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The 92nd running of the Tokyo Yushun (Japanese Derby) will be held on Sunday, 1st June and it is a 2,400m turf event at Tokyo Racecourse.
It is Derby time again, with the iconic race set for Sunday, June 1. The venue is Tokyo Racecourse in western Tokyo, and the gates will open on some of the very best 3-year-old Thoroughbreds in Japan, and perhaps someday on the world stage.
This year, the Grade 1 Tokyo Yushun (Japanese Derby) will mark its 92nd running. It is the second leg of Japan's Triple Crown races, with all of them open to both 3-year-old colts and fillies. The Derby follows the Satsuki Sho (Japanese 2000 Guineas) and wraps up in the autumn with the Kikuka Sho (Japanese St. Leger).
First held in 1932 at Meguro Racecourse before being moved to Tokyo Racecourse two years later, the classic race continued to lend some normality to the country even during WWII, until it was cancelled in 1945. The Derby returned in 1947 and has since continued as a beloved racing fixture.
In this year's all-colt lineup, the Top 5 finishers from the Satsuki Sho are all included - Museum Mile, Croix du Nord, Masquerade Ball, Giovanni and Satono Shining. Two other official trials leading into the Derby - the Grade 2 TV Tokyo Hai Aoba Sho and the Principal Stakes - handed a Derby ticket to its top finishers, but only the Aoba Sho runner-up Feiern Kranz and Principal Stakes winner Readiness are expected to take part. Three others that earned their way to the gate with earnings alone are (in order of amount) Fandom, Shohei and Faust Rasen. These 10 colts will also most likely comprise the most heavily bet names.
A full gate of 18 runners (from 20 nominees), including 10 that have already landed graded-stakes wins, will test their mettle over 2,400 meters of turf at Tokyo.
Winning the Derby is, of course, not just about its prize. The most wins, the youngest jockey, the oldest, anything associated with capturing this jewel is an honor and every jockey's dream. Many tears have been shed at the postrace interview. Last year, Norihiro Yokoyama (aboard Danon Decile) became, at over 56 years of age, the oldest jockey to win the Derby. Yutaka Take, expected up on Satono Shining this year, holds the record for most wins in the Derby. He has landed six thus far, in 1998, 1999, 2002, 2005, 2014, and 2022, and is gunning for a lucky seven.
Post time for the Japanese Derby (the No. 11 race) is 15:40 locally on the Sunday card of 12 at Tokyo. The Grade 2 Meguro Kinen follows as the last race of the day.
Here is a look at some of the standouts.
Museum Mile: Runner-up in the G1 Asahi Hai Futurity Stakes, Museum Mile next ran fourth in the Grade 2 Hochi Hai Yayoi Sho Deep Impact Kinen over 2,000 meters at Nakayama. He then landed the Satsuki Sho despite having had to deal with interference in the backstretch and a rather rough trip overall. Extending nicely in the final stage, the son of Leontes managed to catch and pass Croix de Nord in the last 100 meters, and win the race under Joao Moreira by a margin of a length and a half. This time key will be how well he can handle not only his first time at Tokyo, but also the extra distance, 400 meters longer than what he's experienced before. His third place in his debut at Chukyo would indicate the left-handed track shouldn't pose a problem. Damian Lane is expected up on Sunday, riding Museum Mile in a race for the first time. The Australian rider, currently in Japan on a short-term license until June 27, started off winning big with the Tenno Sho (Spring), but has posted a 6-4-7 in the next three G1s. Lane scored the Derby in 2023 aboard Tastiera, whom he was also riding in a race for the first time.
Croix Du Nord: A son of seven-time G1 champion Kitasan Black, Croix du Nord was named Best 2-Year-Old for 2024 after claiming the Grade 1 Hopeful Stakes, from which point his three-race winning streak from his debut ended. Disappointing as race favorite in the Satsuki Sho, Croix du Nord finished second by a length and a half to Museum Mile. Trainer Takashi Saito, who has yet to win the Derby but has amassed eight G1 wins, (three alone from his star mare Chrono Genesis) says of Croix du Nord: "The Satsuki Sho was a tough race, but except for the winner, he showed his strength in holding off all the others. Compared to before that race, he has filled out and is looking stronger. His work last week (under regular rider Yuichi Kitamura) should have him sharpened up."
Masquerade Ball: With three wins from five starts thus far, the Duramente-sired Masquerade Ball has proved consistent except for one time, his unexpectedly poor showing in the G1 Hopeful Stakes. It was his first time racing to the right and he'd leapt from a listed race win to the top level. Less than two months later, he scooped the Grade 3 Kyodo News Hai (Tokinominoru Kinen) over 1,800 meters at Tokyo. In the Satsuki Sho, despite coming from far off the pace and suffering interference in the stretch, he was able to finish in third place only 0.3 seconds off winner Museum Mile. His three wins have all come over left-handed tracks. Masquerade Ball hails from the stable of veteran trainer Takahisa Tezuka, who needs only a Derby win to complete his hand of classic victories, a feat only four trainers (none of them active) have accomplished. Tezuka has fielded four Derby runners thus far, and Sol Oriens came closest to winning the Derby with his second by a neck to Tastiera in 2023. This year's Saudi Cup winning jockey Ryusei Sakai, who rode the colt in the Kyodo News Hai, is expected up on Sunday. Sakai, currently No. 3 in the JRA jockey rankings, has won eight G1s in Japan, and hopes to land his first Derby.
Satono Shining: Sired by Kizuna (Derby winner in 2013), Satono Shining disappointed with a fifth in the Satsuki Sho. In his previous three races, he'd posted two wins and a second (including a G2 second and a G3 win), and had gone to the Satsuki Sho gate as the race second pick. He finished only 0.4 seconds behind the winner despite having experienced a far-from-smooth trip. "At the first bend and down the backstretch, he was bumped several times and just when he'd settle down again, he'd get bumped again and become excited," said jockey Atsuya Nishimura. "It was a stressful trip for him from start to finish. He held back as he usually does in the turns but in the straight I actually thought we were going to win." This time Derby ace Yutaka Take, who is gunning for his seventh win of the Derby, is to take the reins for the first time as Nishimura's currently recovering from injury.
Fandom: The unbeaten Fandom, hailing from the Miho stable of Tetsuhide Tsuji, has streaked winningly through three races from his September debut last year and could become the 12th horse to win the Derby unbeaten. In his most recent race at the end of March, he landed claim to the Grade 3 Mainichi Hai. Now the colt by Saturnalia (fourth in the 2019 Derby) will be racing to the left and at Tokyo for the first time. He will also be racing over 600 meters longer than he has before. However, Fandom does have speed on his side, as was evident when he topped the course record for 2-year-olds in his debut at Nakayama. Trainer Tsuji commented of the colt: "He got a good time in his work last week, but still had a lot in the tank. There's no big change from his last race, but he does come out of a race much better than he used to. I'm not worried about the left-handed track and the way he looked in the Mainichi Hai made me think he was good enough for the Derby. I'm looking forward to it." Hiroshi Kitamura, who has ridden all the colt's three starts, is expected up.
Shohei: Shohei comes to the Derby gate fresh off a win of the Grade 2 Kyoto Shimbun Hai over 2,200 meters at Kyoto in March. All Shohei's four starts have been at Kyoto and the only one in which he did not make the Top 3 was the Grade 3 Kisaragi Sho, where he finished fourth with a full second behind the winner. Also by Saturnalia, Shohei is fielded by trainer Yasuo Tomomichi, who has won the Derby three times, the top Derby score held by trainers currently active. If he wins this time, it will put Tomomichi at the Derby top for all trainers ever. "There's not much time between races, so I just wanted to check the colt's responses over the final stage," Tomomichi said. "The jockey seemed to like what he felt in morning work. I don't see the trip to Tokyo or the direction of the track as posing any problem. Looking at his last race, I think he can handle 2,400 meters. When he looks good in work, he usually races well too. I'm looking forward to it." Christophe Lemaire, who rode the morning work on May 22, is expected to take the reins.
