Final Japanese 2018 Kentucky Derby prep set for Sunday morning
Triple Crown-nominated Ruggero (JPN) and Work and Love (JPN) are among the 16 horses that were entered for Sunday morning’s Hyacinth at Toyko Racecourse.
The one-mile race for 3-year-olds, which has a 12:25 a.m. EDT post time, concludes the three-race Japan Road to the 2018 Kentucky Derby and will award points to the Top 4 finishers on a 30-12-6-3 scale.
Takashi Muraki’s Ruggero (JPN), trained by Yuichi Shikato, garnered 10 points for winning the one-mile Cattleya Sho by a half-length at Tokyo in November.
According to racing officials, the connections of three horses will consider paying the $6,000 late Triple Crown nomination fee should they win the Hyacinth. The horses are Dark Repulser (JPN), Meisho Isana (JPN) and Meisho Opus (JPN).
All of the aforementioned horses also are nominated to the $2 million UAE Derby (GII) at Meydan Racecourse on March 31.
Only one invitation to compete in the Kentucky Derby will be extended with preference given to the horses with the most points in the Japan Road to the Kentucky Derby series. No invitation will be extended beyond the Top 4 point earners but if a horse also qualifies through America’s 35-race “Road to the Kentucky Derby” series, the invite will be extended to the next eligible horse.
If two or more horses have the same number of points, the tiebreaker is lifetime earnings as of April 14.