Link: Japanese lead Melbourne charge - Horse Racing - Fox Sports.
INTERNATIONAL Group I winner Shadow Gate appears likely to target the $3 million W.S. Cox Plate at Moonee Valley in October as Japan looks to add the weight-for-age prize to a second consecutive Melbourne Cup win this spring.
Entries for the Melbourne spring features close this Wednesday, and the nation that struck fear into the hearts of Australian owners and trainers last year will be back with quality and a wider spread of competitors, Racing Victoria scout Leigh Jordon says.
Last year's Melbourne Cup quinella, Delta Blues and Pop Rock, lead the Japanese contingent for this year's race.
Several trainers have expressed concerns that the performance of the pair might have signalled an era of Japanese domination in the staying event, and their presence this spring would have some Australians doubting their own prospects.
Tosho Knight will be a new visitor to Melbourne. Trainer Kazutaka Yasuda has placed the Cup at the top of Tosho Knight's agenda since his brave fifth to Meisho Samson in the Tenno Sho over 3200m at Kyoto in April. This followed his third to Admire Moon - recently bought by Godolphin for $40 million - in the Kyoto Kinen in February.
Shadow Gate won the Singapore International Cup over 2000m at Kranji in May after running second to Meisho Samson in a Group II race at Hanshin in April. His only appearance since was in the Takarazuka Kinen at Hanshin in June, unplaced behind Admire Moon.
Trainer Yukihiro Kato has been in contact with Racing Victoria racing manager Jordon, enquiring about the credentials of a stablemate who may also be entered and addressing other points. Jordon took that as an encouraging sign that Kato had intentions of heading to Australia.
Roc de Cambes, a New Zealand-bred colt turning three on Wednesday, and unbeaten in Japan, has been nominated for the Victoria Derby in November at Flemington.
The $130,000 yearling has won at 1800m and 2000m this year.
Leading Irish trainer Aidan O'Brien has signalled his intention to be in Melbourne this spring.
O'Brien is making arrangements to bring his family to Australia for a holiday after the Cup, for which he is likely to nominate several horses.
O'Brien was represented in last year's race by Yeats, but his instructions on the preparation of the stayer were conveyed by phone and carried out by staff as O'Brien was required in the US, where he had runners in the Breeders' Cup races on the corresponding weekend.
This year, the Breeders' Cup is being run a week earlier, at Monmouth Park, freeing O'Brien to come to Australia.
An indication of the staying strength in O'Brien's team can be measured by the nominations for the Irish St Leger in September. His 19 entries for the event, considered a major lead-up, include Yeats, Scorpion and Septimus.
Although Yeats ran seventh in the Melbourne Cup last year, O'Brien and his team at Ballydoyle were pleased that subsequent tests revealed no wear and tear issues resulting from the trip to Australia and the gruelling test at Flemington.
Dermot Weld, who has won the Melbourne Cup twice, has acquired Bellamy Cay from the stables of Khalid Abdullah.
Formerly trained by Andre Fabre, Bellamy Cay, runner-up in the 2006 French St Leger, is now raced in similar ownership to Vintage Crop and Media Puzzle.
Jordon met Godolphin racing manager Simon Crisford this month, and Crisford renewed the stable's commitment to winning the Melbourne Cup.
Godolphin is likely to be active in the next 36 hours with nominations for the major spring races, but the stable so far has played its cards close to its chest.
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