It was great to get in and see Shin Emperor on Wednesday morning ahead of his run in next weekend’s Royal Bahrain Irish Champion Stakes.
12 months on from a slightly-unlucky passage when finishing third behind Economics and Auguste Rodin, it’s wonderful to have him back.
Given that he went on to be placed in the Japan Cup and win at the big meeting in Saudi Arabia in February, he could well be an improved horse this time around. He’s a full-brother to Sotsass and that European pedigree would offer hope he can progress from three to four and looking at him in the stables ,and on the gallops, he looks to have physically matured very well.
He’s lengthened and is more the finished article now than perhaps he was last year and mentally too given all the travelling he’s done since his last visit to Leopardstown, he will be well equipped to be deal with what’s to come.
The way the Japanese train their horses is to improve with time and age and another positive is the fact he’s with a master trainer in Yoshito Yahagi who has a superb record both at home and abroad.
His achievements at the Breeders’ Cup and in Dubai for example speak volumes and you’d have no concerns about the fact Shin Emperor hasn’t run since that messy race for the Sheema Classic in Meydan back in April.
He comes here a fresh horse, looks better than ever, is tactically more versatile and crucially jockey Ryusei Sakai will have learned plenty from last year’s race too.
The evidence suggests his mount is better with a strong gallop to aim at and hopefully he’ll get that with Aidan O’Brien set to run a pacemaker for Delacroix. That will help Shin Emperor too.
There’s every chance that if he gets a smooth run through the race this time, despite having to give six pounds to the three-year-old, he can bring off a famous success for Japan.
Unfortunately, a good chunk of the recording I did with connections ended up on the cutting room floor.
Having spent plenty of time talking about the clash with both Delacroix and Ombudsman, as I drove away from trainer Dick Brabazon’s Rangers Lodge Stables where the Shin Emperor team are loving their stay, news broke that the British raider won’t be travelling across.
It’s very, very disappointing for the race, the Irish Champion is a very prestigious prize and given it currently stands at 1-1 between the two colts, a third meeting here would have taught us plenty.
As a four-year-old now you’d think Ombudsman will be capable of taking his racing better than he did as a younger horse and John Gosden’s subsequent comments were a little surprising.
He told the Racing Post: “The Irish Champion Stakes is a race that our stable has won four times. Obviously, it would not be in the best interests of Ombudsman to race in September nor would the horse appreciate running against multiple entries from one stable on a track with a short straight.”
Aidan O’Brien had spoken earlier in the week about how simple he wanted the Irish Champion to be, he’d run a pacemaker, Delacroix would follow him and Ombudsman could feel free to sit in behind that colt.
Clearly Gosden knows what it takes to win an Irish Champion, his four previous winners overcame whatever obstacles where in their way, but at the end of the day they have to do what they think is best for their horse.
That was disappointing but the overriding memory of Wednesday’s visit was of how well Shin Emperor looked and how much his team are enjoying preparing him on the Curragh.
At home he’s trained in a training centre in Japan, on his other international visits he’s trained on the tracks themselves, and this is a complete novelty for him and his team.
The thing both the horse and those closest to him can’t get over is the fact there are so many sheep at the Curragh! No, he’s definitely ready to go again and a serious danger to all on Saturday week.
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