Japan's new owner has an Arc ambition as Ballydoyle star bids for royal repeat

Masaaki Matsushima has a dream, as does Yutaka Take. It is the same dream.

Take yearns to win the Prix de l'Arc de Triomphe. Matsushima yearns to make his friend's dream come true. All this being so, it is safe to say both men will be following the highlight of Royal Ascot's second day with the keenest interest.

It was announced in February that Japanese businessman Matsushima had bought a half-share in Japan, the Aidan O'Brien-trained son of Galileo – naturally – who became a Royal Ascot winner last season when storming to victory in the King Edward VII Stakes. He returns as hot favourite for the royal meeting's most prestigious prize, the Prince of Wales's Stakes.

It is Japan's first aim of the year. The ultimate objective is to realise those twin dreams on October's first Sunday.

Matsushima was at Longchamp when Japan followed up his course-and-distance Grand Prix de Paris success by finishing fourth to Waldgeist. "Japan is one of the best horses in the world – and I really liked him in the Arc," he said in February. Like Derrick Smith, Sue Magnier and Michael Tabor, his partners in the Ballydoyle star, Matsushima will not be at Ascot. He will presumably want to be at Longchamp. He will presumably want the 51-year-old Take to be there as well.

Japan and Ryan Moore are led into the winner's circle after winning last year's King Edward VII StakesCredit: Edward Whitaker

First, however, Japan must show he retains his ability. Bookmakers seem confident he will do exactly that in a Royal Ascot feature whose betting he dominates, not surprisingly given he defeated the 2019 Prince of Wales's winner Crystal Ocean in York's Juddmonte International. That shines out as the strapping colt's personal best effort, one that was executed under Ryan Moore, who partnered him them and partners him now. Moore has already won two Arcs. He may or may not do much dreaming but he would almost certainly like to win it again.

More immediately, Moore wants to repeat his success in a prize he landed for the Coolmore lads with Highland Reel in 2017. Others will be similarly enthusiastic, including all connected with Headman, who this time last year had just won a Newbury handicap by a short head. He went on to snare two French Group races and finish fifth in the Irish Champion Stakes. There is surely little doubt he is better than that.

If Japan and Headman have interesting back stories, so does Godolphin's Barney Roy, winner of the 2017 St James's Palace Stakes for Richard Hannon. Retirement to stud followed a few months later but fertility issues triggered a return to the track, this time for Charlie Appleby, who coached the now elder statesman to claim a Meydan Group 1 in March.

The William Haggas-trained Addeybb can trump that, having already exported two Group 1 features this year during a fantastic stint at Sydney's autumn carnival. Rain helped him then, as it did when he took the Wolferton Stakes at Royal Ascot 12 months ago. A few pre-race downpours would again please Haggas and jockey Tom Marquand, who became known as 'Aussie Tom' in his now second home. 'Ascot Tom' has a similarly pleasant ring to it.

Frankie Dettori, Crystal Ocean's winning jockey last year, will bid for back-to-back triumphs, this time on high-class filly Mehdaayih, one of two runners for John Gosden, also going into battle with Cambridgeshire victor Lord North. Among Dettori's mounts, it is not, however, Mehdaayih who will receive the biggest cheers (from afar), nor even Lord Tennyson, a potential market leader in the Royal Hunt Cup.

That is because Dettori dons the silks of the Queen in the Hampton Court Stakes when riding First Receiver, a wide-margin winner at Kempton two weeks ago. Her Majesty is missing Royal Ascot for the first time in her reign and also has fewer challengers than usual, with one runner on Friday and two on Wednesday, when Tactical tackles the Windsor Castle Stakes as a leading player.

First Receiver will be ridden by Frankie Dettori in the Hampton Court StakesCredit: Pool

Yet there is little doubt her most exciting candidate is First Receiver, the likely Hampton Court favourite and the mount of a jockey who steered royal filly Phantom Gold to Ribblesdale Stakes glory 25 years ago. Moreover, in First Receiver, Dettori will steer a colt quoted at between 20-1 and 33-1 for the Investec Derby. At the moment, the world's most famous jockey has no obvious Epsom mount.

There is therefore still the chance Dettori could yet seek to give the Queen her first taste of Derby glory on July 4. That really would be something worth dreaming about.

If you enjoyed this you might like the following pieces by Lee Mottershead:

John Gosden: ten years from now the racing landscape will be hugely different

Murphy now hugely valuable to a sport that needs more top horses to cost less

How ITV Racing roared back to life from a Crouch End bedroom

Arguments, tension and a huge team effort: the inside story of racing's return

Frankie Dettori: 'All I wanted to do was finish my day, get in the shower and punch the wall'

Lester Piggott: 'It's nice to be popular. It's better than having stones thrown at me, anyway.'

The night Ryan Moore rode his first ever winner – in a Towcester handicap hurdle

Bribery, chaos, swimming horses and a box of sausages – racing at its wackiest

'I say it as it is' – a fascinating interview with the incredible Gai Waterhouse

How British racing is actually run (and why it sometimes doesn't work)

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