JAPANESE racing fans are preparing to roll out the red carpet for their new Pin-up girl.
Excitement is growing in the Far East as it appears Arc de Triomphe heroine Alpinista will be given the green light for a money-spinning trip to Tokyo.
Japanese punters are famously fanatical about the geegees, treating the horses like royalty and jockeys like rockstars.
But there are six million other reasons why Sir Mark Prescott is set to have a crack at the Japan Cup.
His five-year-old mare would net a £3 million bonus if she won the world-famous race – and the first-place prize-money is worth roughly the same amount.
It is the second time that Prescott and owner Kirsten Rausing have chased a huge payday in Japan.
Their top filly Alborada travelled over to Tokyo in 1999, but just days before the race she picked up a knock and was ruled out.
Rausing, who was moments from boarding a flight to Tokyo, famously described the blow as ‘suboptimal news’.
So Prescott will no doubt try his hardest to keep Alpinista wrapped in cotton wool before the big race on November 27.
He said: “Alpinista has come out of the Arc absolutely fine, you would hardly have known she’d raced.
“I believe but there is no reason why the horse shouldn’t go as she’s come out of her race a lot better than her trainer.
“It’s a tremendous pot to go for with a £3 million bonus on top. The final call will be Miss Rausing’s.”;
Alpinista will likely be joined on the 18-hour flight by King George hero Pyledriver.
William Muir’s stable star also qualified for the big-money bonus having bagged the Ascot feature back in July.
Alpinista is currently the 7-2 favourite for the Japan Cup with Coral, with Pyledriver a 10-1 chance.
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