Leung Ho Yin, Simon's Bio
Simon is a well respected full-time thoroughbred racing commentator specializing in pedigree and overseas international racing. He is currently the presenter on several racing television programmes including, ‘Horse Racing – Results’, ‘Simulcast Preview'’ and Simulcast oversea races.

Tokyo Racecourse – Track Analysis (Japan Cup):

On top of its sprawling track width, and a 525m-plus stretch run, the Tokyo Racecourse also features its own sweeping turns, and deep closers with explosive late speed would as well pounce home from out wide. That said, with the homestretch going uphill from 400m to 300m out, front-runners at Tokyo Racecourse have to create some separation on the pursuing pack while homeward-bound, or find it an insuperable task to wire them all the way. Overall, this is still a fair track that favours no particular running style.

For the 2400m Japan Cup, with the first turn merely about 300m after the start, horses breaking from out wide, especially in full fields, will have their work cut out for them. In the 2019 running of this big prize contested on yielding turf, the eventual tierce of SUAVE RICHARD, CURREN BOUQUETD’OR and WAGNERIAN were all prompting the first flight. While both saved ground early, SUAVE RICHARD launched his first-over run on CURREN BOUQUETD’OR at the top of the lane, never relinquished the lead, and sealed the deal, whereas former Tokyo Yushun (Japanese Derby) victor MAKAHIKI, though wolfing down his competition deep stretch, one by one on the far outside, was late to the scene, and checked in fourth.

When the going was listed as firm for live racing on 15th November, yet the inside paths clearly getting all cut-up, front-runners simply got reeled in by the closing pack from out wide that hit the board race after race. With showers teasing the Tokyo area all week long, and mostly cloudy on Sunday as per the latest forecasts, this year’s edition of the Japan Cup could be staged on tricky goings. Hopefully the turf would hold up well, and prominently-placed runners breaking from middle or inside stalls still enjoy a slight edge.

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