11 are in Hyacinth, next stop on Japan road to Kentucky Derby

Godolphin homebred Unquenchable leads five Triple Crown nominees into this weekend’s Hyacinth Stakes, the next stop on the Japan road to Kentucky Derby 2024.

Run around one turn on the dirt at Tokyo Racecourse and covering 1,600 meters, about one mile, the Hyacinth is expected to have 10 colts and a filling go forward. The ninth race on the February Stakes (G1) card, the Hyacinth is scheduled to start Sunday at 12:25 a.m. EST, which Saturday at 9:25 p.m. PST.

Over the same course and distance as the Hyacinth, Unquenchable finished third Nov. 25 in the Cattleya Stakes, the first of the four races in the Japan qualifying series. The 3-year-old colt by Discreet Cat out of the Pyro mare Smoldering most recently finished second as the even-money favorite in a Jan. 27 allowance race also covering the dirt mile at Tokyo.

Trained by Mizuki Takayanagi, Unquenchable will be ridden by top jockey Christophe Lemaire in the Hyacinth.

Two-time winner Ballon d’Or also is expected to attract strong consideration from bettors. Third on Jan. 17 in the Bluebird Cup (G3), the New Year’s Day colt is trained by Ritto-based Mikio Matsunaga and will be ridden by Masami Matsuoka.

Ramjet, Y Y Legend, and Habire are the other three Triple Crown nominees who were entered for the Hyacinth, which is the third race on the Japan road to the Kentucky Derby.

The 1 1/8-mile Fukuryu Stakes on March 23 at Nakayama will conclude the qualifying series which carries with it a separate point system and a single invitation to race May 4 at Churchill Downs.