Lani Breezes in Final Derby Preparation

Koji Maeda’s Lani turned in the only work of the day by Kentucky Derby Presented by Yum! Brands (gr. I) contenders May 3 when the Japanese-owned and –trained colt breezed five furlongs in 1:01.

With trainer Mikio Matsunaga on hand at Churchill Downs for the first time since the son of Tapit   arrived April 3, Lani was timed in splits of :12 2/5, :24 2/5, :36 3/5, and :48 3/5. The final time for the work was third-best among 18 at the distance.

Produced from the Japanese-bred Sunday Silence mare Heavenly Romance, Lani stamped his ticket to Kentucky by winning the UAE Derby (UAE-II) on the Dubai World Cup card March 26 to improve to three wins and a second in six starts.

Since arriving at Churchill after a quarantine period in Chicago following the UAE Derby, Lani has generated buzz on the backstretch with his lengthy stints on the racetrack.

“It was a very nice work; the rider has done a very good job,” Matsunaga said through agent and interpreter Keita Tanaka.

Matsunaga said he sent Lani, bred in Kentucky by North Hills Co. Limited, to Churchill so he could relax after the UAE Derby effort and journey and so he could acclimate to the surroundings and get fit enough to run in the Derby.

He said the lengthy time on the track each day is more like how the colt is trained in Japan, with lengthy walks before and after going to the track. He has been unable do that at Churchill because of the limited space in the detention barn in which he is stabled.

“Back home, there plenty of places to walk, even in the barn, and the barn here is not ideally big enough,” Matsunaga said.

The trainer said he is not concerned about how the large Derby crowd might affect his horse, noting Japanese races routinely draw large crowds.

Now that there are more horses on the track during training hours, one concern for Matsunaga is how Lani hestitates when other horses are coming toward him from the opposite direction while on the track.

“This still remains a concern for the days until Derby,” he said. “He has a very strong mind, himself, so when other horses come toward him he sometimes may get aggressive toward them. But in the races he concentrates on how he runs. He won’t do that in the race.”

Matsunaga said the connections of Lani had the Derby on their radar for some time, and he showed his ability to compete on dirt when he won the UAE Derby.

“It is big honor to have a run in the Kentucky Derby as a trainer, and I’m always thinking about it if I had the right horse," he said. "At the same time I know how extremely difficult it is, and this year I have a big chance.”