Ito has high regard for Lohengrin
Japanese trainer Masanori Ito is out to correct the record and slide his name in alongside compatriots who have taken races here in the past decade and his Hong Kong Mile runner, Lohengrin, made that wish look closer to coming true with a brilliant workout yesterday.
'Actually, I was one of the pioneers of Japanese trainers bringing horses to the Hong Kong meeting, when Mile Bridge finished ninth here in the 1990s,' he recalled yesterday. 'Since that time, I have had just one horse come to Hong Kong, Air Jihad, and he was scratched from his race after he injured a tendon. So, I am hoping for a better result this time.'
While a number of Japanese trainers elected to take horses to Europe in hopes of making their mark in what was a far more prestigious scene, Ito says the attraction of Hong Kong was obvious.
'It was just a few hours away, so it seemed a much better idea when you compare that with taking a horse to the United States or Europe,' he explained and added that change in climate here is a benefit to the horses, but not so great that it is a shock to the system. 'At home in Japan now, it is very cold, so going away is very comfortable for the horses and Lohengrin seems to like the weather here.'
For all his misgivings about the distance, Ito nevertheless did campaign Lohengrin in two races in France where he managed a Group One second in the Prix Moulin de Longchamp in September over 1,600 metres. On his return home, the horse could only finish 13th in the Tenno-Sho (Autumn), or Emperor's Cup, at 2,000m but there were pilot-error reasons for that and regular jockey Hiroki Goto has been replaced. 'Before that race, he rode the horse very well. But in that race, he disputed for the lead all the way very fast with another horse,' Ito said. 'They ran each other into the ground.'
American Kent Desormeaux will take the reins on Sunday, and his first feel of Lohengrin will be in the $14 million Mile. 'That is no concern - Desormeaux is a very famous jockey in America and also now in Japan,' Ito said. 'This kind of jockey can ride a horse very well without knowing him.'
With trainer Shuji Kitahashi present for the gelding's serious grass gallop, Eishin Preston also left no doubt he was in fine condition ahead of his attempt to make it four from five at Sha Tin.
His training routine while visiting Hong Kong has been exactly the same on each tour, having a tough workout three days before his race each time, and each time looking on top of his game.
'I think he has been in better form in Japan than before he came to win the Queen Elizabeth II Cup in April, and his condition in the last few days has been better than in any visit to Hong Kong,' Kitahashi said. 'So I am very happy with the horse, but I also believe that this is the hardest race he has faced in his career.'
