Consigliere Wins First Leg of Japan Road to KY Derby

Consigliere grabbed the lead at the top of the long Tokyo Racecourse stretch in the Nov. 27 Cattleya Sho and held on doggedly to win by a neck in the first leg of the Japan Road to the Kentucky Derby.

The colt from the first crop of Kentucky-bred sire Drefong  went off favorite after an easy win in his first outing. He was chased home by late-running long shots Café Karma and Geraldo Barows, sired by Henny Hughes  and Sinister Minister , respectively.

Consigliere, out of the Spanish Steps  mare Tasha's Star , races in the colors of Kasumi Yoshida and was bred by his Northern Farm. Japan's leading jockey, Christophe Lemaire, added attraction at the betting windows.

Never far from contention in the 1,600-meter (about one mile) Cattleya, Lemaire produced Consigliere outside the early leaders just inside the 400-meter marker. He took a daylight lead and even though the top rivals cut into the margin, Consigliere had enough left to coast home first.

Consigliere earned 10 points on the Japan Road to the Kentucky Derby leaderboard. Café Karma and Geraldo Barows got four and two points, respectively. World Connector, a Connect   colt ridden by Ryan Moore, finished fourth and received one point.

The four-race series moves to Kawasaki Racecourse Dec. 14 for the Zen-Nippon Nisai Yushun, where the points are doubled. The Hyacinth Stakes Feb. 7 back at Tokyo Racecourse offers 30, 12, six, and three points. The finale is the Fukuryu Stakes at Nakayama where the stakes go up again to 40, 16, eight, and four points.

It remains to be seen whether the dominance of American sires in the Cattleya reflects new interest by Japanese horsemen in the U.S. Triple Crown races. The earlier runnings of the series have not had a significant impact on the Run for the Roses.

Consiglieri's sire, Drefong, was a successful sprinter. Trained by Bob Baffert for the Baoma Corporation, Drefong made nine starts, posting six wins including the Ketel One King's Bishop Stakes (G1) at Saratoga Race Course and the TwinSpires Breeders' Cup Sprint (G1) at Santa Anita Park in 2016. He won the Forego Stakes (G1) at Saratoga the following year.

Drefong stands at the Shadai Stallion Station, owned by the Yoshida brothers.

Henny Hughes, who sired Café Karma, also won the King's Bishop in 2006. Sinister Minister's career, also under Baffert, peaked with a victory in the 2006 Toyota Blue Grass (G1) at Keeneland. He finished 16th in the Kentucky Derby Presented by Yum! Brands (G1) and went winless in seven subsequent starts, finishing with an eighth-place showing in the Longacres Mile (G3) at Emerald Downs.

Lani  won the Cattleya 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  finished fourth in the series and accepted the invitation to the 2019 Kentucky Derby when the top three points-earners declined. The Just a Way  colt finished seventh, placed sixth after the disqualification of Maximum Security. Master Fence was later fifth in the Belmont.