Forever Young Returns A Winner in Japan Dirt Classic

Making his first start in his home country since last December and racing for the first time since finishing a tough-luck third to Mystik Dan (Goldencents) and his family relation 'TDN Rising Star' Sierra Leone (Gun Runner) in the GI Kentucky Derby, Susumu Fujita's Forever Young (Jpn) (Real Steel {Jpn}) cemented his status as one of the favorites for the Nov. 2 GI Breeders' Cup Classic with a tough victory in the $817,292 Listed Japan Dirt Classic at Ohi Racecourse Wednesday evening.

Sent off the $1.70 (7-10) favorite despite the lengthy vacation, Forever Young bobbled slightly from gate one, but soon had his feet back under him, and jockey Ryusei Sakai made a decisive move inside the opening 200 meters, easing the colt away from the fence to secure a two-path trip. Kashima Espada (Jpn) (Hokko Tarumae {Jpn}) showed the way with the fourth betting choice Sunrise Zipangu (Jpn) (Kizuna {Jpn}) three deep from third.

Poised to strike as they raced into the final 600 meters, Forever Young looked to come off the bridle for a stride or two, but was back into the bit when set down by Sakai off the final corner. Sent to the front outside the eighth pole, Forever Young was hard-ridden, but was home comfortably first as the well-regarded Mikki Fight (Jpn) (Drefong) closed from worse than midfield for second. Sunrise Zipangu was not disgraced in third, while Ramjet (Jpn) (Majestic Warrior) could do no better than fourth, failing to sustain a long and wide run from the midway stage.

“I'm relieved, I knew I couldn't lose,” said Sakai, who rides Shin Emperor (Fr) (Siyouni {Fr}) for the same connections in Sunday's G1 Prix de l'Arc de Triomphe at ParisLongchamp. “I didn't want to be caught inside. I was in second, but he was in a very good rhythm. We didn't let our guard down and we didn't know when they would come. We were really disappointed in the U.S. in the spring, so we have a strong desire for revenge.”

Forever Young figures to be one of three Japanese starters in the $7-million Classic, joining Ushba Tesoro (Jpn) (Orfevre {Jpn}) and last year's runner-up Derma Sotogake (Jpn) (Mind Your Biscuits).

A dual listed winner from three starts at home at two, Forever Young had been a road warrior since, just nosing out Book'em Danno (Bucchero) when all looked lost in the G3 Saudi Derby in February and enduring a very wide trip when taking out the G2 UAE Derby at Meydan Mar. 30 before his much-discussed trip down the Churchill stretch.

Winner of the 2016 GII Santa Ynez Stakes, Forever Darling is the dam of five winners from four to race, including Forever Young's 2-year-old half-sister Brown Ratchet (Jpn) (Kizuna {Jpn}), who carried the Sunday Racing colors to a 1 1/2-length success in an 1800-meter turf event for debutantes at Nakayama Sept. 16.

Given her female family, it is not surprising that Forever Darling might end up in Japan. Her stakes-winning and multiple Grade-I placed dam Darling My Darling is responsible for 2017 GI Darley Alcibiades Stakes victress Heavenly Love (Malibu Moon), the dam of the aforementioned GISW Sierra Leone, and Darling My Darling is a half-sister to Japanese Horse of the Year and G1 Japan Cup hero Zenno Rob Roy (Jpn), a son of Breeders' Cup Classic winner Sunday Silence. Forever Young's broodmare sire Congrats is a son of Classic winner A.P. Indy.

Behind Brown Ratchet is a yearling filly by Epiphaneia (Jpn) (Symboli Kris S) and Forever Darling foaled a colt by Rey de Oro (Jpn) (King Kamehameha {Jpn}) this past April.

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— 坂井瑠星 (@_RYUSEI_0531) October 2, 2024

Wednesday's Results:
JAPAN DIRT CLASSIC (Jpn-G1)-Listed, ¥119,000,000 ($817,292), Ohi, 10-2, 3yo, 2000m, 2:04.10, ft.
1–FOREVER YOUNG (JPN), 126, c, 3, by Real Steel (Jpn)
1st Dam: Forever Darling (GSW-US, $217,545), by Congrats
2nd Dam: Darling My Darling, by Deputy Minister
3rd Dam: Roamin Rachel, by Mining
(¥98,000,000 yrl'22 JRHAJUL). O-Susumu Fujita; B-Northern Farm; T-Yoshito Yahagi; J-Ryusei Sakai; ¥70,000,000. Lifetime: Record: GSW-UAE & KSA, GISP-US, 7-6-0-1, $3,031,701.
2–Mikki Fight (Jpn), 126, c, 3, Drefong–Special Groove (Jpn), by Special Week (Jpn). O-Mizuki Noda; B-Northern Farm; T-Hiroyasu Tanaka; J-Keita Tosaki; ¥24,500,000.
3–Sunrise Zipangu (Jpn), 126, c, 3, Kizuna (Jpn)–Saimaa (Ire), by Zoffany (Ire). (¥64,000,000 yrl'22 JRHAJUL). O-Life House; B-Oiwake Farm; T-Hidetaka Otonashi; J-Yutaka Take; ¥14,000,000.
Margins: 1 1/4, 5, 1. Odds: 0.70, 5.50, 6.00. Click for the goracing.jp chart.