A three-pronged Japanese attack

Dubai: At first, the jaws dropped; it was soon followed by an outpouring of emotion as Italian jockey Mirco Demuro drove Victoire Pisa across the finish line to give Japan its first-ever win in the $10 million (Dh36.73 million) Dubai World Cup (G1) at Meydan last year.

Transcend took second place to give the visitors a 1-2 finish and brought tears to many in the 50,000-strong crowd. The victory came as Japan was recovering from the devastation heaped by nature just two weeks prior to the World Cup through an earthquake and tsunami.

It was one of the greatest moments not only in the 16-year history of the Dubai World Cup but in sport itself. It was a soothing success for a nation paralysed with grief.

And now, they are back. The Japanese are mounting a three-pronged attack on the world's richest horse race with Transcend returning along with Eishin Flash and Smart Falcon.

Smart Falcon, a Japanese-bred seven-year-old son of Gold Allure, heads the Japanese trio and has already been installed as a second favourite by odds-makers. The Ken Kosaki-trained Smart Falcon has won his last nine starts, the last in the Kawasaki Kinen on January 25. Yutaka Take takes the ride on Japan's main hope to emulate Victoire Pisa's win.

Overshadowed by Pisa

Transcend will be back for owner Koji Maeda. Last year, jockey Shinji Fujita hit the front early and even as one thought he was just setting the pace, Transcend continued to lead and got passed by Victoire Pisa in the final furlong to finish a great second.

Since that effort, Transcend has won a Listed Mile and a Grade 1 though his start to the season when he tried to defend the February Stakes finished in a seventh place run. But with 10 career wins in 19 races, including four Grade 1 victories, the six-year-old bay son of Wild Rush will be expected to run another big race on March 31. Eishin Flash, the third Japanese raider, is the five-year-old son of King's Best and is a winner of the 2010 Japanese Derby.

In fact, Victoire Pisa was third to Eishin Flash when the latter raced as a three-year-old in the Tokyo Yushun (Derby).

The Hideaki Fujiwara-trained Eishin Flash is expected to be partnered by Christophe Soumillon and the pair had finished a smart second to Triple Crown winner Orfevre in the Arima Kinen, Japan's season-ending Grand Prix last December.

After the breathtaking 1-2 finish by Japan in the world's richest race last year, much will be expected from the trio of Japanese raiders in the World Cup showdown this Saturday.