Woodbine-based champion jockey Kazushi Kimura will ride Mandarin Hero in the May 6 149th running of the Kentucky Derby (G1) at Churchill Downs.
A native of Hokkaido, Japan, Kimura will be making his first start in the opening leg of the U.S. Triple Crown when he pilots the son of Shanghai Bobby, trained by Terunobu Fujita for owner Hiroaki Arai.
Mandarin Hero went 4-for-4 as a 2-year-old, capped by a victory in the Haiseiko Kinen on Nov. 16. He returned as a 3-year-old with a runner-up finish on Feb. 23, his lone defeat in five races, all on dirt at Oi Racecourse. On April 8, he was runner-up in the Santa Anita Derby (G1).
Mandarin Hero, sporting a record of 4-2-0 from six starts, is from the first Japanese-conceived crop of 2012 champion 2-year-old male Shanghai Bobby.
Kimura, off to another strong start at Woodbine, is looking forward to contesting the "Run for the Roses."
"I am so excited to get this opportunity and I hope it can be a memorable day for the connections, the horse, and myself," Kimura told Woodbine Communications.
Kimura joined the Woodbine jockey colony in 2018 and made an immediate impact. He was North America's Eclipse Award-winning apprentice jockey in 2019 and he won the Sovereign Award, the Canadian equivalent, in both 2018 and 2019.
He also received the Sovereign as Canada's outstanding rider in 2021 and 2022, after winning the Woodbine riding title in both years.
