Lovcen can go to “another level” when he shoots for the G1 Kikuka Sho and Triple Crown glory next month according to the star three-year-old’s rider Kohei Matsuyama, who drove the Satsuki Sho and Derby winner to a nose win in the G2 Kobe Shimbun Hai at Hanshin on Monday.
With the two spring classics long since in the bag, the Haruki Sugiyama-trained colt is on target for the Japan Racing Association’s (JRA) final classic, where victory would seal his place in history as Japan’s ninth Triple Crown winner, six years after Contrail became the eighth.
The Tokyo Yushun hero’s win at Hanshin was a close-run thing, a nose at the line was all that separated Lovcen and runner-up Altramuz at the end of the 2400m lead-up to Japan’s equivalent to the St Leger. But Matsuyama believes Lovcen’s first run since his Derby win in late May was just the tune-up he needed.
“From the moment I took him out at a canter today, I could still feel that there was some looseness in him,” said Matsuyama, who one-race earlier had hit a century of wins for the campaign.
“His reaction from the gates and things like that also tell me there is another level of improvement to come, so I think he can improve further. The margin ended up being very small, but I’m glad he was able to get the job done and win.”
Lovcen returned the 1.4 favourite and while the margin was tight, the star turn showed the attributes that could carry him to the Triple Crown his fans want.
“He was travelling well enough, and I thought he would be able to get past them in the end. He really sustained his turn of foot for a long way and I thought it was a very strong performance,” Matsuyama said.
“He did have a moment in the barrier where he almost reared up a little, so including that, I want to make sure we practise properly and prepare him thoroughly before the big race.
“Even though this wasn’t a Group 1 today, so many people came out, and I was honestly surprised,” he continued. “I’m really happy that in front of such a crowd we were able to show Lovcen at his best and see him win.”
Matsuyama had moved to 99 wins early on Saturday, but then rode four seconds from 18 mounts before he hit the century aboard Joy Boy in the race before Lovcen’s. He has now accrued 100 wins or more in each of the last seven seasons.
“I had a lot of rides Saturday and Sunday but even after getting to 99 wins, I just couldn’t get the result,” Matsuyama added. “It really made me realise again just how difficult it is to win even one race. So I’m really glad I was able to finally reach 100 today.” ∎
