Serifos and Danon Scorpion headline Japan’s Mile Cup

First up in Tokyo’s five straight weekends of Group One events is the NHK Mile Cup (1,600m) for three-year-olds this afternoon.

This year’s expected full field of 18 starters, including five fillies, sees attention focused largely on five hopefuls, with Serifos and Danon Scorpion centre stage.

Serifos, with Cristian Demuro up, was second to Do Deuce by a half-length in the two-year-old pinnacle Group One Asahi Hai Futurity Stakes, a mile contest at Hanshin last December.

Unbeaten in his three previous outings, the Daiwa Major-sired Serifos suffered his first loss in the Group One turf event. Half a length behind him in third was the Lord Kanaloa-sired Danon Scorpion, who also had gone into the Asahi Hai unbeaten.

Serifos comes to the NHK Mile Cup cold off the Asahi Hai and he will be getting a new partner in Yuichi Fukunaga, who rode the galloper in his work on April 27.

“[Fukunaga] drove him pretty hard [in his] work last week over five furlongs on the woodchip course,” trainer Mitsumasa Nakauchida said. “And I think he got a good handle on him. They looked good together and the horse was moving well.

“This week, the colt worked alone and we breezed him over four furlongs and his time was good. His responses were sharp and, at his level, he doesn’t need any more than that.”

Though it is the first time at Tokyo for Serifos, he has done well racing to the left at Chukyo. While Nakauchida admitted there were many unknowns, the length of time between races and the appearance of more spectators was the most concerning.

“He has always got tense easily and has just started to quiet down, but it will be the first time for him to race before people in the stands. I hope the experience will stand him well,” Nakauchida said. “Typical of Daiwa Major progeny, he is assertive and powerful, so hopefully that works in his favour.”

Danon Scorpion followed his third in the Asahi Hai by contesting two Group Threes – a seventh in the Kyodo News Hai (1,800m) at Tokyo in February and a win in the Arlington Cup (1,600m) at Hanshin in April.

“For the Arlington Cup he wasn’t quite up to the shape he’d been in for the Asahi Hai, but he was better than he was in Kyodo News Hai. I was worried, but he did a great job,” trainer Takayuki Yasuda said. “He’s had lots of work since but this week was the main workout. The rider kept the pressure off and he took the hill course with ease.”

The Mile Cup jumps at 2.40pm Hong Kong time and is one of seven races the Jockey Club is simulcasting from Japan this afternoon.