The Tokyo Racecourse hosts a real treat on Sunday – the G1 2022 Tokyo Yushun held at the distance of a mile and a half. This race is also known as the Japanese Derby, where Geoglyph will attempt to score the second leg of the Japanese Triple Crown after bagging the Japanese 2000 Guineas (Satsuki Sho); however, his pedigree doesn’t seem long enough to handle the trip.
He will once again face some fierce opponents in hugely talented Equinox and a G1 victor, Do Deuce. Four-year-old and older horses will then meet in the G2 Meguro Kinen, a handicap race with Boccherini trying to overcome the biggest weight.
Tokyo Yushun ( Japanese Derby)
One of the peaks of the Japanese season attracted a field of eighteen three-year-olds who will cover the distance of a mile and a half. On the turf surface, the participants will compete for the purse of 380,000,000 Yen in this G1 event known as the Japanese Derby, while we are to look at some of the most exciting colts heading here.
Let’s start with Geoglyph trained by Tetsuya Kimura. The chestnut recorded a G3 win as a two-year-old and finished fifth in the G1 Asahi Hai Stakes, upon which he commenced the new season with a narrow defeat in a G3 event. Back then, he got bettered by less experienced but hugely talented Danon Beluga, who Geoglyph left behind in their next clash – the Japanese 2000 Guineas.
Yuichi Fukunaga led his mount closer to the front than in the previous outings, and therefore, Geoglyph didn’t have to charge from the rear of the field, and once he was asked to quicken up, he did so marvellously and landed his premiere G1. He’ll definitely find lots of fans in his endeavour to achieve the second leg of the Japanese Triple Crown; still, Geoglyph’s sire was a great sprinter, and thus there are some doubts about his ability to handle the distance.
Mentioned Danon Beluga has only three starts under his belt, and despite running finely in the first Classic race where he was fourth, he still seems too green to be capable of winning such a competitive race, unlike Equinox. The Tetsuya Kimura bound colt has also been out just three times; however, he recorded a G2 victory in 2021, while in 2022, he entered the season with a promising second place in the 2000 Guineas.
Facing such a high-quality company in the debut, it needs a tremendously talented horse to perform as Equinox did. Therefore, he should be the leading chance here with Christophe Lemaire aboard.
De Deuce is another colt to consider as he is a reliable specimen who bagged the G1 Asahi Hai Futurity Stakes in 2021 and then placed both in the trial and the 2000 Guineas. His defensive tactic means he has to finish from the rear, which isn’t ideal in a big field; still, Do Deuce is classy enough to snatch up a fine place once again. If he was lucky, he could even fight for the win.
To complete the list of the first five to cross the wire in the 2000 Guineas, we mention fifth Ask Victor More, who won the main trial for the first Classic but seemed to lack some class to threaten the absolute elite.
Pradaria suggested his affinity towards stayers’ distances by his emphatic win in the trial, while Killer Ability could enjoy the longer trip after a flop in the 2000 Guineas. Still, he is a G1 winner of the mile and a quarter-long Hopeful Stakes, so he might make amends here.
| Horse | Jockey | Horse Racing Odds by JazzSports |
| Ask Wild More | M.Iwata | +3140 |
| Seiun Hades | H.Miyuki | +9900 |
| Ask Victor More | H.Tanabe | +1790 |
| Matenro Leo | K.Yokoyama | +9900 |
| Piece of Eight | Y.Fujioka | +4430 |
| Pradaria | K.Ikezoe | +2730 |
| Onyankopon | A.Sugawara | +3670 |
| Be Astonished | R.Wada | +9900 |
| Justin Palace | M.Demuro | +7440 |
| Matenro Orion | N.Yokoyama | +3670 |
| Justin Rock | K.Matsuyama | +7440 |
| Danon Beluga | Y.Kawada | +210 |
| Do Deuce | Y.Take | +330 |
| Geoglyph | Y.Fukunaga | +470 |
| Killer Ability | T.Yokoyama | +3140 |
| Lord les Ailes | D.Lane | +9900 |
| Equinox | C.Lemaire | +300 |
2022 Tokyo Yushun Betting Prediction
Equinox, who has been boasting class and having “the Japanese Derby horse” written all over himself since the beginning of his career.
Meguro Kinen
The G2 turf handicap offers the purse of 108,300,000 Yen for the field of eighteen four-year-old and older horses. They are about to cover the distance of a mile and four and a half furlongs, while participants could be more or less divided into three groups.
Those who haven’t shown anything of interest in their recent performances, then those who have achieved some successes at the Graded scene yet seem to be out of form, and finally, those who have scored their last races but among the lesser competition.
It is difficult to pick the most probably victory candidate in such a race, but fortunately, one of the participants doesn’t fit into any of the groups – Boccherini. The six-year-old horse trained by Yasutoshi Ikee is about to carry the biggest weight; however, it’s pretty deserved as both his 2022 starts saw the horse is great form. At first, he ran in third in the G2 American Jockey Club Cup, upon which he was the second best behind Titleholder in the G2 Nikkei Sho. None of his Sunday rivals has shown anything similar to this recently.
Machaon D’Or was third at the G2 scene in 2021 but didn’t draw on that result subsequently. Indeed, he won two Stakes races and finished fourth in the G2 Hanshin Daishoten but utterly failed to impress in the G1 Tenno Sho.
He’ll carry less about weight than Boccherini, which could help him; however, the duo Aristoteles – Asamano Itazura won’t be aided by this aspect. Being the G2 victors, both of them enjoyed their moments in the spotlight, and while Aristoteles might remember his okay performance from the Arima Kinen, where he was sixth, and he’s just about to hit the track for the first time in 2022.
Asamano Itazura finished fourth in the G2 American Jockey Club Cup but only eighth in the Nikkei Sho, suggesting that his form isn’t really improving. The last to mention is the six-year-old Paradise Reef trained by Tetsuya Kimura with only seven races and zero experience in the Graded scene under his belt.
Still, he recorded three wins at the Stakes level and being so lightly raced; there might be something about him. Moreover, he carries the least weight of the mentioned participants.
| Horse | Jockey | Horse Racing Odds by JazzSports |
| Gold Gear | H.Tanabe | +9520 |
| Boccherini | S.Hamanaka | +160 |
| Baji O | K.Tosaki | +640 |
| Vesuvianite | M.Iwata | +4710 |
| Dandyism | A.Tomita | +4710 |
| Run for the Roses | K.Tanaka | +4710 |
| Meiner Virtus | M.Demuro | +1280 |
| Diamant Minoru | K.Ogino | +2310 |
| Prima Vista | H.Miyuki | +9520 |
| Mozu Nagareboshi | A.Sugawara | +4710 |
| Last Draft | K.Miura | +9520 |
| Machaon d’Or | K.Matsuyama | +1510 |
| Asamano Itazura | J.Shimada | +2310 |
| Aristoteles | Y.Take | +590 |
| Win Kiitos | M.Matsuoka | +2310 |
| Paradise Reef | C.Lemaire | +510 |
| Fly Like Bird | Y.Fukunaga | +1510 |
Meguro Kinen Betting Pick
Boccherini due to his obvious form and ability to score a G2 race; however, we’re quite eager to see Paradise Reef compete at this stage.
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