Forever Young won the Zen-Nippon Nisai Yushun at Kawasaki Racecourse earning Kentucky Derby qualifying points. (Katsumi Saito photo)
By Maribeth Kalinich
In just over two weeks, they will all turn 3-years-old and be officially eligible for the Kentucky Derby and the Kentucky Oaks. Already, the future sophomore class of Thoroughbreds are collecting eligibility points competing in The Road to the Kentucky Derby and Kentucky Oaks Series.
Next up in the series are the $300,000 Springboard Stakes at Remington Park on Friday, December 15 at a mile and the Grade 2 $200,000 Los Alamitos Futurity at 1-1/16 miles Saturday. Both races award 10-5-3-2-1 for first through fifth places.
The Springboard is Race 10 on a 10-race card at Remington that includes six stakes. Post time is 9:28 PM CT.
The Los Al Futurity is Race 9 and posts at 4:30 PM PT.
The latest to score points is Susumu Fujita’s Forever Young (JPN), ridden by Ryusei Sakai and trained by Yoshito Yahagi, won the one-mile Zen-Nippon Nisai Yushun at Kawasaki Racecourse by seven lengths in 1:43.50.
The Real Steel (JPN) colt out of Congrats mare Forever Darlingwas bred by Northern Racing.
The 2-year-old bay has notched two wins with one being this stakes. He has won $581,97and has 20 Derby point sitting at No. 1 on the Japan Road.
On the U.S. Road, eight prep races have taken place with 29 colts being awarded points.
Repole Stables’ Fierceness is at the top with 30 points for his score in the Breeders’ Cup Juvenile for trainer Todd Pletcher.
No.16 Be You is also a Repole/Pletcher runner.
Pletcher trainee Locked sits at No. 2 with 19 points as he collected six points for third place in the Breeders’ Cup Juvenile and ten for the win in the Breeders’ Futurity at Keeneland.
Bred in Kentucky by Rosa Colasanti, the Gun Runner colt out of Malibu Moon mare Luna Rose is owned by Eclipse Thoroughbred Partners and Walmac Farm.
Another Pletcher trainee is Town and Country Racing and Madaket Stables’ Moonlight that sits at No. 9.
After a wicked off the pace 4-1/4 length victory in the Grade 1 Champagne in October, earning a trip to the Breeders’ Cup Juvenile, Siena Farm and WinStar Farm’s Timberlake is in No. 3 with 16 points for Brad Cox.
Regally bred in Kentucky by St. Elias Stables, the chestnut colt is by super sire Into Mischief out of Preakness winner Lookin At Lucky mare Pin Up (IRE).
Cox also trains No. 24 Gettysburg Address for Siena and Winstar who run in the Springboard at Remington on Friday.
In addition, Cox has No. 19 Gold Square’s Drum Roll Please, No. 26 Calumet Farm’s Air Cav and No. 27 Albaugh Family Stables and Donegal Racing’s Awesome Road.
Out of the trainers in the top 29 five are Kentucky Derby winners. At the top is D. Wayne Lukas with four Derby wins in 1988 (Winning Colors), 1995 (Thunder Gulch), 1996 (Grindstone) and 1999 (Charismatic).
Todd Pletcher scored two rose blankets in 2010 (Super Saver), 2017 (Always Dreaming) as did Doug O’ Neill in 2012 (I’ll Have Another) and 2016 (Nyquist). Rick Dutrow, Jr., 2008 (Big Brown) and Brad Cox 2021 (Mandaloun) each have one golden trophy.
Lukas has MyRacehorse’s Seize the Grey No. 23 on the Leaderboard, O’Neill No. 22 Great Friends Stables LLC & Mark Davis ‘s Raging Torrent and Dutrow No. 25 Nice Guys Stables’ Where’s Chris.
Raging Torrent will challenge Gettysburg Address and seven other colts in the Springboard.
