Luxor Cafe, an American Pharoah colt, nailed down a guaranteed bid to return home for the Kentucky Derby (G1) with an emphatic five-length victory March 29 in the Fukuryu Stakes at Nakayama Racecourse.
The 1,800-meter (about 1 1/8 miles) Fukuryu was the final leg of the Churchill Downs-sponsored Japan Road to the Kentucky Derby. Luxor Cafe came into the race already atop the leaderboard in that four-race series and the victory made his final tally every bit as wide as his winning margin over 10 outclassed rivals in the finale.
Luxor Cafe's connections did not immediately confirm plans but the Kentucky-bred colt is nominated to the United States Triple Crown series and the Fukuryu effort left little doubt he would be able to handle the added furlong of the Run for the Roses. The colt is trained by Noriyuki Hori and owned by Koichi Nishikawa.
With noted international jockey Joao "Magic Man" Moreira up for the first time, Luxor Cafe broke from the outside gate in the 11-horse field and raced midpack, outside rivals, through the first turn and down the backstretch.
He picked up the pace when prompted nearing the second bend, got to even terms straightening for home and won in a hand ride, geared down through the final strides.
Meisho Zuiun and Golden Cloud finished second and third, respectively, as Luxor Cafe reported in 1:52.1 on a cold, rainy day over a track rated good.
"Out of the gate, we settled down nicely and we chose to stay back behind the front-going horses," said Moreira, a former champion jockey in Brazil and Hong Kong. "But we were in a good rhythm all the way. Around the final turn, into the stretch, when I let the rein loosen, the horse responded very well and he kept going on with a strong stride in the final yards.
"It was another beautiful way to win today. He is a very good horse," Moreira said.
The victory was Luxor Cafe's fourth in a row, following a fourth and a second at Sapporo to open his career last year. He did not contest the first two legs of the Japan Road but took the lead in the series with a victory in the Hyacinth Stakes Feb. 23 at Tokyo Racecourse.
Luxor Cafe was bred by Orpendale, Chelston, Wynatt, and Westerberg Ireland out of the grade 2-winning More Than Ready mare Mary's Follies and is a full brother to Cafe Pharoah, a two-time winner of the 2021-22 February Stakes (G1) at 1,600 meters (about one mile) at Tokyo Racecourse and third in the 2023 Saudi Cup (G1) going 1,800 meters. Luxor Cafe, who Nishikawa purchased privately, also is a half brother to multiple grade 1 winner and 2022 Eclipse champion female turf horse Regal Glory and multiple grade 3 winner Night Prowler.
The Japan Road series has gained attention as Japanese racing has put increased emphasis on dirt racing. Connections of Japan's top 3-year-old dirt runners have the choice now of following that path or testing the international competition early in the Saudi Derby (G3) and/or the UAE Derby (G2) in Dubai.
In 2023-24 Japan Road, Forever Young won the second leg of the series, the 2023 Zen-Nippon Nisai Yushun, but then took the Middle Eastern route, winning in both Saudi Arabia and Dubai before his epic third-place finish behind Mystik Dan and Sierra Leone in the Kentucky Derby.
T O Password picked up the baton to win the 2024 Fukuryu and the Japan Road title, used the free pass to the Kentucky Derby, and finished fifth with a nice, late run after a slow start and a troubled trip.
If Luxor Cafe does make it into the Kentucky Derby starting gate, he may not be the only Japanese entry as four other Japan-based 3-year-olds are in the expected field for the UAE Derby. The winner of that race will qualify through the Euro/Mideast Road to the Kentucky Derby series.
