Karis Teetan will use five rides at Nakayama on Saturday as a guide to the unique track in preparation for his Group One assault with Mugen in Sunday’s Sprinters Stakes (1,200m).

The Mauritian jockey hopped back aboard Mugen on Friday morning and was thrilled with the Pierre Ng Pang-chi-trained gelding ahead of his first-up assignment in Japan.

Teetan was also pleased when the last-start Group Three Premier Cup (1,400m) winner drew barrier nine, but Friday’s barrier draw was not as kind to fellow Hong Kong sprinter Victor The Winner, who was dealt gate 14.

Teetan and Ng walked the Nakayama track after Mugen’s light hit-out, noting the short 310m straight which includes a steep uphill rise near the 200m.

“I think it’s going to be a good thing,” Teetan said of his first race rides at Nakayama on Saturday. “Of course, walking on the track, you can really feel the uphill [in the straight] and that will give me a bit of experience tomorrow feeling it and knowing what I have to do on Sunday.

“I think we’ll get a bit of a guide where the winners are coming tomorrow and it was just nice that I could walk the track with Pierre this morning and could talk about it.

“It’s pretty important because at the 800m, it’s a really long turn into almost the 300m when you’re turning into the home straight, so it’s pretty important for us to see that and know where we need to be.”

Runner-up to Zac Purton in last season’s Hong Kong jockeys’ championship, Teetan hopes to secure a suitable run midfield or slightly worse from Mugen’s draw.

He highlighted Satono Reve, a rising star of Japanese racing with seven wins from nine starts, as the main danger, but was happy that galloper drew wide in gate 12.

“He’s a horse that doesn’t want to be in the speed battle from the beginning,” Teetan said of Mugen.

“He likes to be left alone and I believe [Victor The Winner] and the favourite [Satono Reve] have drawn outside, so that’s going to make it interesting.

“[Satono Reve] ran in Sapporo when I was there [in August for the World All-Star Jockeys series] and I saw him. He looks like a promising horse.

“But I’m happy where Mugen’s drawn and I think it’s going to give me options for what to do. I know him pretty well.”

Ng and connections set their sights on the Sprinters Stakes after Mugen’s superb 2023-24 season, highlighted by four victories and a third to Invincible Sage in the Group One Chairman’s Sprint Prize (1,200m).

The Deep Field gelding capped his rise with a fast-finishing victory over top sprinter California Spangle in the Group Three Premier Cup (1,400m) in June.

Trainer Danny Shum Chap-shing will rely on some magic from superstar jockey Joao Moreira to help offset Victor The Winner’s wide draw.

Winner of the Group One Centenary Sprint Cup (1,200m) at Sha Tin, Victor The Winner is in Japan for the second time after running third to Mad Cool in the Group One Takamatsunomiya Kinen (1,200m) at Chukyo in March.

“I watched Victor The Winner gallop [on Wednesday] and I think he’s in better condition than when he was here then, so I’m quite happy,” Shum said.

“The race is going to be fast-paced and tough with five or six Japanese horses that perform really well.

“Luckily, I have the top-class jockey Joao Moreira who is well experienced in Japan, knows the track well, and with the 310m straight, I think he will run a very good race.”