The 150thKentucky Derby (G1) is Saturday, May 4, at Churchill Downs, offering a record $5 million purse. The field is limited to 20 starters based on Derby qualifying points from dozens of prep races.
T O PASSWORD
T O Password
The password for this colt was Fukuryu, the name of the stakes he won by a head on March 23 at Nakayama Racecourse. It was worth 40 qualifying points, clinching first place on the Japan Road to the Kentucky Derby and an invitation to Churchill Downs.
“I would like to give it a try in the Kentucky Derby, personally,” trainer Daisuke Takayanagi said, adding that the decision was up to owner Tomoya Ozasa. If Ozasa decides not to send his 2-for-2 runner to Louisville, the invitation would go to Ramjet, the Japan Road runner-up.
T O Password is a grandson of Hall of Famer Sunday Silence, who was Horse of the Year in 1989 after sweeping the Derby, Preakness and Breeders’ Cup Classic. Sunday Silence transformed Japanese breeding after being imported in the early Nineties.
Speed is T O Password’s game. Jockey Katsuma Sameshima immediately sent him to the lead from post 10 in the Fukuryu, and he barely held on. “Winning the race today was the utmost priority,” Sameshima said. “So, I just concentrated on winning today. Next time will be the test for him.”
Now there’s an understatement.
2024 Kentucky Derby Contenders Odds and Post Position: T O Password
Betting advice: Flying 6,600 miles and making a quantum leap in class in only his third career start won’t work. No chance.
Post position: 9
Odds: 30/1
Jockey: Kazushi Kimura
Trainer: Daisuke Takayanagi
Owner: Tomoya Ozasa
Career record: 2-2-0-0
Career earnings: $163,339
Most recent race: Fukuryu Stakes, March 23 (1st)
Top Equibase speed figure: N/A
Pedigree: Copano Rickey (JPN)-T O Rachel (JPN), by King Kamehameha (JPN)
Color: Bay
Running style: Frontrunner
Notes: The T O in the names of T O Password and his dam, T O Rachel, are the initials of owner Tomoya Ozasa … No Japan-based horse has done better in the Derby than Derma Sotogake, who was a bad-trip sixth last year. Crown Pride faded to 13th in 2022 after getting caught up in a speed duel.