New Shooters in Second Leg of Japan Road to the Derby

The Japan Road to the Kentucky Derby detours to Kawasaki Racecourse Dec. 16 with 14 2-year-olds racing for points toward a guaranteed spot in the Churchill Downs starting gate.

The Zen-Nippon Nisai Yushun, run on the dirt at 1,600 meters (about one mile), is the second of four legs in the competition. It also is the only one run at a track under the local jurisdiction of the National Association of Racing.

Only five of the 14 entries are from Japan Racing Association trainers and none of them competed in the first leg of the series, the Cattleya Sho at Tokyo Racecourse Nov. 28. With the runners shifting back and forth between NAR and JRA jurisdictions, it's tough to judge relative merits.

Bakushin, a Henny Hughes colt, makes his seventh start. After finishing sixth in his career debut July 4 at Fukushima, he scored three consecutive runner-up finishes, then won twice, both times at Tokyo Racecourse, going 1,400 meters (about seven furlongs). 

Dualist, by Mikki Isle, is 3-for-3. Owned by Sunday Racing, he was bred by Northern Farm and produced by the winning End Sweep mare Dual Story. His first two wins came at Hanshin and Chukyo and the most recent victory was the Hyogo Junior Grand Prix at Sonoda Racecourse. Like Bakushin, he tries the one-mile distance for the first time.

Taisei Again, a Pryo colt bred by Shadai Farm and owned by Seiho Tanaka, won his first two starts, then was thoroughly beaten in his most recent outing Nov. 3 in the JBC Nisai Yushun.

Rastrillo, an Agnes Digital filly, won twice, once on turf and once on dirt, then finished fourth Oct. 15 over a sloppy track at Mombetsu in the Edelweiss Sho. 

Luce d'Oro, a colt by Makfi, out of the Kurofune mare Arafune, finished second in the Hakodate Nisai Stakes (G3) in his second start but then 10th in the JBC Nisai Yushun and fourth in the Hyogo Junior Grand Prix in his subsequent starts.

Kawasaki Racecourse, located along the Tama River midway between Tokyo and Yokohama, is known for its "Super King Night Race" that began in 1995 and for a gallery commemorating former jockey Takemi Sasaki, who racked up 7,151 wins. Races are run left-handed with the 1,600 meters starting from a chute leading to an initial run down the stretch, then around two turns.

Lemon Pop, a Kentucky-bred colt by Lemon Drop Kid , won the Cattleya Sho and leads the Japan Road with 10 points.

The series returns to Tokyo for the Hyacinth Stakes in February with a 30-12-6-3 points offering, and concludes the following month at Nakayama Racecourse where the winner of the Fukuryu Stakes gets 40 points and the minor placings 16, eight, and four.

Designed to build global interest and boost overseas wagering for the signature American race, the international program has not produced a Derby winner. Its participants, however, have made their mark on the United States' Triple Crown series.

The 2015 Cattleya winner, Lani, competed in all three Triple Crown events in 2016, finishing off the board in the first two but then taking third in the Belmont Stakes Presented by NYRA Bets (G1).

Master Fencer finished fourth in the 2018-19 series but got the invitation to the 2019 Derby when the top three points-earners declined. The Just a Way colt finished seventh, placed sixth after the disqualification of Maximum Security . He 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.

None of the participants in the 2019-20 series accepted the invitation to Louisville for this year's pandemic-delayed Run for the Roses.