Four meetings around Japan on Thursday with Nagoya, Kawasaki, Mombetsu and Sonoda all hosting. Kawasaki looks the pick of the cards with some well credentialed horses going around and we've picked out our best bets across the day.
Sonoda Race 7 #2 Grimoire
An interesting clash at Sonoda and I'm siding with the filly Grimoire who is yet to win a race but knocking on the door and ran a good race first up despite being beaten as the $1.70 favourite. She went for home early off a good tempo and was collared late but did beat third by 6 lengths and rated higher than the #1 Rapunzel Moon who is coming off two straight wins. I expect the market to gravitate to Rapunzel Moon given her profile but off the data, there's very little between them and off last start, Grimoire actually rates as the one to beat.
Kawasaki Race 10 #13 Caro Destino (each-way)
Good race at Kawasai with two horses on winning streaks set to dominate the market in #1 Wipe Out and #14 Cosmic Sterling, however I think Caro Destino will represent a bit of value given her record. She's had three starts for new trainer Masataka Sakuma and two have been good, with a miss coming in the middle which I'm happy to forgive in muddy conditions in a stronger race. Her two ratings either side of that stack up well here and her first up win actually rated better than the likes of Cosmic Sterling's last victory. I expect she'll start double figure odds here and is worth a ticket each-way to knock off the more fancied runners.
Mombetsu Race 9 #5 Queen's Please
This filly looks the standout at Mombetsu having notched up two wins in a row this preparation. She has relished the switch from the JRA and posted two dominant wins under the care of Takehiro Yasuda which should see her incredibly hard to beat here. She is up in grade here against tougher opposition but I'm still expecting her to be odds-on in the market as she looks a class above. Anything over $1.50 realistically is good shopping as she should just lead and win.
Nagoya Race 11 #10 Arena Maestro
Open race at Nagoya for the feature race and Arena Maestro creates interest coming off a poor run last start over 1700m in a stronger race. Her best form is mainly at 1500m which she drops back to here, and her form prior to last start was excellent, winning three in a row. Now she's back in grade and if she strikes her best, she'll take plenty of beating. There is plenty of competition, with #5 Peisha Katy and #11 Win Fede both racing well, but I think Arena Maestro is just as likely and we should get a bigger price.
