The Road to Dirt Triple Crown begins Jan. 22 with the Bluebird Cup, a race for 3-year-olds conducted over 1,800 meters (about 1 1/8 miles) at Funabashi Racecourse.
Seven of the 10 runners are based at regional racing under the jurisdiction of the National Association of Racing. Should one of those NAR horses win the Bluebird Cup, the winner will automatically earn a berth into the field of the Haneda Hai, the first leg of Dirt Triple Crown at Oi Racecourse April 29.
The flag-bearer of NAR is Bari Wheel, based at Monbetsu Racecourse in Hokkaido. The colt by Four Wheel Drive has won four times from seven starts, including the Sept. 25 Lapis Luzli Tokubetsu Stakes at Monbetsu and the Nov. 17 Nambukoma Sho Stakes at Mizusawa.
Melchoir, one of three representatives from the Japan Racing Association, looks to be the horse to beat. The colt by Nadal has started five times—three over the turf and twice on dirt. He won both starts on dirt, including the Oct. 14 Platanus Sho Stakes at Tokyo Racecourse.
Another interesting challenger from the JRA is Mistress, a filly trained by Yoshito Yahagi. She has made three starts over the turf, winning one of them, and finished second in the Oct. 26 Artemis Stakes (G3) at Tokyo. Yahagi assesses Mistress should take to the dirt and is pointing the filly to the Feb. 22 Saudi Derby (G3).
