New Shooters For Second Leg of Japan Road to the Derby

The "Japan Road to the Kentucky Derby" rolls into Kawasaki Racecourse Dec. 18 without any of the horses who earned points in the first leg last month in Tokyo.

The Zen-Nippon Nisai Yushun, run left-handed at 1,600 meters (about one mile) on the dirt, is the second of four races comprising the series. Churchill Downs extends a bid to the Kentucky Derby Presented by Woodford Reserve (G1) to the horse with the most combined points.

The first race in the series, the Cattleya Sho, went to Dieu du Vin, a Declaration of War colt with Frankie Dettori up. He earned 10 points to take the early series lead, followed by Shonan Mario, earning 4 points, Daimei Corrida with 2, and Aurora Tesoro with 1. None of those is among the 13 entries for the Zen-Nippon Nisai Yushun.

Among the potential favorites are Morino Break, a son of Behkabad who exits a win over the same trip at Morioka on Nov. 10; Meisho Tensui, by Dunkirk, who is 2-for-3 with both wins at Tokyo and retains Yutaka Take in the irons; and T M South Dan, who defeated Meisho Tensui in their last head-to-head match and keeps Mirco Demuro aboard.

The remainder of the field appears well-matched.

The Zen-Nippon Nisai Yushun is conducted under the administration of the National Association of Racing, a grouping of regional tracks separate from the Japan Racing Association. While horses, trainers, and jockeys move back and forth between the two systems, the NAR is regarded as a subordinate circuit.

Points awarded during the "Japan Road" escalate from race-to-race. The Zen-Nippon Nisai Yushun offers 20 points to the winner with 8, 4, and 2 points, respectively, for the minor placings. The Hyacinth Stakes at Tokyo Racecourse Feb. 16 awards 30, 12, 6, and 3 points and the series concludes at Nakayama March 29 with the Fukuryu Stakes granting 40 points to the winner with 16, 8, and 4 for for the next three.

The series is separate from the main "Road to the Kentucky Derby" with races in the United States and Dubai, and the "European Road to the Kentucky Derby" run in England and Ireland.

The connections of Dieu du Vin expressed only qualified interest in a potential trip to Louisville for the Kentucky Derby. In any case, their colt would need to reappear when the series returns to the JRA tracks to pump up his earnings to have a chance at winning the bid reserved for the series winner.

Japanese races have not produced a Kentucky Derby winner, but they have had an impact on the race.

Lani, who finished third in the 2016 Belmont Stakes Presented by NYRA Bets (G1) after off-the-board efforts in the first two legs of the Triple Crown, won the 2015 Cattleya Sho.

Master Fencer, who finished fourth in the series, accepted the invitation to the 2019 Derby when the top three points-earners declined. The Just a Way colt finished seventh and was placed sixth after the disqualification of Maximum Security. Master Fencer went on to finish fifth in the Belmont Stakes and 13th in the Belmont Derby Invitational Stakes (G1T) in July when he was switched to the turf.