Derma Sotogake eyes Breeders’ Cup Classic; Justify’s Awesome Result bound for Distaff

Aug 31, 2024 Kellie Reilly/Brisnet.com

Forever Young isn’t the only Kentucky Derby (G1) alumnus from Japan preparing for the Breeders’ Cup Classic (G1). Derma Sotogake, the sixth-placer in the 2023 Derby and runner-up in last fall’s Classic, is gearing up for another Breeders’ Cup tilt at Del Mar.

The two have followed similar trajectories in their respective years. Both won their nation’s major two-year-old race on dirt, the Zen-Nippon Nisai Yushun, on the Japan Road to the Kentucky Derby. Both took to the international stage early in their sophomore seasons, using the Saudi Derby (G3) as a springboard to the UAE Derby (G2) on Dubai World Cup night.

A look back at Derma's 2023 campaign

While Forever Young stayed perfect until his near-miss third at Churchill Downs, Derma Sotogake had mixed results. After finishing a solid third in the 2023 Saudi Derby over a metric mile, he improved on the step up to about 1 3/16 miles to win the UAE Derby by 5 1/2 lengths.

Derma Sotogake’s front-running performance in Dubai suggested that he’d at least find useful position early in the Kentucky Derby. Unfortunately, he brushed the gate, got away slowly, and found himself much further behind than expected. Derma Sotogake soldiered on for a creditable sixth.

Trainer Hidetaka Otonashi intended for his star colt to have a prep race in Japan ahead of the 2023 Breeders’ Cup. An ill-timed setback made Derma Sotogake miss his tune-up at Funabashi, so he traveled to Santa Anita to attempt the Classic off a six-month layoff.

Despite the lack of a prep, Derma Sotogake ran particularly well to finish second in the Classic. The son of Mind Your Biscuits settled a few lengths off the early pace and stayed on determinedly, crossing the wire only one length behind White Abarrio.

White Abarrio takes the Breeders’ Cup Classic! 🏆🏆

pic.twitter.com/10I1gV5jBA

— TwinSpires Racing 🏇 (@TwinSpires) November 4, 2023

Derma's Middle East tour in 2024

Derma Sotogake has raced just twice this season, and he’s had different sorts of bad luck. In transit for the $20 million Saudi Cup (G1), he sustained an injury to his right eye. The chestnut was fit to run, but it was a less than ideal way to contest the world’s richest race. He churned on for a respectable fifth, beaten all of 2 1/2 lengths.

Just as Derma Sotogake progressed through his Mideast ventures at three, he was eligible to move forward on the stretch-out to about 1 1/4 miles in the March 30 Dubai World Cup (G1). But a last-minute jockey change might have affected him.

Regular rider Christophe Lemaire was injured in an earlier race at Meydan, and Oisin Murphy picked up the mount. Murphy is a top-caliber jockey himself, but the switch had not been anticipated. Derma Sotogake got upset in the gate, hit his head, and wound up a distant sixth.

Freshened since returning home, Derma Sotogake is preparing to go back on his travels for the Breeders’ Cup. Once again, Otonashi plans to use the same Funabashi race that he missed last year – the Sept. 25 Nippon TV Hai – as his stepping stone to the Classic.

The Nippon TV Hai will feature a familiar rival, Ushba Tesoro, who won last year’s running en route to finishing fifth in the Breeders’ Cup Classic. Ushba Tesoro has beaten Derma Sotogake in both of their races this season, as the runner-up in the Saudi Cup and when trying to defend his title in the Dubai World Cup.

Awesome Result lives up to her name

In addition to Classic hopefuls Forever Young, Derma Sotogake, and Ushba Tesoro, Japan will send contenders for several other Breeders’ Cup races.

One of the most intriguing is the undefeated Distaff (G1) candidate Awesome Result, a Kentucky-bred daughter of Triple Crown champion Justify.

Trained by Yasutoshi Ikee, whose past stars include Japanese Triple Crown hero Orfevre, Awesome Result extended her record to a perfect 7-for-7 in Tuesday’s Breeders’ Gold Cup at Mombetsu. That’s the same race that launched Marche Lorraine to her upset victory in the 2021 Distaff, also at Del Mar.

Interestingly, Awesome Result raced against males in her first five starts, as she climbed the class ladder from her maiden win through the allowance ranks. Only when graduating to listed stakes, in the May 8 Empress Hai at Kawasaki, did she find herself in exclusively female company. Awesome Result held on by a neck that day, but she went on to dominate the Breeders’ Gold Cup by five lengths.

【#ブリーダーズゴールドカップ 結果】
1着 11オーサムリザルト
2着 8デリカダ
3着 9ドライゼ

第36回ブリーダーズゴールドカップ(JpnIII)は武豊騎手騎乗のオーサムリザルトが制しました。 pic.twitter.com/U4y1CQy6m4

— 地方競馬全国協会(NAR)公式 (@nar_keiba) August 27, 2024

Awesome Result is out of the Deputy Minister mare Blossomed, who is also responsible for 2018 Spinaway (G1) winner Sippican Harbor (by 2013 Kentucky Derby victor Orb). Sippican Harbor competed in the Breeders’ Cup Juvenile Fillies (G1) at Churchill Downs, where she finished sixth in what turned out to be her last start.