He has won some of the biggest races in Kranji, including four Singapore Gold Cups and two Singapore Derbies, but a victory in Sunday's Group 3 JBBA Moonbeam Vase race over 1800m would mean the world to trainer Hideyuki Takaoka.
The $200,000 feature race is sponsored by the Japan Bloodhorse Breeders' Association (JBBA) and counts almost like a home race for the Japanese handler, who fell agonizingly short last year when his champion mare Better Life finished third, half-a-length behind winner Ready To Strike.
“Of course it's a race that has special significance for me and to finally win it would be very nice,” said the former Hokkaido-based conditioner.
“I've never won it before and came very close last year with Better Life but she had just returned from a long spell and wasn't at her peak yet.”
For this year's edition, he will saddle two Big Valley-owned gallopers in the form of Musketeer (Shafiq Rizuan) and Bendicion (Vagner Leal) and there is an added incentive should either of them triumph.
Both are Japanese-bred horses and are therefore eligible for the $50,000 and $10,000 bonus which will be awarded to the winning owner and trainer respectively.
While Musketeer, a Kurofune five-year-old gelding who has won five times from 23 starts, is a proven stayer and no stranger to the bright lights – this will be his seventh outing in a Group race – there remain some question marks for Takaoka over his stablemate Bendicion.
She will be fitted with winkers for the third race in a row, upon the recommendation of regular rider Alan Munro.
“Before she wore them she had a habit of losing focus down the home straight but Munro said she's much better now and there's already been a lot of improvement in her racing,” said Takaoka.
The up-and-coming four-year-old mare may have already claimed five victories in just 12 starts but racing past the mile will be unfamiliar territory for her.
“It's her first time over 1800m but I think she should be able to last the distance,” said Takaoka, who is renowned for his work with long distance horses which includes El Dorado, Jolie's Shinju and the abovementioned Better Life.
In her two Group level outings - the Singapore 3YO Classic (1400m) and Singapore Guineas (1600m) - last year, Bendicion was also comprehensively beaten by her nemesis the Three-Year-Old Champion Stepitup, who will jump from barrier seven while Bendicion has drawn the outermost lane.
Besides being headlined by the Sonny Yeoh-trained superstar who is the highest rated horse at 102, the race will also feature a pair of Group 1 winners in the shape of Super Ninetyseven (who will have Munro in the irons) and Cash Luck (John Powell), with ratings of 100 and 98 respectively.
It is a far cry from the more modest ratings assigned to Takaoka's runners Musketeer (82) and Bendicion (81).
Yet he can take comfort from the fact that the big guns have rarely dominated the JBBA Moonbeam Vase. Instead it has been the lesser lights that have shone, as evidenced by its honour roll that reads Ready To Strike (2013), Nandowra (2012) and Dontellthewife (2011).
“They have both been training well to get ready for this race but this will not be an easy race for them,” he said.
“There are some very good horses in this race but as long as we have some luck, there's always a chance.”
