Three days after Japanese baseball players Yoshinobu Yamamoto and Shohei Ohtani celebrated victory in the World Series as members of the Los Angeles Dodgers, more Japanese stars—these of the equine variety—seek to win North America’s richest horse race, the $7 million Breeders’ Cup Classic (G1).
Though all three—Derma Sotogake , Ushba Tesoro , and Forever Young —are regarded as threats in the Nov. 2 race at Del Mar, Susumu Fujita’s 3-year-old Forever Young is the headliner. Early this May, he came within inches of winning a roughly contested Kentucky Derby (G1) when beaten two noses.
His close finish came despite rough treatment from one of his equine rivals, runner-up Sierra Leone —bumping that stewards Brooks Becraft, Tyler Picklesimer, and Barbara Borden did not review with a formal stewards inquiry. Forever Young’s jockey Ryusei Sakai also did not claim foul, as two riders did in the 2019 Kentucky Derby, which initiated a review that led that year to the disqualification of Maximum Security for interference.
This year, days after millions of dollars of wagers were settled when the race was declared official, the stewards fined Sierra Leone’s jockey, Tyler Gaffalione, $2,500 for making contact with Forever Young with his arm nearing the wire as Gaffalione attempted to correct his mount as he lugged in.
Even if the stewards had made a disqualification in the Kentucky Derby, Forever Young would have at most been elevated to second, as victorious Mystik Dan was not involved. Still, the secondary prizes had financial consequences for bettors and participants. Second place was worth $1 million in the Derby, and third place was $500,000.
Despite the conclusion, Forever Young’s trainer Yoshito Yahagi described a memorable experience at the Kentucky Derby, conducted as usual before a packed house at Churchill Downs, with 156,710 fans in attendance.
“The bumping, the fierce battle, is not our issue,” Yahagi said in comments translated by Breeders’ Cup public relations representative Mariko Seki and confirmed via online translating software. “It was a great atmosphere with great people and horses. It was a good experience for Forever Young.”
Trainer Yoshito Yahagi at Del Mar
Asked if he feels his colt would have won had the bumping not occurred, as some believe, he smiled and nodded.
The son of Real Steel now gets a second crack at grade 1 success in America, this time in a race for 3-year-olds and upward.
Championships are likely on the line in the Classic, including the Eclipse Award for North America’s champion 3-year-old male. Though Forever Young and fellow Classic participant City of Troy , the talented Irish-based colt, are not based in North America, either would undoubtedly garner support from many Eclipse voters with a Classic victory.
Forever Young faces 13 rivals, including the Chad Brown-trained Sierra Leone, who will have Flavien Prat aboard, as he has been for his races since June. The latter, whose momentum likely was also slowed by the Derby contact, has been running straighter in recent starts.
Yahagi noted that Forever Young’s preparation for the Classic differs. He won a prep race, the Japan Dirt Classic, in his home country after a long summer freshening, in contrast to a more active schedule in the lead-up to the Run for the Roses. Before the Derby, he had raced all over the world, winning all five of his preceding races, including the Saudi Derby (G3) and U.A.E. Derby (G2) in the Middle East after beginning his career in Japan.
“He showed a little weakness in the Kentucky Derby because he ran in Saudi Arabia and Dubai,” Yahagi said.
As attendees of the 2021 Breeders’ Cup at Del Mar recall, Yahagi is skilled at preparing a horse for this two-day event. His two starters that year, Loves Only You and Marche Lorraine , were respectively victorious in the Breeders’ Cup Filly & Mare Turf (G1T) and Breeders’ Cup Distaff (G1).
Yahagi, known for his headwear on race days, wore a colorful jacket the morning of Oct. 30 that commemorated those Breeders’ Cup wins. He would replace that jacket the following day with a Los Angeles Dodgers jersey, proudly showcasing Yamamoto’s name and number. Sakai wore an Ohtani jersey.
#ForeverYoung trainer Yoshito Yahagi evidently pleased with the World Series result @BreedersCup pic.twitter.com/m6OkyUN1g5
— Byron King (@BH_BKing) October 31, 2024
Sakai must work out a favorable trip from post 1 inside all the other competitors. Following an easy five-furlong workout from Forever Young in 1:04 at Del Mar Oct. 29, Sakai acknowledged in an interview posted by Breeders’ Cup on social media that he would have preferred drawing outside.
This marks the 3-year-old’s second straight race with a start from the inside post. Last out in the Oct. 2 Japan Dirt Classic, he overcame stumbling at the break to stalk the pace and rally to win by 1 1/4 lengths.
“We can consider race tactics with the connections, and we will bring his best performance,” Sakai said in comments translated by Seki.
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