Japanese trainer Katsunori Tanaka is aiming to emulate his father-in-law, Yoshito Yahagi, by capturing one of the Melbourne Spring Carnival’s ‘big three’ races when he saddles up Golden Snap in the Group 1 Caulfield Cup (2400m) on Saturday.
Yahagi famously trained Lys Gracieux to win the 2019 Cox Plate before Tanaka had even received his trainer’s licence. Now, five years into his own training career, Tanaka is hoping to follow in those footsteps with Golden Snap, who makes her Australian debut this weekend.
Victory would see Golden Snap become the third Japanese-trained horse in 11 years to lift the Caulfield Cup trophy, joining Admire Rakti (2014) and Mer De Glace (2019).
Tanaka has had Australia on his radar for some time, having first visited Caulfield, Flemington, and the Werribee quarantine centre in April 2014 to study conditions and prepare for a long-term tilt at the Caulfield Cup–Melbourne Cup double.
While acknowledging Golden Snap may not yet have the same credentials as Japan’s past Cup heroes, Tanaka believes her light weight gives her a fighting chance.
“She is probably not as proven as some of the other Japanese horses that have come over in the past few years,” Tanaka said.
“But I have been aiming to race her in Australia, especially in the Melbourne Cup, for a year-and-a-half and I think she is the right candidate as she is lightly handicapped.
“Her form is good, and I think she is suited to race in Australia.
“I am really quite confident that she can run a good race in the Caulfield Cup. We have her fit and ready to go, but there is also improvement to the Melbourne Cup as well.”
Known for being a spirited mare, Golden Snap will again be ridden by her regular jockey Suguru Hamanaka. Tanaka said barrier 18 was far from ideal but believes maintaining momentum will be key.
“We will have a discussion with Golden Snap about it,” Tanaka joked.
“We want to ride her to keep her momentum going, we don’t want to stop and start.
“I’m not worried about the track. She has raced on tight turning tracks in Japan and Caulfield is big enough for her.”
Golden Snap is currently rated a $23 chance in Caulfield Cup betting, with Half Yours the $2.90 favourite.
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