“He is still mentally immature and young.”
Trainer Takahisa Tezuka believes that he has leading Japan Cup contender Masquerade Ball in excellent form ahead of his blockbuster clash with Calandagan and co in Sunday's mile and a half Grade 1 but was quick to voice concerns about his ability to handle the big occasion.
"I think he's in really good form," he said. "I would have liked an inside draw but still he should be able to cope with the post position (15), and I hope he can display his versatility."
A winner of four of his seven starts to date, Masquerade Ball twice finished behind the reopposing Croix Du Nord when third and second in the Japanese 2000 Guineas and Derby before readily reversing the placings on his return from a six-month break in the Tenno Sho earlier in the month.
"In the Derby he was a really good second, and it proved he handled Tokyo," said Tezuka. "That's one of the reasons we chose the Tenno Sho for his race after the long summer break,"
"We didn't want to train him during the summer heat, but he came back to Miho training centre in great condition which resulted in a good performance in the Tenno Sho.
"Tokyo suits him very well and we always wanted to compete in two races during the autumn season this year, that's why the Japan Cup was our next target."
Masquerade Ball looks set to jump as market leader, at least in Japan, come Sunday afternoon local time despite the fact that Tezuka feels his challenger is much too short in the betting.
"No," was the resounding answer when asked if his personal confidence reflected the horses current betting position.
"The gap from his last race is relatively short, so we will see how he handles it. We also need to see how he copes with the step back up in distance as well as the different starting position. In the Tenno Sho, they start from the shoot where it is quiet whereas in the Japan Cup you start right in front of the grandstand, so I wonder how he will handle that situation.
"He is still mentally immature and still young. He can get irritated in different atmospheres. Ideally, we would pony him down to the start, but we don't have that system here."
The three-year-old son of star Japanese sire Duramente will at least be in the best possible hands when standing behind the gates on Sunday afternoon, with the four-time Japan Cup winning rider Christophe Lemaire set to retain the partnership following their recent Tenno Sho success.
"I trust Christophe very much because he is one of the number one jockeys in Japan," he said of the French-born jockey, who will be seeking his fifth Japan Cup having partnered Vodka to success in 2009, Almond Eye to victory in both 2018 and 2020, while Equinox fairly stole the show with a stunning performance two years ago.
"He's ridden a lot of the top horses I have trained in the past, and we have a very good relationship. He will have to play a very important role in the race and I trust him."
Based around 90 minutes outside of Tokyo at Miho training centre about, Takahisa Tezuka is no stranger when it comes to taking on Europe's elite thoroughbreds having saddled multiple top-level winner Fierement against the likes of Waldgeist and Enable in the 2019 Qatar Prix de l'Arc de Triomphe, while Win Marilyn defeated the Andre Fabre-trained Botanik when they met in the 2022 Hong Kong Vase.
Whilst Tezuka hasn't been afraid of travelling horses in the past, he would like to see his latest rising star develop mentally before thinking about potential international targets.
He said: "At the moment, my main focus is on the Japan Cup. I don't think he's matured mentally yet as sometimes he gets nervous, so I'm not sure how he would adapt if sent into a different environment overseas.
"At the moment, I will focus on domestic races but next year it could be a possibility, I don't have a specific country or place in mind, but it could be an option if the owner would like."
