Japan Road: Unquenchable hopes to emulate brother in Hyacinth

Feb 15, 2024 Kellie Reilly/Brisnet.com

The Japan Road to the Kentucky Derby resumes with the Hyacinth S. at Tokyo Sunday (late Saturday night stateside at 12:25 a.m. ET). Worth points on a 30-15-9-6-3 format to the top five finishers, the metric mile test will shake up the Japanese leaderboard.

Current points leader Forever Young is headed instead to the Feb. 24 Saudi Derby (G3), and the next two on the leaderboard, Aigle Noir and Amante Bianco, just ran in the Kumotori Sho at Oi on Wednesday. Amante Bianco, winner of the Japan Road opener in the Cattleya S., rallied for second in the Kumotori Sho after a troubled start, while Aigle Noir tired to fourth.

Although Amante Bianco isn’t in the Hyacinth, his form is still represented here through Unquenchable, the third-placer in the Cattleya, and Habire, who was runner-up to Amante Bianco in their debut.

Unquenchable is a full brother to the 2022 Hyacinth hero, Combustion. A Godolphin homebred by Discreet Cat, Unquenchable has won or placed in his three starts at this track and trip. After breaking his maiden by 3 1/2 lengths here Oct. 7, he closed from far back to take third in the Nov. 25 Cattleya. The Mizuki Takayanagi trainee returned with a rallying second in a course-and-distance allowance on Jan. 27. That should set Unquenchable up for this spot, and it’s a plus that jockey Christophe Lemaire rides him back.

Likely to go off as the Hyacinth favorite, Unquenchable has not been nominated to the Triple Crown at this stage. But five of his Hyacinth rivals are nominees, including contenders representing two horsemen well familiar with the Derby trail, Mikio Matsunaga and Yoshito Yahagi.

Matsunaga, best known as the trainer of 2016 Triple Crown competitor Lani, sends out Ballon d’Or in the Hyacinth. Third to budding star Forever Young in his premiere, Ballon d’Or rolled in a Kyoto maiden next time. An ensuing turf experiment didn’t pan out, but he rebounded back on dirt in an allowance at Hanshin.

Ballon d’Or was most recently a close third in the Jan. 17 Bluebird Cup at Funabashi, a key race on the road to Japan’s new Dirt Triple Crown. In the replay below, he is number 3, the blaze-faced bay challenging for the lead before stalling late. By 2013 Breeders’ Cup Juvenile (G1) victor New Year’s Day – also the sire of champion Maximum Security – Ballon d’Or is shortening up in distance here.

【#ブルーバードカップ 結果】
1着 1アンモシエラ
2着 4エコロガイア
3着 3バロンドール

第50回ブルーバードカップ(JpnIII)は坂井瑠星騎手騎乗のアンモシエラが制しました。 pic.twitter.com/TH7ydLOHyh

— 地方競馬全国協会(NAR)公式 (@nar_keiba) January 17, 2024

Yahagi’s principal hope is Forever Young, but Y Y Legend flies the flag for the yard on Sunday. The most experienced runner in the field with eight starts under his belt, Y Y Legend comes off an allowance score going about seven furlongs at Kyoto. Two back, he was third to fellow Triple Crown nominees Not Enough and Hortobagy (who re-opposes in the Hyacinth). Hortobagy had been plying his trade on turf until switching to dirt in that allowance, suggesting that he may have more to offer on this surface.

While Triple Crown nominee Ramjet threw in the only poor race of his life at Tokyo last fall, the Koji Maeda homebred is a two-time winner at Chukyo. More intriguing is his narrow loss in a Sept. 30 allowance at Hanshin, where he was just denied by Satono Phoenix and Nasty Weather, who’ve since qualified for Japan Road points. Those formlines imply that Ramjet can stack up here, if he brings his “A” game to Tokyo.

Habire brings the least experience, making him something of a dark horse. The son of Henny Hughes has not raced since last summer, when he improved from his debut second to Amante Bianco to win at Chukyo. Both of those races came at about seven furlongs, and he will be trying a mile off the layoff for trainer Ryo Takei.

Aside from Unquenchable, other non-nominees with claims are Logi Adelaide and Chikippa. Logi Adelaide, by Eclipse Award-winning sprinter Drefong, had placed in Unquenchable’s maiden and just broke through himself at this track and trip. Chikippa, never out of the top two in all of his dirt starts, exits an allowance victory at Nakayama. Australian-based Rachel King picks up the mount during her Japanese stint.

Hideyuki Mori didn’t enter any of his Triple Crown nominees here, but the trailblazing veteran gives the Kentucky-bred filly Pikari her chance at this level. The $900,000 OBS March juvenile purchase appreciated switching from turf to dirt last out to break her maiden sprinting at Kyoto. Pikari is bred to handle the distance as a daughter of Twirling Candy out of a half-sister to 2023 UAE Oaks (G3) heroine Mimi Kakushi.

Concluding the 11-horse field are Bannerman Tesoro, well beaten in a trio of allowances since his maiden win, and Pepper Mill, who broke his maiden at a staggering 247-1 in his latest.

The Hyacinth is the ninth race at Tokyo, two races prior to the featured February (G1). A Breeders’ Cup “Win and You’re In” offering a free pass to the Breeders’ Cup Classic (G1), the February is scheduled as the 11th race at 1:40 a.m. ET early Sunday. You can watch and wager on the card beginning Saturday night at TwinSpires.com.