Japanese Runners Ready for Strong Breeders' Cup Effort

Horses bred in Japan have been making inroads in North American racing in recent years. Most look at the 2021 Breeders' Cup, held at Del Mar, as the current pinnacle. That weekend, Marche Lorraine  won the Breeders' Cup Distaff (G1) and Loves Only You (JPN) won the Breeders' Cup Filly and Mare Turf (G1T). 

Since then, there has been a sense that a horse from Japan would win an event such as the Kentucky Derby (G1) and open the floodgates for that country's competitors. 

It hasn't happened yet, but with eight horses entered in this year's two-day event Nov. 3-4 at Santa Anita Park, those floodgates may not just open but come crashing down. 

"I can't even really imagine, to be honest, winning such a great race," said Hiroyuki Asanuma, who owns Breeders' Cup Classic (G1) contender Derma Sotogake , through journalist Toshi Onikubo who translated his comments. "But you know, if we're sending a horse you know we'd like to win."

The significance of the potential victory in the Breeders' Cup Classic can be easily understood by the fact that Asanuma, 73, who needs a cane to walk, made the long trek from Japan to be here. The horse's trainer Hidetaka Otonashi, 68, cannot renew his training license after the age of 70 per Japan Racing Association guidelines. Derma Sotogake, who finished sixth in this year's Kentucky Derby, might be the pair's last best chance at World Championship glory.

Ushba Tesoro  is also running in the Classic.

His jockey, Yuga Kawada, said he savors the opportunity. 

"Personally, and, as a representative of Japan, this is a really good challenge, to come here and make history for Japan and myself as well," he said through interpreter Raazi Hamad. 

Ecoro Neo (JPN) was scratched from the Breeders' Cup Juvenile (G1), but in addition to Derma Sotogake and Ushba Tesoro in the Classic, other Japanese runners this weekend are Meikei Yell  in the Filly and Mare Sprint (G1), Jasper Krone in the Turf Sprint (G1), Win Marilyn  in the Filly and Mare Turf (G1T), Win Carnelian  and Songline  in the Breeders' Cup Mile (G1), and Shahryar  in the Breeders' Cup Turf (G1T).

Hidenori Take, who trains Meikei Yell, comes from a family of horsemen. His father and grandfather were trainers and jockeys. The significance of being at Santa Anita with the opportunity to win a Breeders' Cup race isn't lost on him.

"It means a lot and it is an honor to have even just one runner here," he said through Onikubo. "You know, if Meikei wins it, that would mean a lot. I'm still a young trainer (42), and that would be meaningful for my career and life as a trainer."

But to achieve that goal, he said, requires a lot of adjustment. Everything is different at tracks in the United States—from the surface to the style of training to the overall environment. Learning from this experience will only make him a better trainer. The knowledge brought back from the U.S. in the past might help the current crop of Japanese Thoroughbred trainers find their landmark moment at the Breeders' Cup. 

It's a mountain they are ready to climb.

"This is the highest pinnacle of dirt racing in the world ... This is the biggest challenge for me," said Otonashi.