Sunday at Tokyo Racecourse marks the 82nd running of the G1 Tokyo Yushun, the Japanese Derby, which is the pinnacle of prestige for three-year-old thoroughbreds in Japan.
Looking to capture his second jewel in this year’s Triple Crown is Duramente, winner of the G1 Satsuki Sho in April. Following his spine-tingling stretch drive in that 2000m classic, the son of King Kamehameha is pegged as the horse to beat in the Derby. Known as a “difficult” horse, Duramente went to post as the third pick in the Satsuki Sho at Nakayama, falling from grace with the fans for the first time.
A bit keen in the early stages of the race, he nonetheless showed he could more than handle not only his first time at the distance but his first time running right-handed as well. After taking up a rear position on the rail and then moving wide into the final turn, Duramente, under Mirco Demuro, shot up the stretch to clock a blistering last sectional of 33.9 seconds for the final 600m.
Now back at Tokyo, where he has previously notched two wins and two seconds, the extra 400m of the Derby will demand the hot-headed Duramente keep his cool. Tokyo’s long home stretch, however, is surely a plus, as are the skills of his partner, Demuro.
And, furthermore, the favourite in the Derby has the best winning average of all the JRA G1s. In the past 31 runnings of the Derby the favourite has won 17 times and finished second on five other occasions.
Likely to be neck and neck with Duramente at the betting windows is his arch-rival and Satsuki Sho runner-up Real Steel. Two races prior to the Satsuki Sho, in the G3 Kyodo News Service Hai in February, Real Steel ran a perfect race and topped Duramente, who had been unable to settle in the early stages. Next out in the G2 Spring Sho in March, Real Steel ran second by a neck to Kitasan Black, who had travelled easily on the pace. Real Steel was sent forward in the Satsuki Sho and secured his position easily, finishing 2.5 lengths ahead of Kitasan Black in third. Real Steel had, however, likely used up more of his reserves than Duramente had, as the latter horse blew past him just before the wire.
The competition is heated between those in the saddle as well as those under it. Paired with Satono Crown is Frenchman Christophe Lemaire who, along with Demuro, became a fully licensed JRA jockey earlier this year. Unlike Demuro, Lemaire has yet to win any of the five three-year-old classic events in Japan and is riding in his first Japanese Derby. Satono Crown, the Satsuki Sho favourite, hails from the same stable as Duramante. He missed the winner’s circle for the first time when sixth in that race, with the loss blamed on interference at the top of the stretch that forced him to run wide. Tokyo, where the colt has won two from two, is considered perhaps the best venue in Japan for clear sailing. Satono Crown should have ample chance to rally.
Other names good for a wager on Sunday are G2 Aoba Sho winner Reve Mistral, who is on a three-race roll, and Aoba Sho runner-up Tanta Alegria, a consistent runner who has finished in the money over longer distance races at left-handed tracks. The Deep Impact-sired Porte d’Auteuil may also come into consideration at his first time at the distance and the venue.
