THERE will be a rare Japanese-trained runner in next Saturday’s Royal Bahrain Irish Champion Stakes as connections of Shin Emperor have confirmed to The Irish Field that the three-year-old colt is on course for the Leopardstown Group 1.
A full-brother to Sottsass, Shin Emperor has not raced since finishing third in the Japanese Derby in late May. His trainer Yoshito Yahagi has won major races in the USA and the Middle East, and has an ambition to train the winner of the Prix de l’Arc de Triomphe.
Shin Emperor will run in the Arc on October 6th but Leopardstown next Saturday is his first target. The son of Siyouni arrived in Europe on August 26th and has been stabled with Chantilly trainer Hiroo Shimizu. This week assistant trainer Yusaku Oka told The Irish Field that Shin Emperor is not yet at full fitness.
“His condition is okay and his fitness is not 100% yet,” he said. “We are coming to Leopardstown and Ryusei Sakai will ride.” The jockey took a fall at Sapporo Racecourse recently and he too is battling to regain full fitness.
Asked if the 10-furlong distance might be on the short side for Shin Emperor, Oka said: “He won a Group 3 over 2,000 metres (10 furlongs) as a two-year-old, so he will like it. We don’t have any preference regarding ground conditions.”
Japanese racing fans have a reputation for their devoted following of horses racing overseas but Oka says that Shin Emperor’s participation at Leopardstown has largely gone under the radar. “He is not yet a Group 1 winner so the public haven’t much interest in him. I hope he will win the Irish Champion Stakes and then people will become interested. The Leopardstown race will be televised in Japan on the Green Channel.”
On the likely opposition, Oka commented: “We respect all the other runners, especially those from the Aidan O’Brien stable and Economics [trained by William Haggas]. We feel like we are the challengers and we will enjoy the race.”
Oka has plenty of experience looking after top class horses on overseas assignments for his boss. He accompanied Forever Young when that horse won the Saudi Derby and UAE Derby last spring before bringing the horse to Churchill Downs where he finished third in a three-way photo for the Kentucky Derby.
ROYAL BAHRAIN IRISH CHAMPION STAKES
Current betting: 6/4 Economics, 4 Auguste Rodin, 6 Los Angeles, 12 Passenger, 14 Ghostwriter, Opera Singer, 16 Al Riffa, Luxembourg, Shin Emperor, 20 bar.