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Race Favorite Croix du Nord Conquers Tokyo Yushun

Odds-on favorite Croix du Nord validated his Hopeful Stakes (G1, 2,000m) victory last year that earned his status as the season’s Best Two-Year-Old Colt and a potential middle-distance G1 runner, this time, rising atop this year’s 7,950 registered three-year-olds by conquering this year’s Tokyo Yushun (Japanese Derby), the second leg of the Triple Crown. The son of Kitasan Black marked three wins in as many starts last year, including the Hopeful Stakes and kicked off this season with the Satsuki Sho (Japanese 2000, Guineas, G1, 2,000m) on April 20 as the heavy favorite but was beaten by Museum Mile by 1-1/2-lengths in second. Both trainer Takashi Saito and jockey Yuichi Kitamura claimed their first JRA-G1 title after last year’s Hopeful Stakes with this colt, and this victory marked the former’s ninth and the latter’s seventh G1 in total. While it was their first classic title for both the trainer and jockey, owner Sunday Racing notched their fifth Derby victory—renewing the JRA record for most Derby titles won.

Croix du Nord broke smoothly from stall 13, shifted closer to the inside and secured a prominent position around third or fourth behind Satono Shining who was rushed to the front in his bid to lead the 18-horse field then gave way to Ho O Atman soon after as pacesetter entering the backstretch. Yuichi Kitamura kept his mount in good rhythm as the Ho O Atman increased his lead from the rest of the field by almost ten lengths. The race began in earnest as leader weakened 300 meters out at which point Croix du Nord came powerfully up the center lane to duel with Satono Shining then pulled away from that foe at the furlong pole while holding off a powerful chase by Masquerade Ball and Shohei to win by 3/4 length.

“I felt it was my responsibility to make Croix du Nord a Derby winner ever since the colt won the Hopeful Stakes, so my feeling now is that I am relieved to have accomplished by mission. The whole process since the win last year, including our runner-up effort in the Satsuki Sho, was a meaningful and precious learning experience for me. The colt felt great today and I was able to come into the race with every confidence so victory itself came as no surprise to me. The break was smooth and after that, I was concentrating on keeping him in a comfortable rhythm more so than what position he was sitting in. In the stretch run, he responded really well and as I’ve said, I had every confidence in the colt and drove him on believing that he would make it to the wire a winner,” commented Yuichi Kitamura.

Masquerade Ball, secured a comfortable position in mid-field with a close view of the race favorite and eventual winner, running a few lengths in front. Giving the colt a breather along the backstretch before edging closer along the outside approaching the last two turns, Ryusei Sakai guided the colt further out for a clear run into the stretch where the son of Duramente turned in a terrific turn of foot to close in on the eventual winner while overtaking both Shohei and Satono Shining to secure second place although just short of reaching the winner.

Shohei made use of an inside break to sit close to the pace while saving ground along the rails before shifting out slightly coming into the straight to follow the eventual winner and, while unable to match that foe, ran on gamely to overtake Satono Shining in the last strides to secure third place.

Other Horses:
4th: (18) Satono Shining—rallied for lead, eased back to 2nd, took brief command after 400m pole, showed tenacity, weakened in last 100m
5th: (3) Eri King—saved ground in 14th, launched fastest late kick but belatedly
6th: (7) Museum Mile—raced wide in 11th, passed tired rivals
7th: (8) M’s—ran behind winner in 6th, launched bid but no match for top finishers
8th: (9) Giovanni—settled in 8th, struggled to find clear path at early stretch, quickened in last 200m
9th: (16) Feiern Kranz—sat behind winner, weakened in last 200m
10th: (1) Lila Emblem—took economic trip in 8th, showed brief effort
11th: (14) Ho O Atman—rallied to set pace, surrendered lead 300m out
12th: (12) Kalamatianos—traveled wide in 13th, unable to reach contention
13th: (10) Toppi Born—ran 2nd from rear, circled wide, never threatened
14th: (6) Fandom—hugged rails in 6th, outrun in last 300m
15th: (4) Dragon Boost—positioned in 16th on rails, showed little
16th: (11) Nishino Agent—raced in 14th, failed to respond at stretch
17th: (5) Readiness—traveled in 12th, switched to outside at early stretch, never fired
18th: (15) Faust Rasen—was off slowly, rear throughout trip

THE 92ND TOKYO YUSHUN (JAPANESE DERBY, G1)
3-year-olds, Colts & Fillies, 2,400 meters (about 12 furlongs), turf, left-handed
Sunday, June 1, 2025 Tokyo Racecourse 11th Race Post Time: 15:40
Total prize money: ¥ 651,000,000 (about US$ 4,147,000 <US$1=¥157>)
3-y-o: 57 kg (about 126 lbs), 2 kg allowance for Fillies, 3 kg allowance for Southern Hemisphere-bred born in 2022
Course Record: 2:20.6 Race Record: 2:21.9 [Do Deuce (JPN, by Heart's Cry), 2022]
Safety factor: 18 runners Going: Good to Firm Weather: Fine

Turnover for the Race alone: ¥ 31,544,981,600       Turnover for the Day: ¥ 48,393,756,300       Attendance: 82,040

Winner= 5 starts: 4 wins & 1 second / Added & stakes money: ¥ 327,713,000 / Career earnings: ¥ 532,486,000

* Tokyo Yushun (Japanese Derby) (G1)

With the aim of establishing a systemized program that emulates the Triple Crown race held in Britain, and enhancing the quality of thoroughbreds in Japan, a 2,400-meter race for three-year-old thoroughbreds was established at Tokyo Racecourse (then situated in Meguro ward) in 1932. While maintaining its status as one of the most popular JRA events with a record crowd of 196,517 in 1990, the race has evolved during its long history, opening its door to runners from National Association of Racing (NAR; local public racing) since 1995 and foreign-bred participants since 2001. In 2010, the race entered a new phase as JRA reached the final stage of its internationalization project, allowing foreign contestants in all its graded events. The winner’s prize money, which had already exceeded 100 million yen in 1989, has now reached 300 million, making it the third richest race behind the Japan Cup (G1, 2,400m) and the Arima Kinen (G1, 2,500m).
Among those who won both the Satsuki Sho (Japanese 2000 Guineas, 2,000m) and the Derby, only eight in the past went on to claim the Kikuka Sho (Japanese St. Leger, 3,000m), successfully becoming JRA’s Triple Crown winner—the latest being Contrail (JPN, by Deep Impact) who followed his sire as one of only three in JRA history to accomplish the feat undefeated in 2020. Last year’s champion Danon Decile (JPN, by Epiphaneia) went on to add another G1 title this season in the Dubai Sheema Classic (G1, 2,410m) in April.
This year, the top five finishers of the Satsuki Sho (Apr.20); Museum Mile (1st), 2024 Best Two-Year-Old Colt Croix du Nord (2nd), Masquerade Ball (3rd), Giovanni (4th) and Satono Shining (5th), were automatically qualified to run in the second leg of the Triple Crown. Proven grade-race winners Eri King, Nishino Agent and Faust Rasen who finished 11th, 13th and 15th, respectively, in the Satsuki Sho were among the line up, aiming to bounce back to form and claim the coveted Triple Crown title.
The field also included Fandom, Readiness and Shohei, respective winners of the Mainichi Hai (G3, 1,800m, Mar.29), the trial Principal Stakes (Listed, 2,000m, May.4) and the Kyoto Shimbun Hai (G2, 2,200m, May.10) as well as Feiern Kranz who earned his the berth in the Derby by a runner-up effort in the trial Aoba Sho (G2, 2,400m, Apr.26).