Japan's NHK Mile Can Spark Promising 3-Year-Old Career

Grade 1 racing returns to Tokyo Racecourse May 8 with the NHK Mile Cup (G1) for 3-year-olds—a pivotal event that can serve as a prelude to anything from a sprint career to the looming classics.

At the longer end of that spectrum, King Kamehameha  and Deep Sky  both managed to move along from victory in the NHK Mile to win the Tokyo Yushun (Japanese Derby, G1) at 2,400 meters (about 1 1/2 miles).

Deep Sky went on from that 2008 double to a successful career at the longer trips while King Kamehameha made only one start after the 2004 Derby before embarking on a highly successful breeding career.

This year's Mile shows promise to launch another good career with the field featuring the second- and third-place finishers from the 2021 Asahi Hai Futurity (G1)—Serifos and Danon Scorpion.

Serifos, a Daiwa Major  colt out of the Le Havre  mare Sea Front , won his first three starts as a juvenile before finishing second to Do Deuce in the Futurity. He makes his 2022 debut in the Mile.

Serifos' Futurity performance was flattered when Do Deuce reported third in the Satsuki Sho (Japanese Two Thousand Guineas, G1) at 2,000 meters April 17.

Assistant trainer Taku Fukunaga said Serifos "has had a nice break at the farm since the Asahi Hai Futurity Stakes and he came back to the stable on April 1. He seems well refreshed and there doesn't seem to be any big change with him.

"He is relaxed and has become more mature," Fukunaga added. "There is no problem with the way he's moving."

Danon Scorpion is by Lord Kanaloa , making him a grandson of King Kamehameha. His dam, Lexie Lou , won both the Budweiser Woodbine Oaks and the Queen's Plate during a very productive career.

Danon Scorpion already has two starts in 2022, finishing seventh in the Kyodo News Hai (G3) at Tokyo Feb. 13, then winning the Arlington Cup (G3) April 16 at Hanshin Racecourse.

Trainer Takayuki Yasuda said those two starts showed enough progress to engender some optimism for the Mile.

"It might not have been quite as good a run in the Arlington Cup as it was for the Asahi Hai Futurity Stakes," Yasuda said. "But compared to the Kyodo News Hai, he ran a good race last time. I think with that result, we can look to this next grade 1 with him.

"A mile is probably his best distance so I think he can run well," the trainer added. 

Serifos drew the No. 4 stall in a field of 18 while jockey Yuga Kawada will have to work out a trip for Danon Scorpion from the outside gate.

There are other prospects in the Mile, including Jean Gros, a More Than Ready   colt bred in Kentucky by Nursery Place & Partners who has won his last three starts, most recently the New Zealand Trophy (G2) at Nakayama Racecourse. He was acquired by Hideyuki Mori for owner Susumu Fujita at the 2021 Ocala Breeders' Sales' 2-Year-Olds in Training Sale for $265,000.

"I had the image of him being a sprinter but he won over a mile last time," noted Jean Gros's rider, Yutaka Take. "He finished sixth in his one run at Tokyo but I'd say he's a better horse now." 

King Hermes, another by Lord Kanaloa, finished third in the Arlington Cup but that was on return from an injury and trainer Yoshito Yahagi remains confident the colt can improve.

The race is run left-handed, starting on the Tokyo Racecourse backstretch. It encompasses the one sweeping turn into a straight that features a stiff uphill climb toward the finish line.