Japan's Master Fencer pointing to 2019 Kentucky Derby

Following Ski Captain (14th in 1995) and Lani (ninth in 2016), Master Fencer is targeting a start that would make him just the third horse based in Japan to run in the Kentucky Derby.

Naoya Yoshida, owner of Winchester Farm in Lexington, Ky., said Thursday he has spoken with connections of the 3-year-old colt about their travel arrangements and accommodations for the race.

“It’s official,” Yoshida said, adding that a formal announcement is pending.

Yoshida said there are hopes the Japan Racing Association can negotiate rights to the simulcast feed, airing the Derby to a local audience. That would also represent a coup for Churchill Downs should the JRA open wagering on the Derby.

“It's a big surprise for Japanese horse people,” Yoshida said. “He’s going to be the first Japanese-bred horse to try the Kentucky Derby.”

Master Fencer qualified for the Kentucky Derby by running second on Sunday in Nakayama Racecourse’s Fukuryu Stakes, the final race on the official “Japan Road to the Kentucky Derby.” He finished 1 1/2 lengths back of Der Flug as the only horse in the field of eight nominated to the Triple Crown series.

A Katsumi Yoshizawa homebred, Master Fencer is trained by Koichi Tsunoda and had jockey Hiroyuki Uchida in the irons for the Fukuryu Stakes.

Derma Louvre went into last weekend atop the Japanese trail's standings, but his connections opted to travel for the UAE Derby (G2), in which he finished fourth. Master Fencer picked up 16 points by way of the Fukuryu result, while Derma Louvre finished the Japan circuit with 14.

Master Fencer’s inclusion in the Derby will slightly boost the needed qualifying points for American-based horses to make the field, as now 19 spots remain with another possible to be taken by a horse from the European trail. The Cardinal Condition Stakes runs April 11 at Chelmsford City as the final overseas prep.

Points accumulated on the Japanese and European trails do not compare equally to those earned domestically. At the conclusion of those respective series, Churchill Downs extends an invitation to connections of the points leaders.

Churchill Downs in 2017 instituted the Japan Road to the Kentucky Derby, and in 2018 the European trail began.