Danon Decile could be headed to Australia this October with owner Masahiro Noda and trainer Shogo Yasuda considering the G1 Cox Plate at the Melbourne Spring Carnival for the Tokyo Yushun and Dubai Sheema Classic winner.
Yasuda’s passport might be getting plenty of usage that week. He told Idol Horse his stable’s Lord Fons is being aimed at the G1 Breeders Cup Dirt Mile at Keeneland, Kentucky on October 31, seven days after Australia’s top weight-for age middle distance race.
“Danon Decile has the options of the Tenno Sho (Autumn) here in Japan or the Cox Plate in Australia; the owner will decide which race,” Yasuda said, speaking outside the sale pavilion at the JRHA Select Sale.
Lys Gracieux won the Cox Plate for trainer Yoshito Yahagi in 2019 and is the only Japanese horse to have landed the prize while Prognosis was second to Via Sistina in 2024.
This year’s Cox Plate is being staged at Flemington while its historic home Moonee Valley undergoes a radical rebuild and reorientation of the race track. And that is a significant consideration for the Danon Decile team.
“Flemington,” was Yasuda’s response when asked about the race’s appeal. “It is a better track, Moonee Valley is very difficult.”
Danon Decile is already well travelled. The son of Epiphaneia won the G1 Dubai Sheema Classic at Meydan, Dubai in March 2025 and headed to York, England four months later where he placed a disappointing fifth of six.
Yasuda believes those experiences, combined with the five-year-old’s maturation as a seasoned campaigner are in his favour should he head to Melbourne.
“The horse won’t be troubled by the quarantine,” he said. “He has matured through his past experiences and I don’t think the travel will be a problem for him.”
Lord Fons, meanwhile, will aim at the biggest race of his life in Kentucky. The six-year-old won the G3 Negishi Stakes at Tokyo in February, and landed the prestigious National Association of Racing (NAR) contest, the Jpn1 Sakitama Hai at Urawa in June. Both contests were at 1400m.
Yasuda was the assistant trainer and work rider for Lord Fons’ sire, the great Lord Kanaloa, and the Sakitama Hai provided an emotional victory, given that connection.
“Lord Fons is being aimed at the Dirt Mile, the track is two turns so that should suit him, the sprint there will be a bit too short for him,” Yasuda said.
“He is already six years old so he is very calm and the experience going there should not trouble him.” ∎
