Weather could ruin Glorious Days' chances

John Size believes rain on race day is a serious threat to his rising star Glorious Days capturing a maiden Group One race in Tokyo on Sunday, in a Yasuda Kinen the trainer suggested might be down on star power compared to previous years.

Rain is forecast from today through until Monday, and a soggy surface would seriously harm Glorious Days' chances in the 100 million yen (HK$9.8 million) event, according to Size, who rescheduled his horse's final gallop to yesterday to avoid possible wet weather.

'He wouldn't like a rain-affected track, that is not a good surface for him,' Size said. 'He would rather have the track fast or firm. He doesn't travel well on a shifty surface. If there's no rain on Sunday that should be fine, but on raceday that would have some effect.'

As Glorious Days progressed through the grades, the last of his four straight wins for Size was his least impressive, the four-year-old battling to a short-head victory in a Class One handicap on ground rated good to yielding.

Jockey Douglas Whyte, who rides again on Sunday, cited the shifting surface at Sha Tin as the reason for the seemingly sub-par effort.

Since then he has been runner-up in open company on three straight occasions and, if the rain stays away, Size may have found a suitable race in which to break through at the top level.

The trainer drew parallels between Glorious Days and Armada, his runner-up in the 2008 Yasuda, and suggested this year's race might not be as tough.