UP WITH THE BIRDS gettin down in Japan
Thoroughblog/Toronto Star reached trainer MALCOLM PIERCE in Tokyo, Japan to talk about the Japan Cup on Sunday (around 1 a.m. Toronto time) and his first ever trip to that country.
“I didn’t go to the Japan Cup with Chief Bearhart for Sam-Son (finished fourth in 1993) so this is my first time. We are a little messed up with the time change, I think we lost a day somewhere.” said Pierce.
No question it is a trip of a lifetime for Pierce and his wife Sally, who joined exercise rider MARK RAMSAMMY at Tokyo racecourse with the 4yo ‘Birds’. Also in the country for the $5 million race is Michael Balaz, son of the late Tammy Balaz, and Mark Samuel, son of Ernie Samuel. Rick Balaz spoke from his office this week that he was unable to travel to Japan for the race but is hoping to cheer the Stormy Atlantic colt on to a good finish – there is almost $1 million for 2nd down to $230,000 for a 5th place finish.
Up With the Birds had a bit of an odd campaign in 2014 and not a lot of good luck in his races. He has one stakes win this year but has not run 3 times in Canada so he is not eligible for a Sovereign Award. He by-passed the Canadian International to compete in the Grade 3 Knickerbocker and he was too far back and could not catch up.
Eurico da Silva will ride Up With the Birds against 17 rivals.
TORONTO STAR FEATURE ON BIG WEEKEND FOR CANADIAN HORSES:
JAPAN CUP – $5,000,ooo us.
Up With the Birds gets post 7
1 Just a Way(JPN) H5 57 Yuichi Fukunaga Naosuke Sugai Akatsuki Yamatoya Heart’s Cry Sibyl Wild Again
2 Ivanhowe(GER) C4 57 Filip Minarik Jean-Pierre Carvalho Gestut Schlenderhan Soldier Hollow Indigo Girl Sternkoenig
3 Gentildonna(JPN) M5 55 Ryan Moore Sei Ishizaka Sunday Racing Co. Ltd. Deep Impact Donna Blini Bertolini
4 Epiphaneia(JPN) C4 57 Christophe Soumillon Katsuhiko Sumii U.Carrot Farm Symboli Kris S Cesario Special Week
5 Hit the Target(JPN) H6 57 Yutaka Take Keiji Kato Shinji Maeda King Kamehameha Latir Tamamo Cross
6 Harp Star(JPN) F3 53 Yuga Kawada Hiroyoshi Matsuda U.Carrot Farm Deep Impact Historic Star Falbrav
7 Up With The Birds(USA) C4 57 Eurico Da Silva Malcolm Pierce Sam-Son Farm Stormy Atlantic Song of the Lark Seeking the Gold
8 Denim and Ruby(JPN) F4 55 Suguru Hamanaka Katsuhiko Sumii Kaneko Makoto Holdings Co. Ltd.
Deep Impact Venenciador King Kamehameha
9 Isla Bonita(JPN) C3 55 Masayoshi Ebina Hironori Kurita Shadai Race Horse Co. Ltd. Fuji Kiseki Isla Cozzene Cozzene
10 One and Only(JPN) C3 55 Norihiro Yokoyama Kojiro Hashiguchi Koji Maeda Heart’s Cry Virtue Taiki Shuttle
11 Tosen Jordan(JPN) H8 57
Pierre-Charles Boudot
Yasutoshi Ikee Takaya Shimakawa Jungle Pocket Every Whisper Northern Taste
12 Tamamo Best Play(JPN) C4 57 Akihide Tsumura Katsumi Minai Tamamo K. Fuji Kiseki Hot Play Northern Taste
13 Decipher(JPN) H5 57 Gregory Benoist Futoshi Kojima
HH Sheikh Mohammed bin Rashid Al Maktoum
Deep Impact Mizna Dubai Millennium
14 Satono Shuren(JPN) H6 57 Shinji Kawashima Akira Murayama Hajime Satomi Stay Gold Red Diamond Erhaab
15 Spielberg(JPN) H5 57 Hiroshi Kitamura Kazuo Fujisawa Hidetoshi Yamamoto Deep Impact Princess Olivia Lycius
16 Fenomeno(JPN) H5 57 Yasunari Iwata Hirofumi Toda Sunday Racing Co. Ltd. Stay Gold De Laroche Danehill
17 Uncoiled(FR) H5 57 Keita Tosaki Yoshito Yahagi U.Taiki Farm Giant’s Causeway Tanzania Alzao
18 Trading Leather(IRE) C4 57 Kevin Manning James Bolger Godolphin Teofilo Night Visit
JAPAN RACING ASSOCIATION INTERVIEW with Trainer (T): Malcolm Pierce and Jockey (J): Eurico Da Silva
Q: How has his condition been since arriving in Japan, and how would you rate him now out of 100 %?
T: I think he’s doing very well and I think he’s 99 percent of being at his best.
Q: How would you assess him in terms of his suitability to the fast ground here and the 2,400-meter distance?
J: I saw him galloping this morning and he was galloping very free, very nice. I don’t think the track will be a problem. He’s a very easy horse to race and to run and I don’t think we are going to have any problems with the track.
Q: Where would the ideal position be for your horse to be sitting during the race?
J: He’s a kind of horse that likes to run relaxed, and I don’t think he will be too close in the beginning, but when we turn home, I don’t want to see him too far back. But it’ll be up to him—he’s going to choose where he wants to be. I always leave it up to him, he’s a very smart horse and I just follow where he’s happy in the race. Where he’s happy, there he will be.
Q: When did you start considering your participation in the Japan Cup?
T: It’s been back a few months now; I guess it was before the Arlington Million race. We wanted to see how he performed there, and as we got closer here it got a little more serious. We were invited back in September and the owners decided they’d like to give it a try against some of the best company in the world.
Q: What stall would you like to draw?
T: Somewhere in the middle of the field would probably be the best—it’s going to be a big field and you don’t want to be right on the inside and be standing in the gate too long. But you also don’t want to be hung wide from post 16, so I would say right in the middle would be perfect.
Q: Has he had any schooling in the parade ring, because it’s a very long parade before this race?
T: No he’s only been here since Saturday since he got out of quarantine, and it’s very quiet around here except on race days, but he usually handle things pretty well. It was a long time in the paddock at Arlington for him and he seemed to handle that fine. I think the weather here also is very nice—50 or 60 degrees and he seems to take everything in stride, this horse.
Q: We saw that in the Nijinsky Stakes, he came from behind. How would you like to see him in the run here being a big field? And also being traditional Japan Cup, that the pressure is on pretty well all the way, and they do run quite fast times, record times here?
T: Well his race in New York, he got so far back. We sure don’t want to have to pass 16 horses from the head of the stretch, so hopefully he’ll get going a little bit earlier before the second turn and be in the race, whether he’s seventh or eighth. You wouldn’t want to really have to make up more than six or seven lengths, I wouldn’t think, in the last quarter-mile.
LEXIE LOU VERSUS CALIFORNIA CHROME
7 p.m. Saturday 0 Grade 1 Hollywood Derby. Del Mar
CALIFORNIA CHROME ran a 113 Beyer Figure in the Breeders’ Cup Classic – anything close to a 95-100 wins the Hollywood Derby. He is bred for grass too. Lexie Lou is sharp, however, so let’s hope for a good finish!
INTERVIEW WITH JAY HOVDEY, DAILY RACING FORM
Given the international scope of the sport, classic winners crossing paths is really not that unusual. Go back to the 1923 races between Kentucky Derby winner Zev and Epsom Derby winner Papyrus for starters. Dahlia was an Irish Classic winner in 1973 and ran against all kinds of European classic winners in her day. Queen’s Plate winner Kennedy Road tried to beat Secretariat and Riva Ridge in the 1973 Marlboro Cup. Triptych was also an Irish classic winner and ran against several classic colts in her career. The Breeders’ Cup has thrown together many classic winners, mixing fillies and colts. Cox Plate winner Strawberry Road faced English 1,000 Guineas winner Pebbles in the 1985 Turf. Queen’s Plate winner With Approval took on Arc winner Saumarez in the 1990 BC Turf. And so on.
