Yoshida Qualifies Two in One Day for KY Derby

Crown Pride , winner of the UAE Derby Sponsored by Mubadala (G2), wasn't the only Japanese 3-year-old owned by Teruya Yoshida earning a spot in the Kentucky Derby Presented by Woodford Reserve (G1) in March 26 racing.

But, between the two success stories, he is Yoshida's only logical choice to contest the Run for the Roses.

Only hours before Crown Pride won in Dubai, Delicada worked through a narrow gap between rivals while climbing the Nakayama Racecourse stretch to win the Fukuryu Stakes, the final leg in the "Japan Road to the Kentucky Derby." The victory was worth 40 points and left Delicada atop the standings in the series.

As a filly, by Pyro  out of the Kurofune mare Bronx Silver, and a non-nominee to the U.S. Triple Crown, Delicada seems an outsider to make the trip to Louisville, particularly after Crown Pride provided his owner a much more logical candidate. Both were bred by Yoshida's Shadai Farm.

Delicada, with Ryuji Wada in the irons, bided her time through most of the 1,800-meter (about 1 1/8 miles) Fukuryu. Turning for home, the filly found the ranks closing in front of her, then forged through a narrow gap to win by a neck over Notturno with extreme longshot Peisha Es only a head farther back in third. 

Delicada finished in 1:52.1 over a good track.

After the first three races in the four-race "Japan Road" series, the points lead was held by Combustion , with 38. Combustion, also a non-nominee to the Triple Crown, bypassed the Fukuryu in favor of the UAE Derby, where he finished 11th. Dry Stout , second on the list with 20 points, also would have to be supplemented to be eligible for a Derby invitation.

Notturno earned 16 points for finishing second in the Fukuryu. Geraldo Barows  holds 14 points—the most by any Triple Crown nominee.

The Japan Road to the Kentucky Derby has had only a limited impact on the U.S. Triple Crown. Lani , a son of Tapit  , finished ninth in the Kentucky Derby Presented by Yum! Brands (G1) in 2016, the year before the Japan Road was inaugurated. He later was 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  .