NORI WOOD TAIL (11) is the one to beat after resuming with a fast-track C3 win at this venue, beating Kakuhen by just under two lengths and doing it as one of the better-backed runners in an open market. Her broader profile is also the most convincing, with five wins and twelve placings from 22 starts at this track and distance and an excellent record with Osamu Shimohara. WAKINO ARIES (5) also won first-up, scoring by a length as a prohibitive odds-on favourite, and her recent 12-month record gives that result substance rather than making it look isolated. GALANT (2) brings the hardened track-and-distance record, having won five times over this course and distance, and last start he beat O Shin Angel at C3 level at an each-way quote. BLOOM WALTZ (3) is another last-start C3 winner, but the head margin over Taiikusuwari and a modest overall strike rate leave her more reliant on holding that improved form.