It was a monumental day at Tokyo Racecourse Feb. 23 for jockey Rachel King as she became the first female jockey to win a grade 1 on the Japan Racing Association circuit while guiding Costa Nova to victory in the February Stakes (G1).
However, it was not her lone success on the card as two races earlier in the ¥36.54 million (approx. US$244,675) Hyacinth Stakes, she confidently piloted Luxor Cafe to the top of Japan's Kentucky Derby (G1) leaderboard.
The third of four stops on Japan's Road to the Kentucky Derby (G1), in which the highest point earner will receive an invitation to the May 3 Run for the Roses at Churchill Downs, the Hyacinth offered qualifying points to the top five finishers on a 30-15-9-6-3 scale. Those 30 points catapulted Luxor Cafe to the No. 1 spot in his Derby Trail debut.
The son of Triple Crown winner American Pharoah , one of two American-bred runners in the 10-horse field, entered the 1,600-meter (approx. 1 mile) contest as a clear favorite after an 1,800-meter (about 1 1/8 miles) allowance victory at Nakayama Racecourse Jan. 11.
The colt broke smartly and was well-positioned throughout by King, stalking from a wide position mid-pack down the backstretch. The pace was decent ahead of him as pacesetter Vilja Lied posted opening fractions of :23.6 and :48.8.
Entering the long Tokyo stretch, King gave the colt his head and allowed him to gallop alongside the leaders. Finally asked by King with less than 400 meters to go, Luxor Cafe kicked away from his foes.
Slow-starting Promised Gene, one of two fillies in the field, mounted a strong rally from last but was too late. Luxor Cafe hit the wire a half-length in front, completing the distance in 1:37.6. Longshot Don in the Mood finished third.
Both Luxor Cafe and Promised Gene, a daughter of Arkansas Derby (G1) winner Nadal, are Triple Crown nominated.
Trained by Noriyuki Hori and owned by Koichi Nishikawa, Luxor Cafe has now rallied off a three-race win streak after opening his career with two defeats.
The bay colt was bred in Kentucky by Orpendale, Chelston, Wynatt, and Westerberg Ireland and is out of the two-time graded stakes-winning More Than Ready mare Mary's Follies. He is a full brother to two-time Japanese grade 1 winner Cafe Pharoah, who also won the Hyacinth in 2020. He is also a half brother to 2022 champion female turf horse and four-time grade 1 winner Regal Glory (Animal Kingdom).
The fourth and final stop on Japan's Road to the Kentucky Derby will be the Fukuryu Stakes at about 1,800 meters at Nakayama Racecourse March 29. The top five finishers will earn qualifying points on a 40-20-12-8-4 scale.
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