Simenon, Dunaden and Joshua Tree will fly the flag for Europe in the Japan Cup

Simenon loses out by a neck to The Queen’s Estimate in the Gold Cup at Royal Ascot. Image courtesy of racingfotos.com.

Simenon, trained in Ireland by Willie Mullins, who went agonisingly close in the two and a half mile Gold Cup at Royal Ascot and the two mile Weatherbys Hamilton Insurance Lonsdale Cup this season, will join Dunaden and Joshua Tree, second and third behind St Nicholas Abbey in the Investec Coronation Cup at Epsom in June, in a three-pronged international assualt on Japan’s biggest race this Sunday, the Japan Cup.

Dunaden, trained in France by Mikael Delzangles and owned by the sponsors of the British Champions Series, QIPCO, has already tasted international glory when landing the 2011 Melbourne Cup, the 2011 Hong Kong Vase and the 2012 Caulfield Cup.

Joshua Tree likewise has enjoyed victories overseas, breaking a record by becoming the first horse to win the Canadian International at Woodbine in Toronto three times. He is trained by Newmarket handler Marco Botti.

The 12 furlong race, which is worth the best part of £3.25 million, is run at Tokyo racecourse in front of a massive crowd.

For Simenon, this will be a speed test but he showed when going close in the 12 furlong Caulfield Cup in Australia that he can run well over this distance and he followed that with fourth place in the two mile Melbourne Cup.

Emmet Mullins, Willie’s nephew, said: "He always travels well – he surprises us all the time.

"We’re happy now that he’s got here. He’s done some speed work at Shiroi this morning and we’re very happy with him.

"We’ll do some fast work one more time before the race, once he’s settled in.  

"His best weight is 466kg, and he’s close to it right now."

Dunaden has also settled in well with a member of Delzangles’ staff, Mathieu Brasme, saying: "He had no problems traveling here, he’s used to it and he was himself on the flight.

"He lost the usual weight, about 10 kg during the flight, but he put it back on in the next couple of days. His best weight is between 465 to 470 kg, and he’s somewhere between there at the moment.

"He did some speed work this morning but it wasn’t very strong because he had just raced in the Melbourne Cup two weeks ago, and he’s fit and ready for the race."

On Joshua Tree, Andrew Stringer, assistant to Marco Botti, reported: "The trip from England via Amsterdam took some 28 hours but everything went smoothly.

"There’s no particular problems and he seems to have maintained his condition."