Venue: Tokyo
Distance: 2400m
Value: ¥651,000,000 (US$4.2million)
The Tokyo Yushun is Japan’s Derby. It was first run in 1932 and was won by Wakataka, a grandson of the English Triple Crown winner Gainsborough.
The race is the second classic open to colts after the Satsuki Sho at 2000m and is the second leg of the Triple Crown, which concludes with the Kikuka Sho over 3000m. Eight horses have won the Triple Crown, Saint Lite being the first in 1941 and Contrail the latest in 2020.
Many of Japan’s champions have contested the Tokyo Yushun, either as victors or as vanquished with better days ahead. Among the latter group was Equinox, second by a neck to Do Deuce in 2022 but subsequently the world’s top-rated horse and a true great of the 21st century.
Lovcen On The Triple Crown Trail
Lovcen’s win in the Satsuki Sho last month means he is the only horse able to win the Triple Crown this season. His sire World Premiere won the Kikuka Sho and the Tenno Sho Spring over 3200m, so stamina is not a concern and the way he won the Satsuki Sho from the front suggests he might well improve for the step up to 2400m on Sunday. If he wins, given his stout pedigree, the Kikuka Sho must be on the agenda
This year’s race is on May 31 and five of the seven times the race has been run on this date, the Satsuki Sho winner has been successful.
Tezuka’s Twin Assault
Trainer Takahisa Tezuka has not yet won the Derby, in fact he has twice known the crushing feeling of his horse finishing a close second. Sol Oriens, the 1.8 favourite in 2023 was beaten a neck by Tastiera, and last year Masquerade Ball was three-quarters of a length second behind Croix Du Nord.
He was also second in the Satsuki Sho this year with Realize Sirius, and that colt will form a two-pronged attack for the Tezuka stable, along with the G2 Spring Stakes winner Audacia. Damian Lane will ride Audacia, having won the race aboard Tastiera three years ago.
Tosaki’s First Or Take’s Seventh?
It’s hard to believe, given his many successes at the top level, but former champion jockey Keita Tosaki has not won the Tokyo Yushun in 11 attempts. He will partner Green Energy, a Suave Richard colt who was second favourite for the Satsuki Sho but managed only seventh place behind Lovcen.
Tosaki started his career on the National Association of Racing (NAR) circuit before earning his spot in the JRA and among the riders that have made that switch in the past, Katsumi Ando, Hiroyuki Uchida and Yasunari Iwata all won the Derby, with King Kamehameha, Eishin Flash and Deep Brillant, respectively.
Meanwhile, the great Yutaka Take is seeking his seventh Derby win at age 57. His first was Special Week in 1998 and his most recent was Do Deuce four years ago. This time he rides the G2 Aoba Sho winner Going To Sky, but the last Aoba Sho winner to make the top two in the Derby was Fenomeno, second to Deep Brillante in 2012.
Sasaki’s Big Breakthrough?
Daisuke Sasaki was turning heads at Hakodate and Sapporo three summers ago as a second season apprentice. He has been on an upward curve ever since and had a career best 81 wins last year. But he has never won a Group 1 race, his highest level wins being six Group 3 victories.
But the 22-year-old has a solid Tokyo Yushun mount in Reichsadler. He has partnered the Siskin colt in all four of his races to date, including a late-closing third in the Satsuki Sho last time. Victory would be a huge boost to his already burgeoning career.
Sakai’s Birthday Treat
Ryusei Sakai has a few years on Sasaki but even though he has enjoyed major triumphs around the world with Forever Young, the man who will turn 29 on Derby day is still awaiting his first classic success. He came closest to Derby victory last year: the winner Croix Du Nord got first run on Sakai and his talented mount Masquerade Ball, who ran on for second and subsequently won the G1 Tenno Sho Autumn under Christophe Lemaire.
This time he rides Justin Vista, last seen when eighth in the G1 Hopeful Stakes last December. That’s a long break between runs and first-up in a Derby is never ideal, but maybe Sakai can have some birthday luck this year. ∎
