Photo:

Candice Chavez / Eclipse Sportswire

In deciding whether to make a run at history in Japan with May Day Ready in Saturday’s Hanshin Stakes, it became a matter of trust.

Trainer Joe Lee worked for 11 years in Japan and has traveled the world over with high-caliber horses. When he suggested to Larry Doyle, owner of KatieRich Stables, that the race made sense for the juvenile filly, Doyle was all in.

The willingness to make a journey that seems to be a big ask of the Breeders’ Cup Juvenile Fillies Turf runner-up is a huge testament to Doyle’s faith in his trainer.

“He’s the best-kept secret in racing,” Doyle said of Lee, 62.

Lee had been an assistant to some of the world’s top trainers. He set out on his own not long ago so he could work closely with his two oldest sons, Joseph and Anthony. They oversee a six-horse stable at Belmont Park.

Perhaps best known for his work on behalf of Godolphin in the 1990s, Lee so far has made all the right moves with May Day Ready. She is a winner of three of four starts and has achieved millionaire status with earnings of $1,014,025.

Doyle said of the decision to have May Day Ready journey from Del Mar, the Breeders’ Cup site, to Japan, “The horse travels really well, and Joe believes it’s not a problem for her. So I said, ‘Let’s take a shot.’ ”

Lee said the 2-year-old’s makeup led him to recommend a race that most American trainers would never consider. “She’s really neat to be around,” he said. “She’s really intelligent. She’s very inquisitive. I think she is special, and she can run a little bit too.”

Legendary jockey Frankie Dettori, May Day Ready’s regular rider, has said a crowbar could not get him off her. He meant it. Agent Ron Anderson said Dettori will be jetting to Japan to retain the mount.

The daughter of Tapit, out of the More Than Ready mare Nemoralia, has been impressive in every start. Although Lee did not think he had her primed for any significant distance, she broke her maiden by a nose at first asking at 1 1/16 miles Aug. 4 at Saratoga.

She followed that with a 1 3/4-length triumph in the Kentucky Downs Juvenile Fillies Stakes. Then it was on to Keeneland to oppose graded-stakes company for the first time in the Grade 2 Jessamine on Oct. 4. She again displayed an unyielding nature, emerging in a three-horse photo by a nose.

She handled the trek to Del Mar with aplomb. With Dettori having to steady her in the early going of the Breeders’ Cup Juvenile Fillies Turf, she still finished powerfully in placing second by 1 1/2 lengths to a brilliant winner, Lake Victoria.

“We’ve never really gotten a clean trip in any of her races,” Doyle noted. “It will be interesting if she gets one of those.”

A $325,000 purchase as a 2-year-old, May Day Ready and every other runner going to the starting gate for the Hanshin will need as clean a trip as possible since as many as 18 starters are permitted. The race will be contested at 1,600 meters, about one mile. It offers about $995,000 in purse money, with an estimated $461,000 going to the winner.

Whatever the outcome, May Day Ready will be given a significant break from racing when she returns from Japan. Plans call for her to begin her 3-year-old campaign during Keeneland’s spring meet. The connections are eyeing the Kentucky Derby undercard for a potential second start.

Lee is convinced he is not asking May Day Ready for more than she can handle in the Hanshin. She left for Japan on Nov. 19, and Lee said she traveled well, with his son Joseph by her side. After some experimentation, she adjusted to a different type of feed.

What will this great adventure bring?

“As far as her being a factor, without jinxing myself, I definitely do (believe that),” Lee said. “She’s handling everything well.”

Doyle said someone recently questioned his sanity in authorizing such a bold stroke. His response?

“When you’re in the horse business, you’re automatically nuts.”