Japan's road to Kentucky Derby 2018 produces a contender
The “Japan Road to the Kentucky Derby” kicked off Saturday with the Cattleya Sho, the first of three races, and it was won by a colt with connections interested in running next year at Churchill Downs.
Ruggero, a grandson of Sunday Silence, won off a stalking trip behind Morito Yubu. The leader fell after shying into the rail around the 100-meter mark. Jockey Keita Kosaki went on to guide Ruggero to a half-length win over Mic Ben Hur and Meiner Yukitsubaki. Morito Yubu and his jockey, Hiroshi Kitamura, did not seem seriously injured.
The 1,600-meter race went in 1:38.20 over the Tokyo Racecourse dirt surface. It was Ruggero’s first start on dirt and his second win in four starts.
“I would like to consider traveling to the USA, positively,” winning trainer Yuichiro Shikato told the Blood Horse. “But at the moment I have no plan to enter the horse in the next selection race (the Zen-Nippon Nisai Yushun Dec. 13 at Kawasaki Racecourse.)”
“To be selected as winner of the Japan Road to the Kentucky Derby,” Shikato continued, “Ruggero has to win the last leg of the races, the Hyacinth Stakes. Otherwise, he is not competitive enough in the series. So careful considerations are need for his trip to USA.”
As with Saturday's race, points will also be rewarded on a 10-4-2-1 basis in the Zen-Nippon Nisai Yushun. The Hyacinth is run in February at Tokyo and awards points worth 30-12-6-3 to the top four. The horse with the most points after the three races earns a spot in the 2018 Kentucky Derby starting gate.
By Christine Oser