Satono Voyage set sail on a course that could find him at Churchill Downs on the first Saturday in May with a victory Nov. 29 in the Cattleya Stakes at Tokyo Racecourse, the first leg of the four-race Japan Road to the Kentucky Derby.
The top points-earner in the series gets a guaranteed invitation to the Run for the Roses and the Into Mischief colt's connections are interested—albeit with a potential detour through the Middle East.
Satono Voyage went right out to the lead in the Cattleya and held stoutly despite stretching out to 1,600 meters (about 1 mile) for the first time. He held off a determined bid by Don Erectus with Arcadia Cafe third, Every Possible fourth, and Ho O Luxor fifth.
Trainer Hiroyasu Tanaka admitted he was unsure of the colt's ability to sustain his drive.
"Not me, but the jockey (Keita Tosaki), was confident in the stretch," Tanaka said.
Satono Voyage now has three wins and a second from four starts.
He earned 10 points for the Cattleya win with minor point awards of 5-3-2-1 given to the remainder of the top five. The race is followed by the Zen-Nippon Nisai Yushun at Kawasaki Racecourse Dec. 17, with 20-10-6-4-2 points on offer. The Hyacinth Stakes at Tokyo Racecourse Feb. 21 ups the ante to 30-15-9-6-3.
The series concludes with the Fukuryu Stakes at Nakayama Racecourse March 28 where the winner's 40 points can decide the outcome. Minor awards there are 20-12-8-4.
Asked about the Kentucky Derby (G1), Tanaka said, "It's not easy to say at this moment that we have that target. Before the race, we thought if he ran well, we would consider the Saudi Derby. He has a lot of potential and we're just happy to be here with him today."
"He is by Into Mischief, who has done well (as a sire) in the U.S. and we think he might do well there, too."
The Japan Road series, inaugurated in 2017, has blossomed into a major factor in the Kentucky Derby makeup after a relatively slow start.
Luxor Cafe, a Kentucky-bred American Pharoah colt trained by Noriyuki Hori, won the last two races in the 2024-25 series and held on to top the final point standings. He finished 12th in the Kentucky Derby after a slow start and repeated traffic issues.
Luxor Cafe has continued to compete back home, finishing third in the Japan Dirt Classic at Oi Racecourse in October and first in a grade 3 event at Tokyo Racecourse Nov. 15.
In the 2023-24 series, T O Password, Ramjet, and Forever Young were the top three point-getters. Forever Young abandoned the series and earned his way into the Run for the Roses by winning the UAE Derby (G2) in Dubai, then finished third in the three-way photo in Louisville, Ky. T O Password accepted the Derby invitation and finished fifth.
Forever Young went on to win the $20 million Saudi Cup (G1) in February and the Breeders' Cup Classic (G1) Nov. 1, raising the flag of Japanese dirt racing to previously unimaginable heights.
"His success certainly has encouraged all of us," Tanaka said.
