VALK (7) sets the benchmark after closing strongly for second at this track last start, beaten a length in C2 grade and now fitter third-up. The earlier Niigata Dirt Mdn run was plain, but his latest local effort reads as the strongest recent form in this field. A SHIN NIKE (10) brings a different profile, coming back from JRA Mdn company after a tenth at Hanshin and a much better fifth at Chukyo, with the 1400m trip the main unknown. HO O CHOPIN (5) has placed at his past two, including a length-and-a-half second to Region Polaire, and his track-and-distance place record keeps him right in the winning mix. CHEERFUL DOOR (3) was third behind Novel Piace at generous odds and had also finished off well the run prior, so she has a genuine place profile if asked to produce that same late effort again.