Japan's Kentucky Derby Road Begins With Cattleya Sho

Nine colts and two fillies kick off the 2020-21 Japan Road to the Kentucky Derby Nov. 28 at Tokyo Racecourse, chasing a guaranteed spot in the starting gate at Churchill Downs.

The winner of the Cattleya Sho, a left-handed mile race around one turn on the dirt, gets 10 points, with the next three placings earning points on a 4-2-1 basis. The points offerings increase through the three subsequent races in the series, which is separate and apart from the main Road to the Kentucky Derby.

Dirt racing in Japan takes a back seat to turf racing, and the makeup of the Cattleya Sho field reflects that with none of Japan's marquee sires represented. There are, however, some bloodlines that will be familiar to U.S. bettors, including Eskendereya, Lemon Drop Kid , Pyro, and Discreet Cat.

The powerhouse Japanese owners also are absent from the field, although Godolphin is represented by Kentucky-bred Lemon Pop, a Lemon Drop Kid colt out of the Giant's Causeway mare Unreachable. He is the only non-Japanese-bred in the field and exits a victory in his debut on the same track Nov. 7.

The winner of the Cattleya Sho will be the first of the 11 to defeat winners.

The Japan Road to the Kentucky Derby series moves next to the Zen-Nippon Nisai Yushun Dec. 16 at Kawasaki, with the points doubled. The series returns to Tokyo Racecourse in February with the Hyacinth Stakes offering 30-12-6-3 points. The series wraps up the following month with the Fukuryu Stakes at Nakayama, where the 40-16-8-4 points on offer likely will determine the potential Run for the Roses nominee.

None of the participants in the 2019-20 series accepted the invitation to Louisville for this year's pandemic-delayed Run for the Roses, but the outreach by Churchill Downs has had an impact on the Triple Crown in past years.

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

Master Fencer, who finished fourth in the series, accepted the invitation to the 2019 Kentucky Derby Presented by Woodford Reserve (G1) when the top three points-earners declined. The Just a Way colt finished seventh, 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.