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7.40am Chukyo, Sunday - Takamatsunomiya Kinen | Grade 1 | 4yo+ | 6f | Turf

The opening Grade 1 of the Japanese turf season takes place against an unusual backdrop, not only of a Chukyo racecourse closed to fans but with the owners' association having voted that its members should remain absent in the face of coronavirus. 

Fortunately most of the jockeys are available, though reigning champion Christophe Lemaire is serving a 14-day isolation period having spent time in Dubai ahead of the aborted Dubai World Cup. 

Japan only boasts two Grade 1 sprints and Godolphin's Tower Of London aims to add this prize, worth a total of Υ253,640,000 (£1.89m) to his victory in the Sprinters Stakes last September.  

Yuichi Fukunaga gets the call as Tower Of London  attempts to confirm Nakayama superiority over Danon Smash, who came out on top when the pair first met at Sapporo last August and again on reappearance in the Ocean Stakes last month. 

Danon Smash  is a son of Japanese sensation Lord Kanaloa and, like his sire, is trained by Takayuki Yasuda, the closest Japan has to a sprint specialist among its training ranks, while championship leader Yuga Kawada is entrusted with the steering. 

Danon Smash threw his chances away when rearing as the stalls opened in the Hong Kong Sprint under Frankie Dettori last December, but the five-year-old was always expected by his connections to be a more complete racehorse this season. 

Yasuda has a second leading chance of taking this race for the third time courtesy of Diatonic, who has never raced at shorter than seven furlongs but boasts extraordinary consistency in hitting the board. 

Tower Of London's trainer, Kazuo Fujisawa, saddles arguably the most fascinating runner in Gran Alegria, an impressive winner of the 2019 Oka Sho (1,000 Guineas) who rounded off last season when routing older rivals in the Grade 2 Hanshin Cup over 7f.

Lemaire would have almost certainly had the choice between Tower Of London and Gran Alegria – no other jockey has ridden her publicly – and in his absence Kenichi Ikezoe will be aboard. 

Familiar faces among the jockeys on show include Mirco Demuro on Mozu Ascot – who has been rerouted here from a trip to Randwick for the Doncaster Mile – while Yutaka Take rides I Love Tailor

Grounds for concern

The weather forecast is far from kind for the city of Nagoya and, while Japanese courses rarely get as heavy as can be the case in Europe, wet track form could become a factor. 

In that context, Normcore's Group 3 win at a yielding Tokyo last October is interesting, while the form of her fourth in the Hong Kong Mile suggests she has the class if she handles the drop in trip.

Also of interest is A Will A Way, who landed the Silk Road Stakes on her return over what was some professionals felt was slower ground than the official description given. 

What they say

Takayuki Yasuda, trainer of Diatonic and Danon Smash
The results were unfortunate in Diatonic's last race but his ability to run aggressively is a big plus going into a 1,200 metre race. With only two full weeks to train Danon Smash between races, he has been working on the woodchip flat gallop rather than the hill gallop. He's been getting gate practice as well. He used to have a weak back but he got a lot stronger after Hong Kong and he's looking more and more like his sire Lord Kanaloa. I wouldn't say he's bad on a heavier track but I would prefer to have a fast one.

Kazuo Fujisawa, trainer of Gran Alegria and Tower Of London
In fast work this week, even though she's returning from a layoff, Gran Alegria was on her game. There are a lot of sprint specialists in the field. She's an Oka Sho champion and I've cut her distance by a furlong each time so I do think she'll be able to handle it well. I am concerned about the amount of rain we'll get, but she's a very positive horse and I think she could handle a heavy track. Tower Of London was returning from a long layoff in the Ocean Stakes last start and he was carrying 58kg and broke from the far inside gate. I think third place was a good showing. I am a bit worried about rain but considering the types of grass he's run on, I think he can handle a heavy track.

Yoshito Yohagi, trainer of Mozu Ascot
I can't say how he'll do in his first time over 1,200 metres until we try it. His physique has been changing to one more suited to shorter distances, so I am open to taking on new challenges. The Doncaster Mile was set for April 4, so this is a week earlier and I'd trained him over the dirt course at Tokyo Racecourse while in quarantine. The straight at Chukyo is long enough and there's a hill.