Contrail Seeks to Remain Undefeated in Tokyo Yushun

Contrail puts his unblemished record on the line May 31 in the grade 1 Tokyo Yushun (Japanese Derby) at Tokyo Racecourse, facing some familiar foes.

The contest comes just a week after Daring Tact remained undefeated by winning the grade 1 Yushun Himba (Japanese Oaks) on the same course. The two races have been potent producers of future champions.

Contrail, a Deep Impact colt from the Unbridled's Song mare Rhodochrosite, looks for his fifth consecutive win. He was last seen winning the grade 1 Satsuki Sho (Japanese Two Thousand Guineas), edging away after a stretch duel with Salios.

He faces that rival again, along with the colts who finished third through fifth in the Satsuki Sho—Galore Creek, Win Carnelian, and Satono Flag. None of those three was within hailing distance of the first two at the finish.

Trained by Yoshito Yahagi and ridden by Yuichi Fukunaga, Contrail ended a 3-for-3 juvenile campaign in the Dec. 28 Hopeful Stakes (G1) at Nakamama and was not seen again until the April 19 Satsuki Sho. His two grade 1 wins came at 2,000 meters (about 1 1/4 miles), and he stretches out this time to 2,400 meters (about 1 1/2 miles) around the testing Tokyo course.

"Judging from his last race, the 2,400 meters should be fine," Contrail's assistant trainer, Shigeki Miyauchi, said after the colt drew gate 5 in a field of 18. "He has run at Tokyo, and with him leaning slightly to the right, racing left-handed should be better."

Fukunaga said the Satsuki Sho effort "showed how good he's become, getting gradually better since last year. I know him well and he doesn't give me anything to worry about, whether it's before or during the race."

The Satsuki Sho and Yushun Himba comprise the first two legs of the Japanese Triple Tiara. The third is the Oct. 25 Kikuka Sho (Japanese St. Leger, G1) at Kyoto Racecourse.

The last horse to win the first two races of the series was Duramente in 2015. Duramente, who was also the last favorite to win the Derby, did not contest the Kikuka Sho, run at 3,000 meters (about 1 7/8 miles).

Salios, a son of Heart's Cry with German bloodlines on the bottom of his pedigree, lost for the first time in the Satsuki Sho, yielding reluctantly in the final 50 meters. He won the Dec. 15 Asahi Hai Futurity (G1) at Nakayama to complete a 3-for-3 season. That race was at 1,600 meters (about one mile).

Salios' trainer, Noriyuki Hori, said all systems are go for his charge, who goes from the 12 stall with Damian Lane in the irons.

"His weight is about the same as it was for his last race. He's maintained his appetite, and there's a sharpness about him," Hori said. "And with the weather being much as usual at this time of year, his condition is how I would anticipate it to be. This has to be the top priority."

Satono Flag's bid has a special meaning for his jockey, Yutaka Take.

"I've won a Derby in each of the past three decades," the 51-year-old rider said after the barrier draw. "So going into this next one, I hope I can win again."

Satono Flag won three of his first four starts, including a 2,000-meter maiden race on the Tokyo course in a record time of 1:59.5.

"He's already showed what he's capable of at Tokyo, and I don't see any problem with the distance," Take said. "When I rode him before (at Nakayama in January), the ground was soft, so I think he'll be better on a firm track. The Derby's a special race, and with him being a son of Deep Impact, that goes well with me."

The Japan Racing Association announced May 28 its "JRA racing behind closed doors" policy had been extended through June to combat the spread of COVID-19.