Cheval Grand hoping to strike gold for Japan at York After a landmark victory for Japan with Deirdre at Glorious Goodwood, hopes are high Cheval Grand can follow suit in the Juddmonte International at York on August 21. The seven-year-old entire won the Japan Cup in 2017 and showed at Meydan in March he was no back number when second to Old Persian in the Sheema Classic. He has already run once in Britain this season, when sixth of 11 behind Enable in the King George, where the ground was felt to be against him. “Cheval Grand is in very good form. He’s training towards York and we’re trying to get him better than last time,” said Yusuke Oe, assistant trainer to Yasuo Tomomichi. “The ground was too soft for him in the King George. It was very unfortunate that it kept raining from the night before until the afternoon of the race and it was too slippy for him. He is a horse who prefers firm ground. “He will have another few gallops before York. He was fit in the King George, but he was beaten by two very brilliant horses in Enable and Crystal Ocean. “Last month I visited York myself to see the racecourse and meet with the clerk of the course, William Derby. It felt like a racecourse with a good atmosphere.”
