sotogake skinone your cookie heart foal, took the lead in the “Kentucky Derby on the Japanese Road” with a December 14 victory at the Zen-Nippon Nisai Yushun at Kawasaki Racecourse.
The race was the second in a series of four with the final points leader securing a spot in the 2023 Kentucky Derby presented by Woodford Reserve (G1). Derma Sotogake, coached by Hidetaka Otonashi, earns 20 points, surpassing the winner of the first race, continuewho has 10 points.
Derma Sotogake rallies outside competitors in deep distance for Fuma rider Matsuwaka to win by margin Omatsuri Otokoone Vittorio d’Oro The pony darted forward in the middle of the lane and looked like a winner until the very last steps. Perrierevia Henny Hughes close from the turn to the rope but in third place, another neck back.
“I want to move forward a little bit,” said Matsuwaka. “I followed Perriere from behind and moved to catch him and it worked. I’m happy with the big win, with (his) third straight win.”
The top three finishers are all horses belonging to the Japan Racing Association. Kawasaki is a local racetrack under the jurisdiction of the National Racing Association, where nine out of 14 people start. NAR tracks conduct most of the nation’s land races, including major races on that surface, and is placing a new focus on that product as Japanese horses perform well in the races on around the world.
Derma Sotogake, get out new universe mare Poesie Love (JPN), had two first starts on the pitch, coming sixth and fourth. Moving on to dirt, he finished third in a first event at Kokura on September 3, then won his first one a month later at Chukyo Racecourse. He supported that by winning a small stakes race at Hanshin Racecourse on November 6 and now has a three-match winning streak in the race.
The form of the ground races was a bit difficult to gauge at first, especially since none of the 14 Zen-Nippon runners took part in the first “Japanese Road” race, Cattleya Sho at Tokyo Racecourse. However, the runner-up in the November 6 race by Derma Sotogake, Continuar, won, returned to claim the Cattleya.
Last year’s Zen-Nippon winner, dried stingray via sinister minister has only raced twice since then, most recently winning the 1,400 meter (about seven long) sprint on the Tokyo dirt track.
The series continues with the Hyacinth Stakes at Tokyo Racecourse on February 19 and ends with the Fukuryu Stakes at Nakayama Racecourse on March 25.
The points offered increase gradually over the course of the series, so the results are often not known until after the finals. Hyacinth winners get 30 points with 12, 9, 6 and 3 for extra slots. Fukuryu is usually a definite hot spot with a scale of 40-16-12-8-4.
The series hasn’t had a significant impact on the Kentucky Derby so far and Otonashi said he’ll be consulting with the owners but he would personally be in favor of entering the sword races. Big money for 3-year-olds in Saudi Arabia and Dubai before considering the Kentucky Horse Race. Continuar’s coach, Yoshito Yahagi, had a similar plan in mind after Cattleya Stakes.
“I think I’d like to take him to Saudi Arabia, then Dubai and then maybe Kentucky,” Yahagi said.
