Alain Barows Takes Lead in Japan Road to the Derby

Alain Barows, a Henny Hughes colt, took the points lead in the Japan Road to the Kentucky Derby with a five-length victory Dec. 16 in the Zen-Nippon Nisai Yushun at Kawasaki Racecourse.

Undefeated Alain Barows strode out through the stretch to easily dominate 13 rivals, earning 20 points toward a guaranteed spot in the starting gate at Churchill Downs May 1. Ranryo O earned eight points for finishing second, another three lengths in front of Luce d'Oro, was was awarded four. Taisei Again was fourth, snagging two points for the Kentucky Derby Presented by Woodford Reserve (G1).

Ranryo O, a Pyro colt, has four wins and three seconds and was runner-up to Alain Barows in their previous race. 

The winner, out of the Stay Gold mare Casa Rosada, finished 1,600 meters (about one mile) in 1:40.7 to secure his fifth win in as many starts. Seiji Sakai rode for trainer Masato Hayashi.

The race was the second in a series of four sanctioned by Churchill Downs in a competition designed to boost interest and wagering in Japan for America's most visible race.

The Zen-Nippon result pushed Lemon Pop, the winner of the Cattleya Sho in November at Tokyo Racecourse, into second place with 10 points. Lemon Pop, a Kentucky-bred Lemon Drop Kid  colt, did not contest the race at Kawasaki.

Alain Barows has made all his starts at tracks administered by the National Association of Racing—sites separate from the more prestigious Japan Racing Association tracks. NAR tracks specialize in dirt racing.

The colt started his career with two wins at Funabashi—a newcomer event at 1,000 meters (about five furlongs) May 8 and the Tokubetsu Stakes at 1,200 meters (about six furlongs) five weeks later. After a summer break, he then stepped up to win the Gold Junior Stakes Sept. 21 at Oi and and the Haiseiko Kinen Nov. 17 at the same track.

None of the competitors in the series has yet announced any intention to seek a spot in the Kentucky Derby.

Churchill expanded the 2019-20 Japan Road to the Kentucky Derby, adding races during the summer after the COVID-19 pandemic pushed the big race from its normal date to Sept. 5. None of the Japanese competitors accepted the opportunity.

The series has produced Triple Crown contenders in the past. Master Fencer emerged from the 2018-19 competition, finishing seventh in the Run for the Roses and placed sixth after the disqualification of Maximum Security . Lani, the winner of the 2015 Cattleya Sho, was unplaced in both the 2016 Derby and the Preakness Stakes (G1) but finished third in the Belmont Stakes Presented by NYRA Bets (G1).

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.