Tag: Road to Kentucky Derby

Japan’s Forever Young Remains Undefeated in UAE Derby, On to Kentucky

Veni, vidi, vici. He came, he saw, he conquered. Like Julius Caesar, Susumu Fujita's Forever Young (Jpn) (Real Steel {Jpn}–Forever Darling, by Congrats) came prepared for battle and lived up to the hype, stamping himself as a potential superstar and giving Japan a third consecutive victory–and fourth since 2016–in the $1-million G2 UAE Derby at Meydan Racecourse on Dubai World Cup Day. The pacesetter Auto Bahn (Arg) (Asiatic Boy {Arg}) held second, while the sole U.S. representative, Pandagate (Arrogate), was third. The UAE Derby offers GI Kentucky Derby points on a 100-50-25-15-10 scale, essentially guaranteeing Forever Young a spot at Churchill Downs, a route trainer Yoshito Yahagi said he intends to pursue. Final time for the 1900 meters was 1:57.89.

It was the first UAE Derby win for both Fujita and Yahagi, as well as for rider Ryusei Sakai. The win was particularly poignant for Yahagi, whose father had passed away in Japan just hours earlier.

“My teacher, mentor, and father passed away this morning and I want to dedicate this win to him,” an emotional Yahagi said following the race.

Forever Young overcame a wide break from Meydan's stall 11 Saturday and sat outside but prominently in the early first flight before settling into a wide fifth, feeling the breeze while in the clear. Little changed up front as Southern Hemisphere stablemates Oasis Boy (Arg) (Asiatic Boy {Arg} and Auto Bahn (Arg) showed the way until heading into the homestretch, when Auto Bahn put away his fellow Julio Olascoaga trainee as Forever Young loomed menacingly to his outside. Sakai gave the bay winner a few right-handed taps of the whip as Auto Bahn yielded. Forever Young drew clear by two lengths under a late hand ride with his ears pricked as conditioner Christophe Clement's last-out Gander S. winner Pandagate closed from his penultimate running spot with long, easy strides to wind up several lengths back in third.

Yahagi reiterated several times the Kentucky Derby will be the next target for the winner.

“Of course it will be very difficult to manage the horse's condition from Dubai to Kentucky, but I really believe my team will be able to get him in good order,” said Yahagi.

Kentucky is not an option for Auto Bahn, as he is a 4-year-old on Southern Hemisphere time.

Jockey Dylan Davis, Pandagate's rider, indicated he felt his colt may benefit from a longer distance than the 1900 meters of the Saudi Derby. “We found some good rhythm. When they punched, they just had a better kick than me and my horse just kept fighting for third and he managed to prevail for third. Shipping all the way and performing on this stage–he showed that he improved again. He got there well, he is kind of a stayer. He hasn't got a big turn of foot but getting further should be no problem.”

Forever Young, who made his first two career starts at nine furlongs, has never been beaten. He made three trips to the starting gate as a 2-year-old in Japan, getting started last October at Kyoto and reeling off three consecutive victories at three different tracks, culminating with listed wins in the JBC Nisai Yushun and the Zennippon Nisai Yushun. With performances of a caliber that made him the highest-rated dirt juvenile in Japanese history, Forever Young tackled the world stage next, where word was already out that this colt might be something special. He didn't disappoint despite a less-than-ideal trip in the $1.5-million G3 Boutique Group Saudi Derby at Riyadh's King Abdulaziz Racecourse Feb. 24. The head victory may have been his only winning margin shy of daylight, but it was in such a manner–where he ran down what looked to be a clear winner–that he was clearly the horse to beat in the UAE Derby.

“He did not travel well from Japan to Saudi Arabia so he was not in great condition but he still performed very well,” said Yahagi. “After traveling from Riyadh to Dubai he improved and he has so much potential, I always have a lot of confidence in him.”

Winning owner Fujita concurred that Forever Young will travel next to Kentucky. “This is only my third season as an owner with the Japan Racing Association and I have already found a champion racehorse. He continues to attract international attention for the Kentucky Derby, which tells me that he should have a good chance. Looking forward I would like to underline that I would like to win the Dubai World Cup.”

 

Pedigree Notes:

Shadai Stallion Station's Real Steel, himself a big winner in Dubai when he took the G1 Dubai Turf in 2016, is also a full-brother to U.S. and Japanese champion Loves Only You (Jpn), winner of the GI Breeders' Cup Filly and Mare Turf in 2021. With just two crops to the races thus far, Real Steel has three black-type winners, all in group company. Forever Young is his first stakes winner outside of Japan. Forever Young is also one of 26 black-type winners worldwide out of a daughter of Congrats, a son of A.P. Indy who was pensioned from stud duty at WinStar Farm after the 2021 season.

Forever Darling, winner of the 2016 GII Santa Ynez S., was exported to the UK in 2017, bred to Frankel (GB), and shipped to Japan, where she has remained. She has a 2-year-old filly by Kizuna (Jpn) and a yearling filly by Epiphaneia (Jpn). Bred for 2024 to Rey de Oro (Jpn), Forever Darling is a half-sister to 2017 GI Darley Alcibiades S. winner Heavenly Love (Malibu Moon), dam of $2.3-million Fasig-Tipton Saratoga topper and 'TDN Rising Star' Sierra Leone (Gun Runner). The latter most recently won the Feb. 17 GII Risen Star S. and is pointing to Keeneland's GI Toyota Blue Grass next week. Other members of the family include 2004 Japanese Horse of the Year Zenno Rob Roy (Jpn) (Sunday Silence), a half-brother to Forever Young's granddam, MSW & MGISP Darling My Darling.

Saturday, Meydan, Dubai
UAE DERBY-G2, AED1,000,000, Meydan, 3-30, 3yo, 9 1/2f, 1:57.89, fs.
1–FOREVER YOUNG (JPN), 121, c, 3, by Real Steel (Jpn)
                1st Dam: Forever Darling (SP-US, $113,733),
                                by Congrats
                2nd Dam: Darling My Darling, by Deputy Minister
                3rd Dam: Roamin Rachel, by Mining
(¥98,000,000 Ylg '22 JRHAJUL). O-Susumu Fujita; B-Northern
Racing; T-Yoshito Yahagi; J-Ryusei Sakai. $580,000. Lifetime
Record: MSW-Jpn, GSW-Sau, 5-5-0-0, $2,630,648. Click for the
   free Equineline.com catalogue-style pedigree. Werk Nick
   Rating: A+. Click for the eNicks report & 5-cross pedigree.
2–Auto Bahn (Arg), 131, c, 3, Asiatic Boy (Arg)–Autografiada
(Arg), by Giant's Causeway. 1ST GROUP BLACK-TYPE. O-Sheikh
Mohammed bin Khalifa Al Maktoum; B-Al Adiyaat Argentina
S.A (ARG); T-Julio Olascoaga. $200,000.
3–Pandagate, 121, c, 3, Arrogate–Kitty Panda, by Sky Mesa.
1ST GROUP BLACK TYPE. ($130,000 Ylg '22 SARAUG).
O-Adelphi Racing Club, Madaket Stables LLC, Corms Racing
Stable and On The Rise Again Stable; B-Fred W. Hertrich III
(NY); T-Christophe Clement. $100,000.
Margins: 2, 4 3/4, 1.
Also Ran: Mendelssohn Bay, Navy Seal (Ire), Ballon D'Or (Jpn), Rock Walk (Uru), Guns And Glory, Oasis Boy (Arg), George Tesoro (Jpn), Henry Adams (Ire). Scratched: Killer Collect, Satono Phoenix (Jpn). Click for the ERA chart & video.

 

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Connections Eye Florida Route to Derby for Holy Bull Winner Hades

D. J. Stable LLC and Robert Cotran's Hades (Awesome Slew), upset winner of Saturday's GIII Holy Bull S. over juvenile champion and 'TDN Rising Star' Fierceness (City of Light), may be pointed to either the Mar. 2 GII Fountain of Youth S. or the Mar. 30 GI Curlin Florida Derby, hinted trainer Joe Orseno to the Gulfstream Park notes team Thursday.

“We're obviously working backwards from the first Saturday in May,” said Orseno. “We'll do what's best for the horses. I don't think both races are in the plans. If I had to guess today, I'd say the latter one.”

Orseno said the undefeated Hades came out of his Holy Bull win in good shape.

“My both feet are on the ground and everything's fine,” said Orseno. “The horse is doing great. He came out of it really well in his training. He's been back training two days. He's galloping great.”

Orseno continued: “Yesterday, he was more aggressive. It was windy and it was his first day back on the track. Today, he was more settled.”

The trainer also detailed the decision that led to gelding the bay, who is now unbeaten in three starts. Orseno had spotted Hades at the 2023 OBS April Sale, where he worked two furlongs in :21 1/5. D. J. Stable signed the ticket and Orseno brought his longtime client Cotran in to team up on the Florida-bred colt.

“When I bought him out of the sale, I gave him a week and brought him down here. He just wasn't training like I thought he should have been,” Orseno said. “He was stud-ish, really stud-ish. He was a little weak behind. He didn't seem to be himself. I said, 'This isn't the horse I bought,' because we really loved him.”

Despite extra time turned out in Ocala, Hades showed no improvement.

“He was being real stud-ish, not going forward. I said, 'Just cut him and help him grow up a little bit.' That's what we did. We just gave him time and cut him. He's a son of Awesome Slew. Nobody was thinking 'stallion' at that point. Nobody was thinking anything. We bought a racehorse and we've got to get him to the races.”

The result is an undefeated prospect who has earned 20 points on the Road to the Kentucky Derby.

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Kenny McPeek’s Mystik Dan Upends Oaklawn’s Southwest

One of four Kentucky Derby preps run Saturday, the $800,000 GIII Southwest S. at Oaklawn Park was the richest. It also promised to be the most wide-open betting contest and it didn't disappoint as a mud-splattered 11-1 MYSTIK DAN (c, 3, Goldencents–Ma'am, by Colonel John) pulled the upset for trainer Kenny McPeek. Last fall's Ed Brown S. winner Just Steel (Justify) got up for second while GIII Street Sense S. winner Liberal Arts (Arrogate) secured third. The Southwest offers points on a 20-10-6-4-2 scale for the Road to the Kentucky Derby.

Out from the 10 post in the mud, Mystik Dan broke sharply only to angle over to the rail and settle midpack under Brian Hernandez, Jr. Otto the Conqueror (Street Sense), winner of the Springboard Mile S. in December, set a :23.56 and :47.95 pace up front with his ears pricked while previously undefeated race favorite and 'TDN Rising Star' Carbone (Mitole) pressured him from the outside. Meanwhile, Mystik Dan bided his time on the rail, with Hernandez carefully concealing the power about to be unleashed. Just Steel, keen early in fourth, collared Otto the Conqueror from the outside off the turn and looked to be running easily while Mystik Dan, so close to the rail he could have scraped paint, found a seam and burst through. The two spent the briefest of moments on even terms before Mystik Dan thumbed his nose at the competition, simply forgetting to stop as he looked stronger with every stride and sailed home eight lengths to the good after being geared down late. It was a visually impressive performance as Just Steel held for second, a neck over a closing Liberal Arts, who was nine lengths clear of the rest.

An open-daylight maiden sprint winner at Churchill in November, Mystik Dan brought a field-best 96 Beyer Speed Figure into the Southwest. Last seen finishing fifth behind Catching Freedom (Constitution) in Oaklawn's Smarty Jones S. on New Year's Day at his first try at the Southwest distance, he had faded in the stretch that day after pressing the pace.

McPeek and Hernandez also teamed up to win Oaklawn's Kentucky Oaks points race on Saturday–the $250,000 Martha Washington S.–with longshot Band of Gold (Preservationist). The pair of victories marked the first wins by each of the veterans in both of the races.

Well clear in the stretch | Coady/Robi Heffington

Pedigree Notes:

A homebred for the team of Lance Gasaway, Daniel Hamby, and 4G Racing LLC, Mystik Dan is out of a Colonel John mare bred by the late Lucy Bassett and originally trained by McPeek. Ma'am, out of a full-sister to GI Hollywood Futurity and GII Lane's End Breeders' Futurity winner Siphonic (Siphon {Brz}), also hails from the same family as GISW Laragh (Tapit), MGSW and sire Summer Front (War Front), and MGSW & GISP Dixie Dot Com (Dixie Brass). Ma'am has a 2-year-old Unified filly named Yes Ma'am and a yearling Knicks Go filly named Ford's Ma'am for the same team. She was bred to Wells Bayou for 2024.

Two-time GI Breeders' Cup Dirt Mile winner and Spendthrift sire Goldencents has 27 black-type winners worldwide. Mystik Dan is his seventh graded winner while also being the 10th black-type winner out of a daughter of Colonel John. The latter was last reported to be standing in Korea.

 

Saturday, Oaklawn
SOUTHWEST S.-GIII, $800,000, Oaklawn, 2-3, 3yo, 1 1/16m, 1:43.67, my.
1–MYSTIK DAN, 118, c, 3, by Goldencents
                1st Dam: Ma'am, by Colonel John
                2nd Dam: Lady Siphonica, by Siphon (Brz)
                3rd Dam: Cherokee Crossing, by Cherokee Colony
1ST BLACK TYPE WIN, 1ST GRADED STAKES WIN. O/B-Lance
Gasaway, Daniel Hamby & 4G Racing LLC (KY); T-Kenneth G.
McPeek; J-Brian Joseph Hernandez, Jr. $408,000. Lifetime
Record: 5-2-1-0, $510,110. Werk Nick Rating: A+++. *Triple
Plus* Click for the eNicks report & 5-cross pedigree. Click for
the free Equineline.com catalogue-style pedigree.
2–Just Steel, 117, c, 3, Justify–Irish Lights (Aus), by Fastnet Rock
(Aus). 1ST GRADED BLACK TYPE. ($500,000 Ylg '22 KEESEP).
O-BC Stables, LLC; B-Summerhill Farm (KY); T-D. Wayne Lukas.
$136,000.
3–Liberal Arts, 119, c, 3, Arrogate–Ismene, by Tribal Rule.
O/B-Stephen Ferraro & Evan Ferraro (KY); T-Robert Medina.
$68,000.
Margins: 8, NK, 9. Odds: 11.40, 10.30, 4.90.
Also Ran: Awesome Road, Common Defense, Otto the Conqueror, Carbone, Linebacker, Charleston, Magic Grant, Wynstock. Scratched: Maycocks Bay.
Click for the Equibase.com chart and the TJCIS.com PPs. VIDEO, sponsored by FanDuel TV.

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Oaklawn Shuffles Cards Due to Cancellations; Southwest Now Scheduled Feb. 3

Oaklawn Park, forced to cancel a number of race dates this month–including this coming weekend's live racing–due to winter weather, has moved the entire GIII Southwest S. card to Saturday, Feb. 3. A GI Kentucky Derby points race, the $800,000 Southwest is worth 20 points to the winner and points on a scale of 10-6-4-2 to the second- through fifth-place finishers. Although the Southwest was originally scheduled for Jan. 27 and racing is currently scheduled for that date, several stakes races have been reshuffled at the Hot Springs oval due to the cancellations.

All three Southwest undercard black-type events have also been moved to Feb. 3. They include the Martha Washington S. for 3-year-old fillies offering points on a 20-10-6-4-2 basis toward the GI Kentucky Oaks, as well as the American Beauty S. for filles and mares three and up and the King Cotton S. for horses three and up.

“The Southwest and Martha Washington are important preps for our 3-year-old stakes program,” said Oaklawn President Louis Cella. “They are also important points races for the Kentucky Derby and Kentucky Oaks. It is important for our horsemen to have ample opportunities to train their horses properly for the races. Not only has this winter weather forced us to cancel racing, but our horsemen have also missed some training days.”

The Southwest will join three other 20-point Derby preps also scheduled for Feb. 3: the GIII Withers S. at Aqueduct, the GIII Robert B. Lewis S. at Santa Anita, and the GIII Holy Bull S. at Gulfstream. The entire Southwest card will be drawn Sunday, Jan. 28 with the same races originally listed in the condition book for Jan. 27.

The GIII Bayakoa S., originally scheduled for Feb. 3, has been bumped back to Feb. 2 to accommodate the new schedule. In addition, the listed Fifth Season S., originally set for this Saturday, Jan. 20, will now be run Jan. 27. It will be redrawn.

Live racing at Oaklawn is scheduled to resume next Friday, Jan. 26 with a first post at 12:30 p.m. CST.

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