Japan Road invitation up for grabs in Fukuryu Stakes finale
Mar 23, 2023
The Japan Road to the Kentucky Derby concludes with Saturday’s Fukuryu S. at Nakayama, where the winner’s prize of 40 points would top the leaderboard. A new leader will be crowned, since the heroes of the first three Japanese scoring races are all in Dubai for the UAE Derby (G2).
Update: Since Japanese runners went on to dominate the UAE Derby later Saturday, their points from Dubai (applicable to the Japan Road leaderboard) ended up dwarfing the points tally from the Fukuryu.
Here are five talking points for the Fukuryu:
1. Curren Alcantara is favored to bring his trainer back to the Kentucky Derby.
Trainer Koichi Shintani, who made it to the 2022 Kentucky Derby with Crown Pride, is pursuing a cross-country double. While Goraiko tries to give him another UAE Derby trophy, stablemate Curren Alcantara is the early favorite in the Fukuryu.
The Triple Crown nominee has won both starts since stepping up to this about 1 1/8-mile distance. Breaking his maiden Oct. 23 at Hanshin, Curren Alcantara made it two in a row in a Jan. 9 Chukyo allowance, beating Vendaval Y Rabiar (second) and Oro y Plata (seventh), both next-out winners. Curren Alcantara, by dirt star Espoir City, is a half-brother to Ask Wild More, a veteran of the 2022 Japanese classics on turf.
2. Hero Call tries to make it in the big leagues – with Santa Anita Derby implications.
Hero Call, based on the local racing circuit governed by the NAR, makes his first start at an elite Japan Racing Association (JRA) venue. But he’s proven competitive versus JRA shippers at Kawasaki when fourth in the Dec. 14 Zen-Nippon Nisai Yushun on the Japan Road. Hero Call had won four straight before meeting that tougher competition, and back versus fellow NAR runners at Ohi Feb. 23, he promptly won again to extend his record to 6-for-8.
In that most recent outing, Hero Call beat Mandarin Hero, who is expected to venture stateside for the April 8 Santa Anita Derby (G1). Mandarin Hero will face a tall task at Santa Anita, regardless of how Hero Call fares here. Still, if Hero Call delivers a big effort on the JRA level, it would reflect better on Mandarin Hero.
3. Unbeaten Mokku Mokku takes his first distance test.
Triple Crown-nominated Mokku Mokku brings a 2-for-2 mark into his first start over a route. From the sire line of Hall of Famer Holy Bull, Mokku Mokku romped in his unveiling at Hanshin on Christmas Eve, and resumed with a win Mar. 12 over the same course and about seven-furlong trip. Sire Danon Legend was a high-class sprinter, but it’s encouraging that Mokku Mokku’s dam is by the stout Singspiel.
4. Lux Frontier represents the trainer who had Lani on the 2016 Triple Crown trail.
Early Triple Crown nominee Lux Frontier is trained by Mikio Matsunaga, best known stateside for the exploits of Lani. Although unplaced in the 2016 Kentucky Derby and Preakness (G1), the popular if idiosyncratic gray saved his best for the third jewel, placing third in the Belmont (G1).
Lux Frontier is expected to be an outsider in the wagering, but that hasn’t stopped him from outperforming his odds in both dirt starts at Chukyo. After springing a 13-1 upset in a maiden, he came within a neck of toppling an odds-on favorite in a Feb. 5 allowance. Lux Frontier’s tactical speed at this distance can’t be discounted.
Rounding out the Triple Crown nominees are the aforementioned Vendaval Y Rabiar and Till Dawn. Vendaval Y Rabiar complimented Curren Alcantara by coming back to take a Hanshin allowance. Till Dawn was most recently third in an allowance for Hideyuki Mori, the pioneering horseman who brought the first Japanese-trained runner, Ski Captain, to the Derby in 1995.
5. Hyacinth also-ran Monde Plume is among those with wins at Nakayama.
Monde Plume was seventh in the latest Japan Road event, the Feb. 19 Hyacinth S. at Tokyo. Yet he’s 2-for-2 on the Nakayama dirt, both wins coming at this distance.
Mitono O is likewise an allowance winner at this track and trip. Gold Balancer couldn’t break his maiden on turf, but romped by nine lengths as soon as he switched to the dirt here. Coming off Tokyo maiden wins are Maono Arashi and Dusk.
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