Link to Share Damian Lane will be watching this year's Japanese Classics from home but hasn't abandoned thoughts of riding in Japan this year. Sunday marks the one-year anniversary of when Lane rode Salios into second behind Contrail in a memorable G1 Japanese 2000 Guineas (2000m) at Nakayama. The same horses provided the G1 Japanese Derby (2400m) quinella a month later, Lane and Salios again forced to settle for second. Lane has made three visits to Japan since 2019 and is available to apply for a two-month stint on the JRA circuit during 2021. "Japan are still taking foreign visas so I'm hopeful of maybe riding there at the end of the year, after our Melbourne Spring Carnival, but it's all ifs and maybes," Lane said.