Lovcen may only have won the first two legs of the Japanese Triple Crown for three-year-old colts by small margins, but expectations will be high that he can see out the 3,000 metres of the last leg, the Grade 1 Kikuka Sho for the clean sweep on Oct 25.

Also known as the Japanese St Leger, the 434 million yen (S$3.5 million) feature race is run at Kyoto which recently saw star filly Monroe Walk maintain her invincibility in the Grade 1 Shuka Sho (2,000m) on Oct 18.

On breeding, Lovcen should be able to naturally progress from his victories in the Grade 1 Satsuki Sho (Japanese 2000 Guineas) over 2,000m at Nakayama on April 19 and the Grade 1 Tokyo Yushun (Japanese Derby) over 2,400m in Tokyo on May 31.

His sire World Premiere won the Kikuka Sho in 2019, and his first-up win from a four-month break in the Grade 2 Kobe Shimbun Hai (2,400m) at Hanshin on Sept 21 speaks volumes of his current brilliant form.

The Kobe Shimbun Hai and Grade 2 Asahi Hai St. Lite Kinen (2,200m) at Nakayama on Sept 13 are the two Kikuka Sho trials, with the 1-2-3 gaining automatic entry.

Confidence is also high in Lovcen’s camp with trainer Haruki Sugiyama thrilled with his victorious comeback even when he was not 100% screwed down.

“He had an inside draw in the Kobe Shimbun Hai, and I was hoping he’d get a slightly more forward position after the start,” said Sugiyama.

“But he was returning from a spell, so he was just a bit hesitant.

“It was a slow pace and he dropped back for a while, but when the jockey switched him to the outside, he showed a good turn of foot.

“I think it just showed how confident the jockey is with him. Overall, it was a good race.”

Top jockey Kohei Matsuyama continues his association with the colt, hoping that he can gain more Grade 1 success in a race that has eluded him thus far.

The formidable pairing will, however, face a slew of worthy opponents in the Kikuka Sho.

From the field of 18 which will be finalised on Oct 22, there are quite a few who could stop Lovcen from becoming the first Triple Crown winner since Contrail in 2020.

The more serious threats are Danon History for the Noriyuki Hori-Christophe Lemaire duo, Going To Sky, a son of Contrail, and Asahi Hai St. Lite Kinen winner Justin Chicago.

The latter sprang a 50-1 shock in the Kikuka Sho trial, but trainer Keisuke Miyata had all along harboured a silent hope he would run well.

“Before he had some time off, he won at Tokyo and showed that he could be controlled well, so I also thought he would handle Nakayama no problem,” said Miyata.

“He’s a strong horse and I don’t worry about the ground for him. He was a bit tired after his last race, but he got over that at the farm.

“He’s been doing light work since he’s been back and we’ll build things up more from now.”

Among the ticket winners from the two Kikuka Sho trials, Altramuz, the Kobe Shimbun Hai runner-up, unfortunately misses the race with a left hind leg injury, while Savoir Faire, who ran second in the Asahi Hai St. Lite Kinen opted out, with connections preferring not to venture out to 3,000 metres.

Besides Kobe Shimbun Hai winner Lovcen, third-placed Sea To Summit is also nominated while Audacia, who ran third in the Asahi Hai St. Lite Kinen, has also accepted the invitation.