Mitsumasa Nakauchida is “excited” at the prospect of his stable’s star mare Liberty Island clashing once again with her G1 Hong Kong Cup conqueror Romantic Warrior in the G1 Dubai Turf at Meydan on April 5.
Liberty Island showed she was back to her old self at the end of an injury-hit year when second to Romantic Warrior at Sha Tin in December, and Nakauchida has been pleased with her progress since then.
“It is exciting to race against Romantic Warrior again because Liberty Island is in good form: I’m very happy with her,” the trainer told Idol Horse.
Romantic Warrior has since won the G1 Jebel Hatta in Dubai and placed second in a sensational G1 Saudi Cup on dirt, but will be rested after the Dubai Turf and has not been entered for Hong Kong’s Champions Day on April 27. Liberty Island, on the other hand, is being aimed at that Sha Tin fixture immediately after Meydan, to contest the G1 QEII Cup, so long as she is well.
“If everything goes good, Liberty Island will go to Hong Kong,” her trainer said.
The Sunday Racing-owned five-year-old showed that she is in good heart when striding up the incline at Ritto on Sunday morning, as she closed in on her departure for Meydan, clocking 53.9s for the final half mile, including a closing 200m split of 11.9s under regular work rider Yuya Katayama.
“She breezed really nicely, that was her last fast work in Japan before leaving for Dubai and her work rider is pleased with her,” Nakauchida said.
“Since the last run she had in Hong Kong, she hasn’t had any setbacks, nothing has slowed her training programme, so everything is going the right way at the moment.”
Nakauchida described Romantic Warrior as “probably the best turf horse in the world” as he recalled Liberty Island’s storming stretch run in the Hong Kong Cup that carried her to second place behind the champ.
The daughter of the top-class Australian mare Yankee Rose raced in eighth place in that 2000m contest, a couple of lengths behind Romantic Warrior who quickened away for a brilliant victory. But Liberty Island posted the swiftest closing splits of all 11 runners, charging through the last 400m in 22.46s.
In fact, no horse went faster than her in each of the final three 200m splits, which came in at 11.39s, 10.93s, and 11.53s.
“This time the distance will be 1800 metres, which is best for her, and I think the track and how the races are run in Dubai will help her as well,” Nakauchida said.
“Her style at the moment is that she wants to get into her rhythm, we get her to breathe properly and then she can kick on. To get that good turn-of-foot, she needs to be relaxed during the race.”
And Nakauchida has every confidence that Liberty Island’s regular pilot, Yuga Kawada, is the man to relax her and engage that acceleration at the right time.
“He has very good hands and is a good rider,” the trainer said. “He is also a good horseman so he knows Liberty Island inside out. He is without any doubt the best jockey in Japan at the moment so I cannot get a better rider than him.”
Liberty Island was a sensational two-year-old and an even better three-year-old in Japan, winning the 2023 Fillies’ Triple Crown there and running second to the great Equinox in the G1 Japan Cup, but she had a frustrating and truncated four-year-old campaign in 2024. After running on for third in that year’s Dubai Sheema Classic over 2410m, she suffered an off-fore suspensory injury that kept her away from the races for 211 days.
The Duramente mare returned to action with a below-par 13th in the G1 Tenno Sho Autumn in October before showing her old sparkle in the Hong Kong Cup, a race that brought both satisfaction and disappointment to connections.
“I was very happy that Liberty Island ran her race because she didn’t have a good run in the Tenno Sho,” Nakauchida said. “She came back to her form in Hong Kong, so I was happy to see her true run, but she got beaten, even though she was beaten by probably the best horse in the world on turf at the moment. So, I was disappointed but happy, so mixed feelings.”
Nakauchida believes that Liberty Island’s experiences going to Dubai and Hong Kong, and even her time on the injured list, have helped her to settle.
“Since she moved into quarantine in Japan, she has to train very early in the morning but she has settled down nicely in that different environment,” Nakauchida said.
“That’s because she has experienced being in that quarantine area twice previously, so that experience is working in a good way for her.
“She’s maturing, mentally,” he added ∎
