Derma Sotogake

Approaching the four-week mark to the GI Kentucky Derby, trainer Todd Pletcher has three highly ranked contenders, and the most impressive thing about that collective is that the Hall-of-Fame conditioner has guided them through undefeated 2023 campaigns to date, meticulously mapping out their schedules to avoid overlap. Divisional champ Forte (Violence), now 6-for-7, won Saturday's GI Florida Derby with a mad-dash flourish. 'TDN Rising Star' Tapit Trice (Tapit), the winner of the GIII Tampa Bay Derby, will be heavily favored to improve his 3-for-4 record with another score in Saturday's...

A World Cup meeting needs world-class runners plus a global spread of results. This much and more was delivered by the 27th Dubai World Cup and supporting races at Meydan on Saturday. With 26 runners on the night, it was always a given that Japan would feature prominently and, in an exhibition of excellence that we are now becoming accustomed to, they led all comers, just as they had in Riyadh last month. The performance of Ushba Tesoro (Jpn) (Orfevre {Jpn}) alone was pretty dramatic, coming from tailed off to...

The locally trained American-bred Commissioner King (Commissioner) engaged in a race-long battle with favored US shipper Havnameltdown (Uncaptured) in Saturday's G3 Saudi Derby Cup and proved narrowly best in a war of attrition to scoop the winner's share of the $1.5-million pot. Unraced since defeating Almurtajiz (Good Magic) by four lengths in the Ministry of the National Guard Cup over this course and 1600-meter distance Dec. 16, the $9,000 Keeneland January graduate would not allow Frankie Dettori to steal away on Havnameltdown, last-out winner of the GII San Vicente S.,...

by Brian Sheerin in Riyadh, Heather Anderson & Alan Carasso Wherever and whenever horses from Japan show up on the world stage, recent history dictates that they are to be taken very seriously. As recently as 12 months ago at the Saudi Cup meeting, horses representing the island nation accounted for four of the evening's six big races, and a month later in yet another desert destination, they somehow managed to one-up themselves with a spectacular five-timer on Dubai World Cup night. The nation has yet--repeat, yet--to break through in...

Tokyo Racecourse is the site of the third leg of this year's Japan Road to the Triple Crown, the $273,301 Listed Hyacinth S. going the one turn mile. A field of 14, including a pair of expensive American-bred sons of Into Mischief, look to capitalize on the fact that the winners of the first two legs of the four-race series--Continuar (Jpn) (Drefong) and Derma Sotogake (Jpn) (Mind Your Biscuits), have hit the road for a significantly more valuable test in next Saturday's G3 Saudi Derby in Riyadh. Great Sand Sea...

Jockey Fuma Matsuwaka conjured up one final late surge from third favorite Derma Sotogake (Jpn) (Mind Your Biscuits) and was up on the wire to take out Wednesday's Zen-Nippon Nisai Yushun at Kawasaki Racecourse, earning 20 points to go to the head of the class on the Japan Road to the Kentucky Derby. Settled in mid-division and well off the inside for the run up the backstretch, the chestnut still had several lengths to find as 6-5 favorite Perriere (Jpn) (Henny Hughes) went for home. The latter began to look...