The “best mile horse” in Japan here to take Golden Eagle prize money

The Japanese have a strong contingent of horses in Australia for the spring carnival.

Arguably the most promising of those will run in the Golden Eagle (1500m) at Rosehill on November 2.

Ascoli Piceno, trained by Yoichi Kuroiwa, is considered one of the very best milers in the land of the rising sun, according to Japanese racing liaison Kosi Kawakami, and should give a good account of herself in the $10 million race.

“She’s a top-class filly. A Northern Hemisphere three-year-old coming here so she is a four-year-old mare,” Kawakami said on SENTrack’s Giddy Up.

“She is the best mile horse we have in Japan. We expect her to perform really well.”

Gareth Hall suggested: “If she’s the best miler in Japan she’d be winning a Golden Eagle.”

Kawakami replied: “You’d think so. She’s definitely the best three-year-old miler in Japan.

“I think they’re here to take a big chunk of prize money.”

Ascoli Piceno is currently the $3.60 favourite with Sportsbet for the Golden Eagle.

Another star Japanese raider on our shores is Prognosis who is the current Cox Plate favourite.

He brings strong middle distance form down under having run fourth in the Group 2 Sapporo Kinen over 2000m after his runner-up to reigning Cox Plate champion Romantic Warrior in Hong Kong, also over 2000m, in the Queen Elizabeth II Cup in April.

The Mitsumasa Nakauchida-trained seven-year-old has been compared to Lys Gracieux who claimed the 2019 Cox Plate.

“He’s in great shape,” Kawakami said of Prognosis.

“Of course it is very hard to compare directly because they never raced against each other. Lys Gracieux had already won a Group 1 before coming here, Prognoisis hasn’t.

“But I can say he is very unlucky that he hasn’t won a Group 1 yet. His ability is definitely Group 1 level, he’s just been bumping into superstars, the best of the best.

“He is one of the best middle distance horses we have in Japan at the moment.”

Prognosis is the $3.30 favourite for the weight-for-age classic which takes pace at The Valley this Saturday. He will be ridden by Daman Lane who has a great association with some of the top Japanese stables.

Thirdly there is Warp Speed for Noboru Takagi.

The six-year-old did not enjoy the rain-affected surface in the Caulfield Cup, but is expected to race well in the Melbourne Cup provided the track is dry.

“Hopefully Warp Speed will bounce back and perform well in a Melbourne Cup,” Kawakami added.

Warp Speed is currently priced at $34 with Sportsbet for the Melbourne Cup at Flemington on November 5.

Image from Japan Racing Association.

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