Unsurprisingly given the pre-eminence of Japan’s middle-distance crop, the Tokyo Yushun (Japanese Derby) has a distinct habit of producing top-class performers.
Sunday’s edition at Tokyo racecourse looks no different after last year’s champion two-year-old Croix Du Nord (#24 from #105, +197pt, on Thoroughbred Racing Commentary’s Global Rankings) recorded a dominant victory by three-quarters of a length over Masquerade Ball to claim the nation’s senior Classic.
Having suffered the sole defeat in a five-race career on his previous outing when beaten by Museum Mile (only sixth here) when odds-on favourite for the Satsuki Sho (Japanese 2,000 Guineas), the son of Japan Cup winner Kitasan Black made no mistake this time after hitting the front 300 metres from home.
“Although he lost the Satsuki Sho, I think he’s proven he’s the best of his generation in the Derby, and he still has room to improve,” said trainer Takashi Saito.
Croix Du Nord has some hard acts to follow, the Derby having been won by the likes of former world #1 Contrail and major international performers Shahryar, Do Deuce, Tastiera and Danon Decile in recent seasons.
He was cut to 20-1 (from 33) with Ladbrokes for the Qatar Prix de l’Arc de Triomphe, where he is one of a half-dozxen Japanese-trained entries.
There was also Classic action in France as well on Sunday, when Camille Pissarro (#64 from #367, +274pt) overcame stamina questions to win the Prix du Jockey Club (French Derby) after a daring manoeuvre from world-leading rider Ryan Moore.
The son of Wootton Bassett went through a gap on the rails before being ridden out to hold French-trained Cualificar by a half-length in a tight finish with Detain third, only a neck away.
“He’s a miler but he stays 2,000 metres, and that’s exactly what you need to win the French Derby,” suggested world #1 trainer Aidan O’Brien. “He’s a colt we’ve always really liked. Last year, he was our top chance for the Coventry Stakes, but at the time he was probably still too green and over time, he toughened up. It’s a very important race and it makes him a very important horse now.”
Co-owner Michael Tabor was cock-a-hoop. “It’s always a pleasure to come to France and win,” he said. “When you’ve got a great horse, a great trainer, and a great jockey, life is easy!”
Sandown Park hosted Britain’s foremost evening meeting on Thursday [May 29]. Often a strong G2 event, the Brigadier Gerard Stakes went to Almaqam (#232 from #1069, +285pt), who made all before holding off the previously unbeaten Ombudsman.
Royal Ascot appears likely for the winner, although the four-year-old likes a bit of give in the ground and would not want it any faster than good.
Almaqam’s trainer Ed Walker (#102 from #228, +102pt) was in prime form last week, when he enjoyed a Saturday treble including a pair of G3 wins via Scenic and Ten Bob Tony. The latter, who won the John of Gaunt Stakes at Haydock, was completing a double for his sire Night Of Thunder (#8 from #13 among turf sires, +74pt), earlier represented by Lester Piggott Fillies’ Stakes winner Estrange. An impressive four-length winner and beaten only once in her life, she holds an Arc entry.
Last week’s chief US mover was Nysos (#53 from #257, +254pt), who overwhelmed a four-runner field in the G3 Triple Bend over seven furlongs at Santa Anita. This was a notable effort, as the one-time Classic favorite had returned from a 15-month layoff only a month previously at Churchill Downs. Trainer Bob Baffert nominated the Breeders’ Cup Classic as his primary objective.
It’s been a long time between drinks for last year’s Kentucky Derby winner Mystik Dan, who returns to the rankings at #112 after finally regaining the winning thread in the G3 Blame Stakes – on his first start back at Churchill Downs since his Classic success following a series of lacklustre efforts in defeat.
“In hindsight, I wish I could take away a couple of those races after the Triple Crown,” said trainer Ken McPeek. “We got him back to his old self.”
There may be a virtue in playing the Washington General role to Ka Ying Rising’s Harlem Globetrotter if Hong Kong-based sprinter Helios Express (#38 from #71, +106pt) is anything to go by.
Having finished behind the world #1 on each of his last seven starts – runner-up five times, third on two more occasions – the five-year-old got his head in front at last when dropped to lower grade for the G3 Sha Tin Vase Handicap on Saturday [May 31]. Only just, mind you, as he scrambled to a last-gasp short-head verdict over Invincible Sage (received 8lb).
“He thoroughly deserved it,” said jcokey Hugh Bowman. “He’s been chasing the champ all season and with his absence, he was the number one seed and he came out in front.”
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• Unlike traditional methods of racehorse rankings, TRC Global Rankings are a measure of an individual’s level of achievement over a rolling three-year period, providing a principled hierarchy of the leading horses, jockeys, trainers, owners and sires using statistical learning techniques. Racehorse rankings can be compared to similar exercises in other sports, like the golf’s world rankings or the ATP rankings in tennis.
They are formulated from the last three years of races we consider Group or Graded class all over the world and update automatically each week according to the quality of a horse’s performances and their recency, taking into account how races work out.