Daily Mirror (Northern Ireland)
BIG ON JAPAN
Juddmonte hero looks a good thing for O’brien in the Prince Of Wales’s
JAPAN should bid his rivals “sayonara” in the Group 1 Prince Of Wales’s Stakes (3.00) at Royal Ascot today.
Although beaten half a length and a nose behind stablemate Anthony Van Dyck in the Derby at Epsom last June, the Aidan O’brien colt made great strides in the second half of the summer.
Having routed his opponents in the King Edward VII Stakes here 12 months ago, Japan stepped up to the top level to lift the Grand Prix de Paris at Longchamp and York’s Juddmonte International.
The Knavesmire triumph proved that Ryan Moore’s mount can show his best at this afternoon’s mile-and-a-quarter distance, and Japan should prove a class apart.