By Alan Carasso
The 2026 Japan Road to the Kentucky Derby kicks off Saturday afternoon with the running of the $196,541 Cattleya Stakes, an allowance race over the one-turn 1600-meter configuration at Tokyo Racecourse. And if the ante-post market is anything to go by, horses bred in and/or sourced out of American bloodstock markets should have a giant say in the outcome with the first Saturday in May just over five months away.
The cat was very much out of the bag when Magna Victor (Maxfield) made his first trip to the races in a 1400-meter newcomers event at Hanshin back on Sept. 6. A $75,000 Keeneland September yearling turned $1-million OBS March breezer, the son of the dual stakes-winning and Grade II-placed Eyeinthesky (Sky Mesa) was hammered into 1-10 favoritism and kicked away in the final 400 meters to graduate by some nine lengths (see below, SC 10), good for 'TDN Rising Star' presented by Hagyard honors. Leading rider Yuga Kawada was on board that afternoon and has a return call from gate seven for trainer Mitsu Nakauchida, an increasingly important presence at U.S. yearling and juvenile sales.
Satono Voyage (Jpn) (Into Mischief) carries the recognizable silks owner Hajime Satomi and looks to remain perfect in three tries since a debut effort on the grass this past June. A 10-length maiden winner over 1200 meters at Niigata Aug. 9, he easily accounted for allowance rivals by five lengths going the metric seven furlong at headquarters on Nov. 9. A son of the extremely talented Jolie Olimpica (Brz) (Drosselmeyer)–who was sold to Japanese interests for $675,000 at the 2021 Fasig-Tipton November Sale–Satono Voyage is the mount of Keita Tosaki and will break from the four hole.
東京第９レース #オキザリス賞 (２歳１勝クラス、ダート1400m)は #岩田望来 騎手騎乗の #サトノボヤージュ が６番手から抜け出し、マジッククッキーに５馬身差を付けました。
勝ちタイムは、コースレコードに０秒１差まで迫る１分23秒２、上り３ハロン36秒８(稍重馬場)。… pic.twitter.com/FjH0T9sEww— 『優駿』編集部 (@YUSHUN_Magazine) November 9, 2025
A distant third choice in the wagering is Koichi Nishikawa's Arcadia Cafe (Into Mischief), a $550,000 Keeneland September yearling and a half-brother to the same owner's Cafe Pharoah (American Pharoah)–champion dirt horse in Japan and back-to-back winner of the G1 February Stakes over course and distance–and Luxor Cafe (American Pharoah), who took the third and fourth legs of the 2025 Japan Road to the Kentucky Derby. Narrowly beaten on debut, Arcadia Cafe graduated over the 1600 meters on a rain-affected Tokyo main track Nov. 1 (see below, SC 2) and once again has the services of Damian Lane. The progeny of Mary's Follies (More Than Ready)–also the dam of 'Rising Star' Eclipse Award winner Regal Glory (Animal Kingdom)–are a combined 8-8 going a mile on the Tokyo dirt track.
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