After 3rd in Kentucky Derby, Forever Young gets 1st Grade 1 win

Forever Young, who missed winning Kentucky Derby 2024 by only a head, took the lead in the last three-sixteenths of a mile Sunday and ran on to a 1 3/4-length triumph in a deeply talented renewal of the Grade 1, US$1,132,635 Tokyo Daishoten, a two-turn, 1 1/4-mile, weight-for-age race on dirt at Oi Racecourse in Tokyo.

It was the first Grade 1 win for the well-traveled 3-year-old colt who finished third in both the Derby and last out in the Breeders’ Cup Classic at Del Mar on Nov. 2. Before that Forever Young won the Saudi Derby (G3) and UAE Derby (G2).

After the race, winning connections told reporters Forever Young would target the US$20 million Saudi Cup (G1) and US$12 million Dubai World Cup (G1) in early 2025.

A son of Real Steel trained by two-time Breeders’ Cup winner Yoshito Yahagi, odds-on favorite Forever Young (1-5) raced in second through the first right turn and up the backstretch against nine rivals ages 3 and up. His regular jockey Ryusei Sakai kept him about three lengths behind front-running 5-year-old Crown Pride (28-1), who disputed the hot pace in the 2022 Kentucky Derby won by 80-1 long shot Rich Strike.

When Crown Pride faded at the top of the stretch, Forever Young got first run and passed him to the outside with 3-year-old Ramjet (10-1) in hot pursuit down the middle of the track and 5-year-old Wilson Tesoro (99-1) along the rail.

Responding to Sakai’s right-handed crop, Forever Young maintained his advantage to the wire. Wilson Tesoro accelerated to finish second, a neck ahead of third-place Ramjet. Two-time defending winner Ushba Tesoro (8-1), the 7-year-old horse who won the 2023 Dubai World Cup (G1) and was 10th last month in the Breeders’ Cup Classic, rallied to come in another 3 1/2 lengths up the track in fourth. The mare Grand Bridge (36-1), 2023 UAE Derby victor Derma Sotogake (29-1), 2022 UAE Derby winner Crown Pride (28-1), Sayono Nature (30-1), King Of The Nile (99-1) and Grande Mare (99-1) were fifth through last in that order.

The winning time was 2:04.9 without a run-up on the fast track that is a mix of sand and dirt. The race was 2,000 meters, 13 yards short of 1 1/4 miles.

Under the wagering system that offers win and the equivalent of show bets, Forever Young paid $2.60 and $2.10, Wilson Tesoro $3.40 and Ramjet $4.60.

Bred in Japan by Northern Racing, Forever Young is out of Kentucky-bred Congrats mare Forever Darling. He was bought at a yearling sale for $720,603 by Susumu Fujita.

With Sunday’s US$686,376 first-place money, Forever Young has earned $4,301,044 from a record of 9: 7-0-2.

Since 2011, the Tokyo Daishoten has been the only internationally recognized Grade 1 race in Japan’s second-level National Association of Racing circuit. It is the only NAR event open to international horses.