside Buena Vista.
Victoire Pisa was third in the 2010 Japan Cup, but the Japanese Two Thousand
Guineas hero snared champion three-year-old colt honors by edging Buena Vista in
the season’s grand finale, the Grade 1 Arima Kinen. He opened 2011 in
championship form, with a brilliant win in the Grade 2 Nakayama Kinen, and
handed Japan an historic first victory in the March 26 Dubai World Cup.
Unfortunately, a succession of injuries canceled further globetrotting plans,
including another crack at the Arc in which he finished seventh last year.
Trainer Katsuhiko Sumii has admitted that a prep race would have been
preferable, but is satisfied with his charge’s condition off the eight-month
layoff. Mirco Demuro, whose heady rides have played a role in Victoire Pisa’s
three-race winning streak, hopes to make it four in a row. The tactically-adept
colt is well drawn in post 8.
Eishin Flash, who beat Rose Kingdom and Victoire Pisa in last year’s Japanese
Derby, has gone winless in the interim. That record, however, includes a few
near-misses, most notably in the Grade 1 Tenno Sho Spring. The Hideaki Fujiwara
trainee bids to do better than his eighth in the 2010 Japan Cup, but post 15
won’t help. Picking up the services of the hot-riding Kenichi Ikezoe, however,
might work the oracle for a colt who is arguably overdue.
Pelusa has yet to fulfill his early potential, but the bust of the 2010
classic crop could be sitting on a breakthrough. The Grade 2 winner has been
nibbling at the majors, as evidenced by his fifth in last year’s Japan Cup,
fourth in the Arima Kinen, and his placings in the past two editions of the
Tenno Sho Autumn. With his penchant for slow starts reportedly behind him,
Pelusa has the natural talent to factor from post 7 with Norihiro Yokoyama.
There is but a single representative of Japan’s current classic generation —
not the swashbuckling Triple Crown winner Orfevre, but rather Win Variation, who
has been vainly chasing Orfevre in such races as the Japanese Derby and Japanese
St Leger. Should Win Variation go close here, the sophomore would pay a massive
compliment to Orfevre.
While Orfevre’s red-hot young trainer, Yasutoshi Ikee, has opted to await the
December 25 Arima Kinen with his stable star, he will saddle a trio of
contenders in his initial Japan Cup. His first is Tosen Jordan, who exits a
career-high in the Tenno Sho Autumn. Already a multiple Grade 2 winner, Tosen
Jordan raised his game to earn his first Grade 1 laurel in memorable style, by
sizzling 1 1/4 miles in a record 1:56.10. The five-year-old hasn’t shown any
signs of regressing off that peak performance, and Ikee believes that he might
even be better. A bigger obstacle figures to be post 16. Australian Craig
Williams has the task of dealing with the draw.
In Ikee’s view, To the Glory has improved the most of his three entrants in
the build-up, implying that he could be reverting to his stellar form of old.
Third to Victoire Pisa and Buena Vista in the Arima Kinen, he was victorious
over Pelusa and Rose Kingdom in the Grade 2 Nikkei Sho in April. To the Glory
had since lost his way, but displayed more life when fifth in the Tenno Sho
Autumn. Trailblazer earned another swing at the highest level by taking the
Grade 2 Copa Republica Argentina last time out, and gets Yutaka Take in the
irons.
Oken Bruce Lee, who missed by a whisker in the 2009 Japan Cup, will be
contesting his nation’s signature race for the fourth straight year. The
six-year-old has not visited the winner’s circle for more than two years, but
his recent placings hint that he still has the ability. Oken Bruce Lee was
spotting Trailblazer weight when runner-up in the Copa Republica Argentina, and
is entitled to reverse form at level weights Sunday. The winner of the 2008
Japanese St Leger looms as a dark horse with new rider Masayoshi Ebina.
The seven-year-old veteran Jaguar Mail, fourth in last year’s Japan Cup, will
be making his third start off a 10-month layoff. He has proven himself at the
elite level through a victory in the 2010 Tenno Sho Spring as well as strong
efforts in three consecutive runnings of the Group 1 Hong Kong Vase. The
eight-year-old King Top Gun has had a banner year, capturing the first two
graded races of his career, but comes off unplaced finishes behind Tosen Jordan
and Trailblazer.