Japanese pair ready for Arc blast-off against Enable on Sunday

The Japanese are flying high in the Rugby World Cup and there was another scrum in Newmarket on Thursday morning when the media got a glimpse of their two Arc hopes, Fierement and Blast Onepiece.

The level of interest reminded locals of the frenzy that surrounded the visit of the mighty Black Caviar in 2012, who was stabled on the same premises at Abington Place Stables on the Bury Road.

The Japanese have yet to win the Prix de l'Arc de Triomphe but the pair are part of a three-strong raiding party from the country for this year's Longchamp feature, the other being the French-based Kiseki.

Christophe Lemaire flew in from Japan to renew acquaintance with Fierement, trained by Takahisa Tezuka, who finished third to his compatriot Blast Onepiece last time in a Group 2 at Sapporo.

Fierement after his workout

Both colts are general 33-1 chances for the Arc and enjoyed a nice breeze together over a mile on the Long Hill Polytrack

Lemaire, who gave post-gallop interviews in Japanese, French and English, said: "Fierement travels strongly in the mornings and I had to hold on to him a little bit on Long Hill this morning, which is a good sign for him.

"He's ready to run and the Arc looks the right race for him. He's won a Group 1 over two miles but for me he's not a true stayer and I expect him to be very comfortable over a mile and a half.

"He's by a French mare, so I would expect him to like going around Longchamp, even though it's his first trip out of Japan."

Lemaire added: "Enable will be the hot favourite and we can't pretend we are going to beat her, but racing is racing and I need to ride my horse with confidence as we are here to win. If the horse can perform like he does in Japan I hope to finish in the first three."

Christophe Lemaire faces the Japanese media

On his counterpart BlastOnepiece, trained by Masahiro Otake, Lemaire said: "BlastOnepiece is a very tough horse and soft ground would suit him better. He beat us last time but that was over a mile and a quarter and Fierement was finishing well down the outside."

Later, Japan Racing Association representative Nobu Furuta explained the unusual reason why the pair were being prepared for the Arc in Newmarket rather than France.

He said: "The representatives of Northern Farm, where the two horses are based, inspected Chantilly and Newmarket and went for the latter as it is busier. Japanese horses are used to busy places whereas Chantilly is too quiet."

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