Simenon settling well in Japan Simenon has reportedly settled in well at his new base in Japan ahead of this weekend's Japan Cup. The Ascot Gold Cup second has moved on to Japan from Australia where he enjoyed a successful campaign, finishing a close third in the Herbert Power Stakes before finishing fourth in the Melbourne Cup, just two and a quarter lengths behind the winner Fiorente. Trainer Willie Mullins has already enjoyed notable success in Japan this calendar year with Blackstairmountain and connections are pleased with the preparations of their six year old ahead of his latest task. "He always travels well-he surprises us all the time. We're happy now that he's got here," Emmet Mullins told japanracing.jp. "He's done some speed work at Shiroi this morning, and we're very happy with him. We'll do some fast work one more time before the race, once he's settled in. I'll speak to the trainer in the morning, but it will be just slow work for him tomorrow. His best weight is 466kg, and he's close to it right now," he added. Simenon will be joined in the line-up by another runner from the Melbourne Cup in the experienced globetrotter Dunaden and the seven year old has taken the transit in his stride. "He had no problems traveling here, he's used to it and he was himself on the flight. He lost the usual weight, about 10 kg during the flight, but he put it back on in the next couple of days. His best weight is between 465 to 470 kg, and he's somewhere between there at the moment," Mathieu Brasme revealead. "He did some speed work this morning but it wasn't very strong because he had just raced in the Melbourne Cup two weeks ago, and he's fit and ready for the race. So it was just a blow up over seven furlongs and quicker in the last six hundred meters. "He won't be doing any more speed work till the race, especially tomorrow he won't do much because he had the fast session and transportation today. From then on, it will be just normal routine work on the dirt, unless the trainer decides otherwise." Ed Dunlop's Joshua Tree is also set to line-up in the prestigious Group One which features Gold Ship and Gentildonna, Japan's best colt and filly from last year's classic crop. Gold Ship comfortably came out on top when the pair met in Hanshin back in June for the Takarazuka Kinen over 11 furlongs, but Gentildonna has credentials to reverse the form with Gold Ship over the mile and a half of the Tokyo course having scored two of her most important career victories here in the 2012 Yushun Himba (Japanese Oaks) and Japan Cup. The draw for the race is made on Thursday.
