Forever Young, Ushba Tesoro lead field of 10 in Tokyo Daishoten
Forever Young and Ushba Tesoro are among a deep field of 10 set to contest the Grade 1, US$1.07 million Tokyo Daishoten on Sunday at Ohi Racecourse in Japan.
Post time for the Tokyo Daishoten is 1:40 a.m. EST on Sunday. Ohi is on the NAR circuit, which is considered a secondary racing circuit to the JRA. However, the Tokyo Daishoten has drawn deep enough fields in recent history to give the race international Grade 1 status. It is the only race of the year at Ohi with that recognition.
The likely favorite is Forever Young. Though the Yoshito Yahagi trainee has not won at the Grade 1 level yet, he is 8: 6-0-2 including four wins in four starts in Japan. His only losses have come in a pair of races in the United States. Three starts back, he missed by two noses behind Mystik Dan and Sierra Leone in the Kentucky Derby. Afer freshening up through the summer and winning the Japan Dirt Classic at Ohi in October, he finished third in the Breeders' Cup Classic at Del Mar behind Sierra Leone and Fierceness. The Tokyo Daishoten is his first start since the Breeders' Cup Classic.
Ushba Tesoro also makes his first start since the Breeders' Cup Classic, where he crossed the wire 10th. Trained by Noboru Takagi, he has owned the Tokyo Daishoten in recent years. Ushba Tesoro's victory over Notturno in the 2022 edition was his first at the top level, and catapulted him to a globetrotting 2023 campaign that included a victory in the Dubai World Cup (G1) and a fifth-place effort behind White Abarrio in the 2023 Breeder's Cup Classic. After that, he returned to Ohi to repeat in the Tokyo Daishoten, winning it narrowly over Wilson Tesoro, who he faces again in 2024.
Wilson Tesoro seeks his first victory at the top level, though he has been knocking at the door. In addition to his near miss in this race last year, he finished second to Lemon Pop in the Champions Cup (G1) at Chukyo the last two years, including a nose miss in the 2024 edition. Wilson Tesoro, like Ushba Tesoro, is trained by Takagi. Furthermore, Wilson Tesoro's jockey Yuga Kawada rode Ushba Tesoro to victory in this race last year.
One of the horses Wilson Tesoro beat in the Champions Cup was Crown Pride, who beat Wilson Tesoro in the Korea Cup (G3) at Seoul in September. The globetrotting Crown Pride won the 2022 UAE Derby (G2), which he followed up with a 13th-place run behind Rich Strike in the Kentucky Derby. The Koichi Shintani trainee has yet to win at the top level, though he was second to Jun Light Bolt in the 2022 Champions Cup.
Derma Sotogake is also familiar to American audiences, as he comes into the Tokyo Daishoten off of an attempt in the Breeders' Cup Classic. He will have to bounce back from a non-threatening 13th in that race. The last time Derma Sotogake hit the board was over a year ago, when he was second to White Abarrio in the 2023 Breeders' Cup Classic.