Damian Lane has labelled Hishi Iguazu the pick of his FWD Champions Day rides as the top Australian jockey prepares to team up with three Japanese gallopers at Sha Tin on Sunday.
Lane has built a strong association with the Land of the Rising Sun, with several successful riding stints there over the past five years and international Group One wins on Japanese gallopers, including Win Marilyn in the 2022 Hong Kong Vase (2,400m).
The 30-year-old will ride Hishi Iguazu in the Group One QE II Cup (2,000m), Obamburumai in the Group One Champions Mile and Sunrise Ronaldo in the Group One Chairman’s Sprint Prize (1,200m) on one of Hong Kong racing’s biggest days.
“It’s a good meeting to be a part of and I’m riding a couple of nice horses,” said Lane, who has ridden 120 winners in Victoria this season and leads both the state and metropolitan premierships.
“That was one of my intentions when I first went to Japan, I was hoping to be able to ride the Japanese horses when they travel and it’s been great so far.”
Hishi Iguazu faces a rematch with Romantic Warrior after running third to the champion Hong Kong galloper in the Group One Hong Kong Cup (2,000m) last December.
The Noriyuki Hori-trained eight-year-old was narrowly beaten by fellow Japanese galloper, Loves Only You, when second in the same race in 2021.
Lane is concerned Hong Kong’s wet weather could thwart his QE II Cup mount.
“He loves it there in Hong Kong, he runs well every time he goes,” Lane said. “We’re a little concerned about the weather and the possibility of a wet track with him, but the stable is really happy with his condition and if he runs up to his last two runs in Hong Kong, he’ll be very competitive.
“Romantic Warrior’s obviously the champ and they’ve met twice and [Romantic Warrior] has beaten [Hishi Iguazu] both times. He’s up against it but he’s gone close both times, so hopefully he gets his chance to turn it around.”
Obamburumai also faces a tough test against superstar Golden Sixty, but he boasts a strong record of four wins from seven starts.
Lane teamed up with the Keiji Yoshimura-trained colt for the first time last start but had no luck on a wet Randwick track in Sydney, finishing 13th in the Group One Doncaster Mile.
“Not much went right for him in Sydney,” Lane said. “He’s a horse who runs best with plenty of room and time to build into his races, but he didn’t get either of those.
“He had a long time in between runs, so hopefully that run has brought him on. He’s a classy horse who can hopefully bounce back.”
Lane said Sunrise Ronaldo, a four-time winner up to 2,000m, will have to produce a career-best performance against the likes of California Spangle, Victor The Winner and fellow Japanese representative Mad Cool in the Chairman’s Sprint Prize.
“He doesn’t quite have the form of some of those better ones,” Lane said. “He’s got to step up a bit, but I’m sure if they thought he wasn’t capable, they wouldn’t have brought him over.”
Comments
