Kentucky Derby Horse Profile: Forever Young

Apr 17, 2024 John Mucciolo/TwinSpires.com

Susumu Fujita’s Forever Young ranks 6th on the 2024 Road to the Kentucky Derby leaderboard with 100 qualifying points. The Yoshito Yahagi trainee rallied from off the pace to post a two-length score in the UAE Derby (G2) at Meydan in his most recent appearance.

The Japanese contender was 3-for-3 in his native land as a juvenile. He debuted on Oct. 24 and was victorious at Kyoto while running 1 1/16 miles on the dirt. He delivered his initial stakes triumph in the JBC Nisai Yushun second time out, and the bay capped his sterling 2023 with a dominant, seven-length tally in the Zen-Nippon Nisai S. at Kawasaki.

The Japanese 🇯🇵 do it again in the UAE Derby!

FOREVER YOUNG overcomes a wide trip to earn 100 @KentuckyDerby points. 🌹

#フォーエバーヤング

Jockey: Ryusei Sakai
Trainer: Yoshito Yahagi#TwinSpiresReplay pic.twitter.com/F3KWuCAruD

— TwinSpires Racing 🏇 (@TwinSpires) March 30, 2024

In his sophomore bow, the son of Real Steel overcame both a slow start and wide voyage to make it four in succession in the lucrative Saudi Derby (G3). The colt dons a 5-5-0-0 lifetime line with estimated earnings of $2,049,451.

“Of course, it will be very difficult to manage the horse’s condition (traveling) from Dubai to Kentucky, but I really believe my team will be able to get him in good order,” Yahagi said. “He did not travel well from Japan to Saudi Arabia, so he was not in great condition, but he still performed very well. After traveling from Riyadh to Dubai he improved and he has so much potential, I always have a lot of confidence in him.”

Forever Young was bred by Northern Farm is Japan and is the first black-type winner produced from the Grade-2 winning Congrats mare Forever Darling, as a half-sister to 2017 Alcibiades S. (G1) starlet Heavenly Love. The latter is the dam of leading Kentucky Derby contender Sierra Leone. This is the same female line as Japanese Horse of the Year Zenno Rob Roy.

The unblemished colt has checked all of the boxes leading up to his first run in North America and has to be considered as a major win threat in the Run for the Roses. He is under the care of a world-renowned conditioner, the colt has a fine foundation under him, and he also seems well equipped to handle classic distances. It’s safe to say that this is Japan’s best chance to date at achieving Kentucky Derby glory.