• Japan, at 5-1, now seen as main danger to Enable in Arc• O’Brien mount may now go to
Irish Champion StakesJapan’s season started with a stutter here in May but he returned to the Knavesmire to set the record straight on Wednesday by beating Crystal Ocean, the 11-10 favourite, in the Juddmonte International Stakes and establishing a strong claim to be the season’s best middle-distance three-year-old in the process. Ryan Moore did not get Japan’s nose in front until the final strides but he is still improving and bookmakers now see him as the main danger to Enable when she attempts to win the Prix de l’Arc de Triomphe for an unprecedented third time at Longchamp in October.
York’s most prestigious Group One event was not an obvious target for
Japan when he crossed the line in fourth behind Telecaster in the Dante Stakes three months ago. It was a promising run from a horse that had suffered a slight setback over the winter but no more than that and he was a 20-1 shot for the Derby a fortnight later, with Moore aboard Aidan O’Brien’s first-string contender, Sir Dragonet, the 11-4 favourite.