The deadline will soon arrive for Goliathauthor of an exceptional season and who will defend the colors of France, on November 24 in Tokyo in the Japan Cup (Gr. I). If his preparation was somewhat disrupted, Goliath will be ready when it’s time to board next Wednesday, as Cantilian mentor Francis Graffard explains: “We actually had to go to Germany to compete in the Preis von Europa (Gr. I)in Cologne, but a problem with one of his feet made us change our plans. We therefore fell back on the Prix du Conseil de Paris (Gr. II), where he really needed to run to breathe his fire. I was delighted to see him win and he rode well in that race and his preparation since then has been going very well.”
Associated with his faithful rider, Dylan Lepere, Goliath therefore completes his preparation at the Cantilian training center. “Goliath will do one last stretch before leaving, Monday morning, continues Francis Graffard. So he’ll be fine before he leaves. We will especially focus on seeing how he will take his trip, because he doesn’t really like being still, with his atypical way of walking. (he raises his left posterior high as he walks, editor’s note)… We will therefore adapt our work in Japan according to our ability to cope with the trip.”
The Japan Cup is therefore the next big objective of Goliathbefore, perhaps, being directed to Hong Kong. “We focused very hard on the King George VI and Queen Elizabeth Stakes at the start of the year and it went very well, remembers Francis Graffard. As everyone knows, we couldn’t compete in the Arc, so we decided to go to Japan. I had a good experience there with Erupt in 2015 (6e) and I wanted to go back. I think the Japan Cup ticks a lot of boxes for Goliath. In addition, which is not insignificant, he is eligible for a Super Bonus because he is a King George winner. Therefore, this destination seems quite logical for Goliath and we are very happy and looking forward to it.”
