World Racing Weekly: Michael Dee, Meisho Hachiko & Ancient Egypt

Meisho Hachiko Stokes Michael Dee’s Tokyo Yushun Dreams

After the thrill of Golden Tempo’s win in last weekend’s Kentucky Derby, this week’s May meeting at Chester with its important trial races tells us the Derby in England isn’t far off, and that in turn means the Tokyo Yushun, Japan’s Derby on May 31, is coming up even sooner.

The former top-class race mare Chrono Genesis’s son Bereshit is among those pressing for Tokyo Yushun inclusion when they race in this Saturday’s G2 Kyoto Shimbun Hai, while the G1 NHK Mile Cup the day after is more about the speedier three-year-olds, though it has been used in the past as a step to the Derby at Tokyo. That will wrap up the Derby trials, but last Sunday’s Listed Principal Stakes was a race with Tokyo Yushun written all over it.

Meisho Hachiko won the Principal, sealing automatic entry into the Tokyo Yushun. And it was Australian-based Kiwi rider Michael Dee, enjoying his best day’s racing in Japan yet, who guided the Roger Barows colt to victory.   

Dee is in the midst of his second short term Japan Racing Association (JRA) licence and he has eight wins, improving on his five wins last year. Three of those came last Sunday, with Meisho Hachiko the pick.

“I presume if the Derby’s the way they want to go, they’ll be going there, so I’m hoping that I can keep the ride,” Dee told Idol Horse early this week, and by midweek it was confirmed.

Dee is two from two on Meisho Hachiko, who quickened up smartly on Sunday and showed good stamina to win the 2000m contest by half a length. But through the first half of the race the colt was headstrong, and whether that will affect his ability to handle the mile and a half in the Tokyo Yushun remains to be seen.

“He overdoes it a bit, he travels very strong,” Dee said. “When I won on him two starts ago, the pace was very slow and we had a similar sort of run and he pulled very hard. And then the other day, same sort of scenario, but the tempo was a lot stronger.

“I’d be a little bit concerned going up in distance that he may overdo it too much, but after being quite strong throughout the race on Sunday, he still showed a great turn-of-foot. So, he’s got great ability and a good turn-of-foot, but just probably still putting it all together. He just needs to drop that head and come back a touch and he’ll be right.”

Lovcen and Realize Sirius, first and second in the first colts’ classic, the G1 Satsuki Sho, last time, are the leading candidates three weeks out from the Tokyo Yushun. That pair raced first and second throughout almost the entirety of the Satsuki Sho, with Lovcen holding his rival by three-quarters of a length.

Realize Sirius’s trainer Takahisa Tezuka was in Hong Kong last week with his star miler Jantar Mantar and he told Idol Horse: “Realize Sirius didn’t look tired afterwards and we have sent him to the training farm for two weeks to get refreshed.

“He ran 2000 metres without a problem, and seeing how he raced, I believe he can run well at 2400.”

Tezuka also has Audacia for the Tokyo Yushun and opted to bypass the Satsuki Sho after the colt won the G2 Spring Stakes in March.

“He wasn’t mature enough mentally, and he didn’t have much tactical pace, so we decided to prepare him for the Derby,” Tezuka said. “I think 2400m will suit him better, and I think Tokyo will really suit both horses well: I reckon they have the same level of ability.”

If Meisho Hachiko is to measure up to those colts, he will have to lift again, but he has the profile of an athlete going the right way, and the same can be said of Dee.  

“It is hard at times here, I’m sort of getting the third and fourth tier rides,” Dee said. “But I was lucky enough on the weekend, I had great rides on Sunday, just due to the (top) jockeys being at the Tenno Sho at Kyoto.

“I picked up that good book of rides and had three winners on the card,” he added. “Hopefully that can springboard me to have better rides the next few weekends.”

Kawada And Wilson Deliver At Funabashi

*Additional reporting by Frank Chang

Wilson Tesoro has so often been the ‘bridesmaid’ in big races, but the veteran invariably wins one each season, too, and in front of a heaving crowd at the NAR’s Funabashi racecourse on Tuesday evening he carried off the Jpn1 Kashiwa Kinen.

Many fans were there to see pop star Tomohisa Yamashita, but Wilson Tesoro’s victory got the loudest cheer.

This was the seven-year-old’s third win in the grade but he is better known for his three consecutive second-place finishes in the JRA’s G1 Champions Cup, his second in the G1 February Stakes, as well as seconds in the NAR’s G1 Tokyo Daishoten and Jpn1 Teio Sho, and the G3 Korea Cup. 

Yuga Kawada has been in the saddle for most of the above, and the former champion jockey was seeking his first major since Jantar Mantar’s win in last November’s G1 Mile Championship. And this came as a welcome filip after the disappointment of Jantar Mantar’s defeat in last week’s G1 Champions Mile in Hong Kong.  

Kawada positioned Wilson Tesoro fifth, off the fence and ready to make his move, and found a slingshot run off the home turn that took Wilson Tesoro to a determined neck victory as the 5.0 third pick in the market.

“I am really happy to finally win another Group 1-level race with this horse,” Kawada said. “He always fights hard, runs hard, but somehow there has always been one stronger horse coming in front. I’m really emotional and grateful that the horse can get the job done this time.”

Trainer Noboru Takagi said plans had to be redrawn when the decision was made not to go to Dubai in March and the mile of the Kashiwa Kinen suited Wilson Tesoro better than the 2000m he has raced over at times previously.

“In his recent races at Oi and Funabashi, he kind of hated the track surface, so I thought he would struggle if it was 2000 metres, but maybe he could handle a mile. That’s why we came here,” he said. “In JRA tracks maybe he can handle 1800 metres, but in the NAR tracks with deeper sand, 1600 metres is optimal for him.”

No decision has been made about Wilson Tesoro’s next target but Takagi said he might give the horse a summer rest.

This Week In Horse Racing History

Belmont Park, New York, home of the Belmont Stakes, opened for its first race meeting on May 4, 1905.

The ill-fated Shergar won the Chester Vase at Chester on May 5, 1981 by 12 lengths. He would go on to win the Derby, Irish Derby, and King George VI and Queen Elizabeth Stakes. He retired to stud after a shock defeat in the St Leger, but was ‘kidnapped’ and held for ransom in February 1983 and was never seen again.

On May 8, 1937 Mary Hirsch became the first woman to train a runner in the Kentucky Derby. No Sir, which she also owned, finished 13th of 20 behind the subsequent Triple Crown winner War Admiral. Hirsch’s father, Max Hirsch, trained the 1936 Kentucky Derby winner Bold Venture.

Sir Barton took his first step into the history books on May 10, 1919 when he won the Kentucky Derby, first-up for the year, a maiden of six starts. Just four days after that he added the Preakness Stakes and a month later he took the Belmont Stakes to become the first U.S. Triple Crown winner. 

Idol Horse Reads Of The Week

In this week’s Idol Thoughts column, Shane Dye breaks down Jose Ortiz’s Kentucky Derby ride and posits that the best American jockeys might be the best in the world.

Shane Dye

Jose Ortiz's Kentucky Derby Ride Was A Masterclass. Are America's Jockeys The Best In The World?

Michael Cox is poolside in Mauritius speaking to multiple champion jockey Manoel Nunes, one of a great generation of Brazilian jockeys, about his life and career on the move, and where he lands next.

Michael Cox

The Globetrotter: Manoel Nunes Arrives In Perth Ready To Write The Next Chapter

Wilson Tesoro’s win this week at Funabashi under Yuga Kawada in the green and yellow sashed silks brought back memories of another dirt track hero who raced in those colours, Ushba Tesoro. David Morgan wrote this tribute to the Dubai World Cup winner and his unique personality upon his retirement in April last year.

David Morgan

Ushba Tesoro Takes His ‘Big Ego’ Into Retirement

Racing Photo Of The Week

Date
3 May, 2026

Photographer
@KentuckyDerby

Location
Churchill Downs

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Global Blackbooker

Bow Echo leapt to the top of the three-year-old pecking order in Europe with his impressive G1 2,000 Guineas win on the Rowley Mile last Saturday, but the day before, a colt with form tied to Bow Echo defied long odds to win the Listed Newmarket Stakes over 10 furlongs at the same track.

Ancient Egypt won his first two starts as a juvenile for trainer Charlie Johnston last year before heading to Newmarket for the G2 Royal Lodge Stakes in September. He raced prominently that day, but faded out to finish a long way seventh behind Bow Echo.

That meant the AMO Racing-owned son of Frankel – a 1.1 million guineas Tattersalls yearling – was a 16-1 outsider of five for his return in the Newmarket Stakes. He raced handily, facing the breeze all the way down the long mile and a quarter straight. He showed resolution as well as quality in meeting the rising ground with relish and maintaining his gallop to win by two lengths.

The Newmarket Stakes has been a stepping stone for some top-class colts down the years, notably the Derby winners Shirley Heights and Slip Anchor, as well as the St Leger winner Minster Son, but that was all back in the 1970s and 1980s. Beat Hollow won 26 years ago en route to Derby second, and more recently, Frankel’s brother Noble Mission was another who won on his way to Group 1 glory, as did Hawkbill, Mishriff and Nation’s Pride.

🟣 Ancient Egypt lands the Listed Newmarket Stakes pic.twitter.com/DqZ0Ktvidp

— Racing TV (@RacingTV) May 1, 2026

World Horse Racing Calendar: What’s Coming Up

Doomben 10,000 Day
Doomben, Australia, May 16

Hong Kong’s champion jockey Zac Purton will head back to Queensland where he was champion jockey in his apprentice days, to ride the well-fancied Grafterburners in the 1200m feature. The race was first run in 1933 and is Queensland’s top weight-for-age sprint. This year’s race could also feature former Perth galloper Joker’s Grin, while Private Harry, Lady Of Camelot and Private Eye could make the line-up.

Lockinge Stakes Day
Newbury, England, May 16

Godolphin’s Opera Ballo may sidestep this following his impressive Group 2 win at Sandown recently, a race in which he defeated Zeus Olympios in third, but that Karl Burke-trained colt won four from four prior to that, including when beating Opera Ballo in the G2 Joel Stakes last September. Godolphin could rely on G1 Breeders’ Cup Mile winner Notable Speech, the likely favourite following his eye-catching and luckless fourth in the G1 Makers Mile at Keeneland last month. The contest could also feature last year’s longshot Queen Elizabeth II Stakes winner Cicero’s Gift, as well as the progressive five-year-old More Thunder and recent G3 Earl Of Sefton Stakes winner Damysus.

Irish 2,000 Guineas Day
Curragh, Ireland, May 23

Bow Echo was mightily impressive in the English 2,000 guineas at Newmarket but he will skip the Curragh and head directly to the G1 St James’s Palace Stakes at Royal Ascot. That means the mile classic gives a chance to those vanquished at Newmarket to pick up a classic, while those that sidestepped the English race can head into the challenge fresh. Guineas second and third Gstaad and Distant Storm are likely candidates. 

Champions & Chater Cup Day
Sha Tin, Hong Kong, May 24

Romantic Warrior will attempt to stretch out to 2400m and complete the Hong Kong Triple Crown. But only two horses have ever achieved that feat and one of those, Voyage Bubble, pulled off the feat last year but he is a doubt to make the race after missing work.  Also entered are the Japanese-trained pair Rousham Park and Deep Monster. 

Tattersalls Gold Cup
Curragh, Ireland, May 24

Minnie Hauk won her return to action easily this week, striding clear in the G2 Moorsebridge Stakes over 2000m at the Curragh. The plan seems to be that last year’s triple Oaks-winning  heroine (quadruple if we include the Listed Cheshire Oaks, too) and G1 Prix de l’Arc de Triomphe runner-up will return to the course and distance for the Tattersalls Gold Cup. 

Irish 1,000 Guineas 
Curragh, Ireland, May 24 

True Love was a brilliant juvenile and she displayed her talent first-up this year when winning the 1,000 Guineas at Newmarket for Aidan O’Brien. The trainer has won the Irish 1,000 Guineas 11 times, including last year with Lake Victoria, and True Love might yet try to become the 12th. Meanwhile, O’Brien’s son Donnacha is likely pointing his recent Athasi Stakes winner Kensington Lane to the classic, carrying the colours of his mother, Annemarie O’Brien. ∎

Michael Cox

Wong Tang-Ping And The Making Of Hong Kong Racing’s First Superstar

David Morgan

Lemaire Still In Awe Of Almond Eye, The Japan Cup's 'Final Boss'