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| Staff Writer |
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Here, the leading Japanese handler Yasuo Tomomichi talks to Ten Furlongs about his change of strategy from Riyadh to Dubai for his 6YO son of King Kamehameha, and the surprising way Admire Moon inspired his love affair with racing in the Middle East. It was just last December when Jun Light Bolt won the Gr.1 Champions Cup in Chukyo during his Japanese campaign.
This win brought Trainer Yasuo Tomomichi his 17th JRA-Gr.1 title following his Tokyo Yushun (Japanese Derby) victory with Do Deuce and his first JRA-Gr.1 title over dirt. This also marked jockey Yukito Ishikawa’s first Gr.1 and seventh graded title since his debut in 2014. The win was a tight neck over last year’s Gr.2 UAE Derby winner and fellow Japanese raider Crown Pride with Jun Light Bolt demonstrating an impressive late charge to win this year’s Champions Cup, registering his first Gr.1 title in his only fourth dirt start. Having already taken the spoils in a Gr.3 Sirius Stakes and Listed class Bsn Sho, trainer Yasuo Tomomichi was well aware of the ability of his 6YO.
Saudi Was A No-go
The King Kamehameha bay entire had his first run outside of his home nation recently, in the world’s most valuable race no less, the Saudi Cup. Finishing seventh as part of the four-member Japanese contingent Jun Light Bolt still put in a performance pleasing his trainer, even with the disappointing final result. “He had a great appetite, so he didn't lose weight and he was in the same good condition as when he was in Japan. “He was too excited in the waiting stable. But by the time he got into the parade rink he had calmed down. I thought he would be able to show his power if he kept like this. “He got off to a good start and I was relieved. “When we were at the parade link before the race, Ryan (Moore, jockey) and I talk with about how Panthalassa (eventual winner) was going to be fast, so let's keep an eye on him and take advantage of Jun Light Bolt’s late finishing speed. “Ryan's hand stopped around 100 meters after the start so I thought he decided to look ahead. “My horse got a lot of kickback so in the end it didn’t work out or go any further. When he faced a straight line and didn't come up, I thought "What’s happened?". His breathing was not good right after the race so I think he was affected by the kickback. “As a result, I think Saudi Arabia's dirt may not suit him.” Prior to the race with world class hoop Ryan Moore having trained with Jun Light Bolt he said he was excited for the race. “He (Ryan Moore) said ‘It's good to be calm. I am looking forward to it’.”
Japanese Raider In Dubai
Following the Saudi Cup run, Tomomichi says his horse pulled up well and will now prepare for the Dubai World Cup Carnival in hopes of returning to the winners’ circle. “The next day after the race the horse was seen eating well without any damage. He seems to have arrived safely in Dubai on February 28.” The trainer believes that conditions in Dubai will be far more favourable to that in Saudi ahead of what will be Jun Light Bolt’s second start outside of Japan. “The Meydan racecourse in Dubai will have a different quality of dirt than Saudi Arabia. Fortunately, he has no damage so I believe he will have a different result if he resets and starts the races well again. “If possible if he can race in a more forward position this time I think his results will change.” His victories to date have been by short margins with most by a nose to three-quarters of a length, so the trainer expressed that with a great start and a lead pacing position that his horse could match it with the fields set in Dubai. Tomomichi has had a strong career to date with over 650 winners and understands the targeting of specific horses to specific tracks and conditions to match.
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Old Ties To Dubai
The Japanese trainer is no stranger to the tracks of Dubai nor the taste of success in the UAE. In 2007 he watched, Hiroyoshi Matsuda-trained Admire Moon win the Gr.1 Dubai Duty Free Stakes (which would become the Dubai Turf), in his 4YO season. In that same year Admire Moon would also win the Japan Cup and in turn, be named the Japanese Horse of the Year. Tomomichi commented on his connection to the horse. “Admire Moon wasn't my horse, but when he won the Dubai Duty Free, the owner (Riichi Kondo) kindly brought me along.” A decade later Tomomichi would return to Meydan with his filly Vivlos. The Deep Impact x Halwa Street product would win the Gr.1 Dubai Turf as a 4YO under the hand of Brazilian jockey Joao Moreira. In that same year, she was awarded Japanese Racing’s award for Best Older Filly or mare. The horse would go on to carry a rating of 117 into her 5YO season earning her place as the 129th-best horse in the world. Tomomichi reflects on the horse and what it was like for him to go to Dubai and win a race during the Carnival in a fashion that did not go to the original plan. “When I went on an expedition to Dubai with Vivlos I wanted to let her run on hard ground, which she is good at, but it ended up raining all day and every day we were there. “I thought that we had come a long way but it was heavy ground, so I was disappointed. “That’s why I was in half doubt but in the end, she gave me a strong and great win. “This time I will be sending my horse to the dirt race for the first time for me but I have high hopes for the country of Dubai because it has nothing but a great image.” The Dubai World Cup is sure to have another great international flavour deeply infused by a strong Japanese contingent with names nominated including Crown Pride, winner of the 2022 Gr.2 UAE Derby over this track, Gr.1 February Stakes winner Café Pharoah, who finished third in the Saudi Cup along with Geoglyph, fourth in Saudi, to join Jun Light Bolt.