Lani can win the 142nd Kentucky Derby because…

May 06, 2016 Jennifer Caldwell/Brisnet.com

…Karma can be a beautiful thing as well as a you-know-what.

In the case of Lani, Karma could come into play when the Japanese-based runner takes part in Saturday’s Kentucky Derby.

But I’ll get to that in a moment.

First of all, the legitimate reasons why Lani has a shot at Kentucky Derby glory.

Lani earned his spot in the Derby starting gate thanks to a very nice win in the U.A.E. Derby (UAE-G2) on March 26 at Meydan in Dubai.

Before that the gray son of Tapit had competed exclusively in Japan, so traveling long distances to win races is obviously well within his capabilities.

Lani arrived at Churchill Downs on April 3, giving him plenty of time to acclimate, and he’s been worked by race-day jockey Yutaka Take, who is really excited about the upcoming ride on the first Saturday in May.

Those works and gallops haven’t exactly been impressive, but that doesn’t matter.

Anybody remember Tiznow? A complete pain to work, or it at least it appeared to this observer. The massive bay would sometimes straight-out refuse, sometimes he’d gallop instead of work, but he always seemed to do things his own way in the mornings.

The raceday afternoons were a completely different story. That’s when Tiznow showed what he was made of, resulting in the now very successful sire holding a spot in the record books as the only two-time winner of the Breeders’ Cup Classic (G1).

Is Lani destined for that sort of success? He could be, and Karma may decide it starts in the Kentucky Derby.

After all, southern Japan suffered a 6.5 magnitude earthquake on April 14 and has experienced more than 1,000 seismic events since then.

Though Lani didn’t compete where the disaster struck, all of Japan will be rooting for the game colt and hoping he becomes the first Japanese-based runner to win the Kentucky Derby.

Karma could see to it that the country receives a boost by sending a Kentucky Derby trophy its way.