Daily Racing Form National Digital Edition
Cafe Pharoah would give Japan best chance ever to win Derby
In the aftermath of the runaway victory by Cafe Pharoah in the Unicorn Stakes last Sunday at Tokyo Racecourse, Churchill Downs officials this week said they had received encouraging feedback from the colt’s connections regarding a potential start in this year’s Kentucky Derby on Sept. 5, adding international intrigue to an already unprecedented Derby.
The dialogue was so positive that Churchill Downs officials made Cafe Pharoah one of the individual betting interests in the Derby future wager being offered this weekend.
Churchill Downs prior to the 2017 Derby carved out a potential slot for a horse based in Japan via a Japan Road to the Derby series of prep races, with the intention of stimulating international interest in the race as well as trying to tap into a lucrative overseas betting market. A European series was added a year later.
Just one horse has utilized the Japan series in those three years to gain a berth in the Derby field, that being Master Fencer, who crossed the wire seventh in last year’s Derby and then was promoted to sixth on the disqualification of Maximum Security.
Master Fencer was the third horse based in Japan to compete in the Derby. None have acquitted themselves particularly well in the race. Lani was ninth in 2016, and Ski Captain was 14th in 1995.
What makes Cafe Pharoah so compelling as a potential Derby starter is that he has American-style speed and is bred for American-style dirt racing, being a son of 2015 Triple Crown winner American Pharoah. In the Unicorn, a mile dirt race run around one left-landed turn, he was prominently placed throughout and then kicked away through the lane for a decisive five-length victory.
That made Cafe Pharoah perfect in three starts, beginning with a 1 1/8-mile win against maidens in December at Nakayama. In February, he won his first one-turn dirt mile at Tokyo, the Hyacinth Stakes. As a result, he is atop the Japan Road to the Derby points list with just one race remaining, the Japan Dirt Derby on July 8. The only horse who could overtake him mathematically on the points list is Herrschaft, who is not nominated to the Triple Crown, has not raced since March 28, and has been removed as a potential starter on the list of Derby contenders compiled by Churchill Downs.
So, the spot is there for Cafe Pharoah if his connections are so inclined later this summer.
His win in the Unicorn was dynamic. Cafe Pharoah, starting from the outside post in a field of 16, broke well and settled just off the early leaders, moved to sit second behind the leader before reaching the far turn, was breezing comfortably in upper stretch, then kicked away once asked for his best with about a furlong remaining.
In his previous start, the Hyacinth, Cafe Pharoah broke slowly from an inside stall, then was forced to go around all his 13 rivals on the far turn while about four to five paths wide. He continued his extended run to hit the top with about 150 yards to go and held safe his nearest challenger to win by 1 1/4 lengths.
He looks like a serious racehorse.
If Cafe Pharoah does come to the Derby, he would merit far more significant attention than his three Japanese-based predecessors.
Master Fencer came into last year’s Derby after finishing fourth in the Hyacinth and second in a lesser stakes at Nakayama in his final two preps. After the Derby, he was fifth in the Belmont on dirt and 13th in the Belmont Derby on turf before returning to Japan.
Lani came into the 2016 Derby following a victory in the United Arab Emirates Derby that was so slow his estimated Beyer Speed Figure was just 83. He had previously finished fifth in the Hyacinth. The UAE Derby was his last win. Lani subsequently finished fifth in the Preakness and third in the Belmont, becoming one of only two horses, the other being Preakness winner Exaggerator, who ran in all three Triple Crown races that year.
Lani lost the last 11 starts of his career. He was retired after the 2017 racing season and is now a stallion in Japan at Arrow Stud on the island of Hokkaido. He is listed as having had 88 foals in 2018, according to the Japan Bloodstock Information Service, so his first crop of 2-year-olds will hit the track this year.
Ski Captain – a son of Storm Bird out of Acorn winner Ski Goggle – came into the 1995 Derby having won three times in four starts, but all were on turf, all on right-handed courses. He broke slowly in the Derby and never recovered, finishing 14th of 19. He did not race again until the following January, back on turf in Tokyo. He finished eighth in a nine-horse field, and never raced again, then subsequently stood at stud in Japan and New Zealand.