After the Run For the Roses, the next in top Derby category is Japan’s version of the race which was won by Rey De Oro last year. Another Deep Impact colt lines up to fight for the crown this year.
Old foes from the Gr.1 Satsuki Sho (Japanese 2000 Guineas) reunite to ‘fight another day.’ Winner of the Satsuki Sho 2018 Epoca dOro, hopes to land the Japanese Triple Crown, following in the footsteps of his sire Orfevre (JPN). The Hideaki Fujiwara trained coltran out a two-length winner and started as the seventh favorite in the Guineas. Jockey Keita Tosaki has ridden him the last three times, and he will be hoping the colt can give him victory in the Derby. This will be his first run at Tokyo and it will be a left-handed one at that, which will also be new to him. “In his last race, there was a lot of pace up front, but he was content to sit off the pace and just run at his own rhythm,” in a JRA interview assistant trainer Nobuyuki Tashiro said. “This paid off in the end, when he was produced well and went on to win, proving that it was a successful trial race for him.”
The race will be hotly contested by the favourite Danon Premium who is unbeaten in four career starts. He was unable to contest Gr. 1 Satsuki Sho because of a slight hoof injury. He looks like the one they have to beat, carrying over his top form as a 2-year-old into this year as well. Assistant trainer Teruhiko Saruhashi commented on the colt’s progress: “He had to miss the Satsuki Sho because of the stone bruise, so his target then became the Derby. We’ve concentrated on getting him back into top condition, and there’s no issue at all with the injury he sustained.” Trainer Mitsumasa Nakauchida will be looking for just his second Gr. 1 title, his first was also attained by Danon Premium.
Lord Kanaloacolt is another key horse in this field of 21. Stelvio has had three wins and two seconds in six starts in all. He was was second in last year’s Grade 1 Asahi Hai Futurity Stakes in December, and fourth most recently in his last start, the Gr. 1 Satsuki Sho. An assistant training staff at the stable of trainer Tetsuya Kimura said: “It was a bit unfortunate in the Satsuki Sho, where the jockey said he was in a good position to run on at the end, but the ground wasn’t so good and the horse found no extra. He’s since had a break at Northern Farm Tenei. He seems to be his usual self (since his return).”
The middle jewel of the Japanese Triple Crown should be a nail biting finish. Tune back into SW for the review.
Click here to watch Tokyo Yushun (2017)/ Japanese Derby
1.Admire Alba (Naosuke Sugai),2.Aithon (Tadao Igarashi),3.Blast Onepiece (Masahiro Otake), 4.Cosmic Force (Sakae Kunieda),5.Danon Premium (Mitsumasa Nakauchida),6.Epoca D'oro (Hideaki Fujiwara),7.Etario (Yasuo Tomomichi),8.Gendarme (Yasutoshi Ikee),9.Generale uno (Eiichi Yano), 10.Go For The Summit (Kazuo Fujisawa),11.Grail (Kenji Nonaka),12.K T Clever (Shogo Yasuda), 13.Kitano Commandeur (Yasutoshi Ikee),14.Oken Moon (Sakae Kunieda),15.Ryono Tesoro (RyoTakei),16.Sans Rival (Kenichi Fujioka),17.Stay Foolish (Yoshito Yahagi),18.Stelvio (Tetsuya Kimura),19.T o Energy (Toru Miya),20.Time Flyer (Kunihide Matsuda),21.Wagnerian (Yasuo Tomomichi)
Distance:2400 meters,Surface:Turf,Track: Left-handed,Qualification: 3-y-o, Colts & Fillies,Weight:Colt 57 kg, Filly 55 kg,Purse: ¥ 432,000,000 (as of 2017),1st: ¥ 200,000,000[1]
Credit: Pallavi Shevade pallavi.shevade@secretaristworld.com