Seventeen Japanese-trained 3-year-olds are included in the list of early nominees for the 2022 U.S. Triple Crown and seven of them are entered in the listed Hyacinth Stakes at Tokyo Feb. 20, the third leg of the Japan Road to the Kentucky Derby, at the close of the first entry stage Feb. 13.
The most notable name is Crown Pride, a homebred for Shadai Farm's Teruya Yoshida who is 2-for-2. The Reach the Crown colt made a successful debut at Chukyo Oct. 3, when he won an 1,800-meter (about 1 1/8-mile) dirt maiden by six lengths. Trained by Koichi Shintani, Crown Pride won the Mochinoki Sho at 1,800 meters on the dirt course at Hanshin Nov. 7 by three lengths.
Blitz Fang, owned by Isao Nishimori and trained by Ryuji Okubo, was an impressive winner of a maiden at Chukyo Jan. 22 when the colt by Hokko Tarumae, the Japanese dirt champion in 2014, won an 1,800-meter dirt maiden by seven lengths. The winning time, 1:54.4, was more than one second faster than another maiden race at the same course and distance on the same day.
Geraldo Barows (by Sinister Minister), El Paso (Makfi), and Line of Soul (Sinister Minister) finished third, fifth, and seventh respectively in the Cattleya Stakes, the second leg of the Japan Road to the Kentucky Derby, at Tokyo Nov. 27.
