Real Impact Returns In Yasuda Kinen

Maurice, a horse that has yet to win above the G3 level, is expected to emerge as the favourite for Sunday’s G1 Yasuda Kinen, Japan’s premier mile race.

Other popular picks are likely to be Yasuda repeaters Danon Shark, Real Impact and Fiero. All three ran last year, but none figured in the top three places.

Real Impact and Maurice hail from the stable of current leading trainer Noriyuki Hori, who won the Japanese Derby last Sunday with Duramente.

The 4-year-old Maurice is jumping in class after placing his last three starts. Moving up in class with each run, he claimed two allowance races before capturing the G3 Lord Derby Challenge (1600m).

His blistering late speed and 3.5length winning margin in that race were enough to convince Hori the colt could take on the Yasuda.

The 7-year-old Real Impact is heading into the Yasuda without a prep following his return from Australia, where he won the G1 George Ryder Stakes (1500m) and ran second in the G1 Doncaster Mile.

Real Impact won the Yasuda Kinen as a 3-year-old, but finished in sixth and 13th place in his next two bids.

Danon Shark is also back for a third Yasuda bid.

Winner of the G1 Mile Championship last year, Danon Shark next took on the G3 Hankyu Hai in March and ran fifth, not a bad run considering he was heavy and the track was sloppy.

A bruised hoof forced Danon Shark to sit out the G2 Milers Cup, which would have been his Yasuda prep.

Track reports say he’s stronger than before his last run and trainer Ryuji Okubo is unconcerned about the lack of a sharpener.

Okubo is looking for a fast track, but Danon Shark has proved reliable over all ground.

Fiero, who ran second to Danon Shark in the G1 Mile Championship and then sixth in the G1 Hong Kong Mile, came third in the G2 Milers Cup last start.

He has yet to win a graded race but a Yasuda win is well within reach.

Vincennes is inexperienced at the G1 level as well but performed well in his last two starts, the G3 Tokyo Shimbun Hai over the mile in February and the 1400m G2 Keio Hai Spring Cup on May 16.

He recorded the fastest time over the last 600m of the latter, which was run at a slow pace, and just missed the win by a head.

Jockey-turned-trainer Mikio Matsunaga says he’s looking for a yielding track on Sunday, and with rain in the forecast for much of the week, he may get it.

Mikki Isle will be back at his best distance after taking on shorter distances for his past three starts.

Though he had usually been sent to the front, his recent runs and training have focused on getting him to settle with a bit of cover. His third in the G1 Takamatsunomiya Kinen (1200m) last time bode well for the Yasuda.

Fluky, who has three wins at the mile and has made the top three spots in nine of his 13 starts, is fielded by the highly successful Katsuhiko Sumii and will be back at Tokyo for his second time after a third in the G3 Tokyo Shimbun Hai (1600m) in February.