Horse Racing

Yahagi Looking for more global success in July Cup


Japan coach Yoshito Yahagi has had a pretty good year internationally and his next target is the G1 Darley July Cup this Saturday against King Hermes (Jpn) (Lord Kanaloa {Jpn}) .

The 3-year-old pony, last season’s GII winner Keio Hai Nisai S., arrived in Newmarket on June 24 with his steady friend Bathrat Leon (Jpn) (Kizuna {Jpn}), who will be running at G1 Qatar Sussex S. at Goodwood. King Hermes got his first taste of the July Course on Tuesday morning working five featherweights under the control of racer Ryusei Sakai and accompanied by two geldings trained by Roger Varian and John Berry.

After watching his horse school in previous rounds and marching comfortably throughout the exercise, Yahagi, who arrived in the UK on Monday and was speaking through interpreter Kanichi Kusano of the Japan Racing Association, said, “I am aware the horse lost speed on the last race and it may be the hill but this work will help him understand how to run on race day. “

King Hermes, who has only started five times and has not run more than six pairs of trousers since making his captaincy debut in June 2021, was recently tested at the one-mile distance, but his coach not worried about falling behind on the trip for the July Cup, with the twist of course being a factor in this decision.

He continued, “I feel that the ideal distance for this horse is seven hairs but since you have the inclination here being able to reduce to six hairs would also suit it.

“I was worried about his inexperience until I met the horses today, but now that I’ve seen him, I feel pretty confident for the July Cup. I especially love the July Cup and the Jubilee Field and it would be a real honor if I was lucky enough to win this race. “

This will be the first UK trip for Ryusei Sakai, who has had international racing experience in Australia, Dubai, Saudi Arabia and France as well as in his home country of Japan. Yahagi is however familiar with Newmarket having spent three months on a Dubai-sponsored fellowship with Geoff Wragg’s stables in 1990.

His love of travel hasn’t diminished since then. He last finished second in the UK at Royal Ascot a decade ago, but in the past year his profile on the world stage has increased, with a Breeders’ Cup double do Marche Loraine (Jpn) and Loves Only You (Jpn) at Del Mar . This win was followed by wins for Stay Foolish (Jpn) at the Longines Red Sea Turf H. with the Saudi Cup card and a treble on the night of the Dubai World Cup with the aforementioned Bathrat Leon and Stay Foolish in the G2 Godolphin Mile and G2 Dubai Gold Cup respectively, while Panthalassa (Jpn) hot die with Lord of the North (Ire) in G1 Dubai Turf. Among those international successes, Yahagi’s 2021 Triple Crown winner, Contrail (Jpn), succumbed with victory at the Japan G1 Cup in November.

Japan was represented by a July Cup champion at Agnes World, who won the race at the age of 5 for Hideyuki Mori in the hands of Yutaka Take.

Recalling this success to his home country, Yahagi commented: “It is difficult to compare King Hermes with [Agnes World] who was once a very good sprinter. This horse is young and inexperienced but we are just looking forward to the experience.”





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