Combustion Takes Hyacinth on Japan Road to KY Derby

Combustion  snuck through along the rail in the final furlong to win the Hyacinth Stakes Feb. 20 at Tokyo Racecourse. If nominated to the U.S. Triple Crown, the win will vault him to the top of the leaderboard with one race to go in the Japan Road to the Kentucky Derby.

After taking the lead, Combustion, a Godolphin homebred colt by Discreet Cat , just held off the late run of Geraldo Barows , winning by a neck at the end of 1,600 meters (about one mile) on a muddy track. The pacesetter and only filly in the 14-horse field, Sea Vixen, held on for third.

The lukewarm favorite, Blitz Fang, got home ninth.

The final time was 1:35.3.

Combustion earned 30 points in the Japanese series, which is separate from the main Road to the Kentucky Derby and offers the overall points winner a guaranteed spot in the Louisville, Ky., starting gate. While the victory gives him more points than any other horse on the leaderboard, Combustion is not nominated to the U.S. Triple Crown series and would have to be supplemented to be eligible for a bid. Combustion was also second in the series' second leg, the Zen-Nippon Nisai Yushun, earning eight points there.

Geraldo Barows, a son of Sinister Minister , is a nominee. He picked up 12 points with his encouraging runner-up finish. Added to the two he earned with a third-place finish in the first series race, the Cattleya Stakes, he now has 14.

Updated Japan Road to the @KentuckyDerby Leaderboard following Sunday's victory by Combustion (JPN) over Geraldo Barrows (JPN), the filly Sea Vixen and El Paso (JPN) in the Hyacinth at Tokyo Racecourse: https://t.co/Jxls00skgv pic.twitter.com/208K4msc5P

— Churchill Downs PR (@DerbyMedia) February 20, 2022

Combustion now has three wins and two seconds, all on dirt courses. Geraldo Barows owns a single win, three seconds, and a third, also all on the brown course.

The four-race series concludes March 26 with the Fukuryu Stakes at Nakayama Racecourse. Contested at 1 1/8 miles, that event awards points on a scale of 40-16-8-4, ensuring the issue won't be decided until that outcome is ruled official.

While the overall Japan Road to the Kentucky Derby has had only a limited impact on the U.S. Triple Crown, the Hyacinth has a bit more history with the American series. Lani , a son of Tapit  , competed in the race in 2016, the year before the Japan Road was concocted by Churchill Downs. He later finished 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).

It was not until 2019 that Master Fencer  became the first colt to emerge from the Japanese series to start in Louisville, where he finished seventh and was promoted to sixth by the disqualification of Maximum Security  . The Just a Way  colt was beaten only four lengths with a furious charge from the back of the pack. He next ran fifth in the Belmont Stakes.