Hidetaka Otonashi

Three GI Kentucky Derby hopefuls, as well as a GI Kentucky Oaks potential entrant, worked Wednesday morning over a fast surface at Churchill Downs, the track said in a release on Wednesday. Hiroyuki Asanuma's G2 UAE Derby winner Derma Sotogake (Jpn) (Mind Your Biscuits) drilled five furlongs in 1:01.40 and was partnered with Lion Race Horse Co. Ltd.'s Continuar (Jpn) (Drefong), who worked a half-mile in :50. Shortly after those breezes during the 7:30-7:45 training window for Derby and Oaks horses, R.T. Racing Stable and Cypress Creek Equine's Sun Thunder...

For U.S. expatriate Kate Hunter, the GI Kentucky Derby is about relationships. Hunter, who is based in Japan when she's not traveling the globe, is the founder of Marugai Racing. She is the Japan representative for a number of American racing organizations including Churchill Downs. Her journey with the connections of Derby contenders Derma Sotogake (Jpn)(Mind Your Biscuits) and Continuar (Jpn) (Drefong) began early this year as she traveled with them from Japan to Saudi Arabia in February, then on to Dubai in March, and finally to Kentucky, where they...

The G1 Tenno Sho (Spring), first run at Hanshin in 1938, was subsequently moved to Kyoto, but returns to Hanshin for the 2021 renewal as Kyoto undergoes extensive renovation this spring. Among this season's likely favorites, Aristoteles (Jpn) (Epiphaneia {Jpn}) finished runner up behind 2020 Japanese Triple Crown hero Contrail (Jpn) in last fall's G1 Kikura Sho (Japanese St. Leger) before taking the 2,200-meter G2 American Jockey Club Cup at Nakayama Jan. 24. Heavily favored in his latest start in the G2 Hanshin Daishoten over 3,000 meters Mar. 21, the...