Ruggero appears Kentucky Derby 2018-bound after Hyacinth Stakes

Did we gain a 2018 Kentucky Derby contender on Sunday morning?

The Hyacinth Stakes at the Tokyo Racecourse served as a decisive leg on Japan’s road to the Derby, offering up points on a 30-12-6-3 scale — triple the previous legs — with favored Sumahama the winner.

That’s not one of the the horses previously nominated to the Triple Crown, however, nor is he one of the trio mentioned by Churchill Downs as interested in paying the late price for such a thing.

But Ruggero could be the horse given his late run for third in a dirt debut. Nominated early to the Triple Crown series, Ruggero, a winner of the Cattleya Sho on synthetic back in November, earned six more points and appears in line for an invitation to run on the first Saturday in May if the Sumahama’s connections don’t oblige.

The price is $6,000 for a late nomination.

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. At least in this situation, it appears either Sumahama or Ruggero will get the bid if they so choose.

The Hyacinth ran around a one-turn mile.

This article has been corrected to reflect Ruggero as the third-place finisher. An earlier edition stated he finished runner-up.