Japanese pair chasing the Cups dream
Two of the recently arrived horse in Melbourne for the spring carnival were lucky to depart before a typhoon hit Japan.
Chestnut Coat and Sole Impact arrived in Melbourne to begin their quarantine stay the day Typhoon Trami hit Japan, injuring 200 people.
Speaking through an interpreter, Sole Impact’s trainer Hirofumi Toda said he was reluctant to talk about how lucky the team was to leave Japan before the typhoon arrived.
“The typhoon made a lot of trouble in Japan,” Toda said.
“The JRA cancelled two days of racing in a row.
“I should not say anything about typhoon things. Typhoon made for us to travel well because many people could die from these things.”
While owned and trained by different groups, Chestnut Coat and Sole Impact are travelling under the Team Japan banner.
Sole Impact is owned by Yoshiro Kubota with his son Yasushi owning Chestnut Coat.
Chestnut Coat is almost assured of a start in the Caulfield Cup as No. 26 in the ballot order while Sole Impact is down the list at 51.
Toda said should Sole Impact not gain a start in the Caulfield Cup he would swing his attention to the Geelong Cup on October 24.
“We will make the horses condition flexible,” Toda said.
“Sole Impact is very good over the 2400 metre distance and both races are over the same distance so I don’t worry.
“I’m happy for either race.”
Toda expects Adelaide-based jockey Ryusei Sukai to ride the stayer in trackwork before he makes his Australian debut.
“If he were to ride at Moonee Valley this Friday he will come here Friday morning to ride the horse, if not the following week,” he said.
Katsuichi Kaizawa, the groom travelling with Chestnut Coat, said the horse travelled well and would have a steady build-up to the Caulfield Cup.
“IRT the transport company really supported us well,” Kaizawa said.
“The horse travelled really, really well.
“We did a fast work-out on the Tokyo racecourse before travelling two days before and what we do here is adjustment.”
“We want to do a little strong gallop but we’ll see how it goes.”