New shooters in Japan's Third Leg of KY Derby Series
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Photo: Anne M. Eberhardt
The Hyacinth Stakes at Tokyo Racecourse is the third leg on Japan's Road to the Kentucky Derby
It's out with the old—at least for now—and in with the new on the "Japan Road to the Kentucky Derby" Feb. 21 at Tokyo Racecourse.
The Hyacinth Stakes at 1,600 meters (about 1 mile) on the dirt is the third and penultimate leg of the series that offers the top points-getter a guaranteed spot in the Churchill Downs starting gate May 1.
The 12-horse field has a fresh look.
Neither winner from the first two races is entered and the only placegetter from those heats returning for the Hyacinth is Takeru Pegasus, a Dunkirk colt who finished second in the Cattleya Stakes Nov. 28 at Tokyo Racecourse.
Takeru Pegasus made all the going in the Cattleya, only to be caught at the end by Lemon Pop, who is not contesting the Hyacinth. Also absent is the winner of the second leg, Alain Barows.
That leaves the series about as wide open as when it started. The winner of the Hyacinth will be bequeathed 30 points and the top spot on the leaderboard with 12, 6, and 3 points to the next three finishers. The series finishes March 27 at Nakayama Racecourse with 40 points to the winner of the Fukuryu Stakes.
While none of the dozen stands much above the others, a few have modest accomplishments.
Taisei Slugger, a Taisei Legend colt, finished second in both his starts last year and has won both times out in 2021, scoring on a fast track at Nakayama going 1,800 meters (about 1 1/8 miles) and in the slop at Tokyo Racecourse at 1,600 meters.
Bakushin, a Henny Hughes colt, finished fifth in the second "Road" race, the Zen-Nippon Nisai Yushun, after three seconds and two wins.
Daishin Pisces, a Majestic Warrior colt, lived up to his name by scoring his first win in his fifth start the first time he was confronted with a sloppy track.
La Perouse, a Pelusa colt, had three wins and a second from his final four starts as a busy 2-year-old and makes his 2021 debut.
La Perouse is the only U.S. Triple Crown nominee in the field. Lemon Pop, a Lemon Drop Kid colt, and Alain Barows, by Henny Hughes, are both early Triple Crown nominees.
The Hyacinth was a springboard to future glory even before it was included as a leg of the inaugural "Japan Road to the Kentucky Derby" in 2017. Success Brocken won the 2008 Hyacinth and went on to victory in the February Stakes (G1) the following year. Gold Dream (JPN), the 2016 Hyacinth champion, swept the February and the Champions Cup (G1) in 2017.
Lani could only manage a fifth-place finish in the 2016 Hyacinth but went on to an upset win in the UAE Derby Sponsored By The Saeed & Mohammed Al Naboodah Group (G2) and then contested all three legs of the U.S. Triple Crown, finishing ninth in the Kentucky Derby Presented by Yum Brands (G1), fifth in the Preakness Stakes (G1), and third in the Belmont Stakes Presented by NYRA Bets (G1).