Tōkyō Yūshun

The Tōkyō Yūshun (東京優駿), also called the Japanese Derby (日本ダービー, Nippon Dābī) is a Grade 1 flat horse race in Japan for three-year-old thoroughbred colts and fillies run over a distance of 2,400 metres (approximately 1 mile 4 furlongs) at the Tokyo Racecourse, Fuchū, Tokyo in late May or early June.

Tōkyō Yūshun
Japanese Derby
東京優駿
日本ダービー
Grade 1 race
85th Japanese Derby
(Winner:Wagnerian)
(Jockey:Yuichi Fukunaga)
LocationTokyo Racecourse, Fuchū, Tokyo
Inaugurated1932
Race typeThoroughbred Flat racing
Race information
Distance2400 meters
SurfaceTurf
TrackLeft-handed
Qualification3-y-o, Colts & Fillies
WeightColt 57 kg, Filly 55 kg
Purse¥ 432,000,000 (as of 2022)
1st: ¥ 200,000,000[1]
BonusesClassic Triple Crown
Winner of Satsuki Shō, Tokyo Yūshun, Kikuka Shō[2]
¥ 300,000,000

It was first run in 1932 and is the Japanese equivalent of the English Epsom Derby. It is the second leg of the Japanese Triple Crown, preceded by the Satsuki Shō (the Japanese equivalent of the English 2,000 Guineas) in mid-late April and followed by the Kikuka Shō (the Japanese equivalent of the English St. Leger Stakes) in mid-late October.

Since 2010, the Tokyo Yūshun (along with several other JRA Japanese domestic Grade 1 races, including the other Japanese classics such as the Satsuki Shō and the Kikuka Shō) is open to international competition due to Japan's inclusion in the International Federation of Horseracing Authorities' ICS Part I category, in which all graded black-type races in the JRA calendar are open to international competition. Races prior to 2001 (along with the other Japanese classics) were only limited to Japanese-bred horses. Since 2001, foreign-bred horses are allowed, but until 2010 this race (and the other classics) were only limited to Japanese-trained horses. The current rule allows fielding at most seven entries either not bred/trained in Japan.

Step races
Race nameGradeRacecourseDistancePriority-entry-rights to Derby
1Satsuki ShōGINakayamaTurf 2000mYes (top 5)
2Aoba ShoGIITokyoTurf 2400mYes (top 2)
3Principal StakesOpenTokyoTurf 2000mYes (winner)
4Kyoto Shimbun HaiGIIKyotoTurf 2200mNo (in normal case)
5NHK Mile CupGITokyoTurf 1600mNo

If horses from the National Association of Racing win any 3-year-old JRA Grade 2 or 3 races before the Derby, they will be eligible to enter the Japanese Derby if ranked high enough in prize money. Priority entry rights cannot be applied to them; should they finish in such position in such races, extra entry right will be given out to Kyoto Shimbun Hai (at most of two).

The Satsuki Shō, the Aoba Shō and the Principal Stakes are the official trial races for the Japanese Derby. The top five finishers in the Satsuki Shō, the top two finishers in the Aoba Shō and the winner of the Principal Stakes are guaranteed a place in the field for the Derby, regardless of prize money. Overall, there are seven automatic qualifying spots in the Derby; the other 10 entries are "at-large" horses determined by prize money earned prior to racing in the Derby. The Kyoto Shimbun Hai is officially considered a step race even though it does not normally give entry rights. The NHK Mile Cup, the only non-Triple Crown three-year-old GI horse race, is not an official step race, but has gained importance in recent years as horses such as Tanino Gimlet (2002), King Kamehameha (2004, won) and Deep Sky (2008, won) participated in that race and would eventually win the Derby.

Winners since 1990
Year
 Winner
 Jockey
 Trainer
 Owner
 Time
1990 Ines Fujin Eiji Nakano Shuho Kato Masaaki Kobayashi 2:25.3
1991 Tokai Teio Takayuki Yasuda Shouichi Matsumoto Masanori Uchimura 2:25.9
1992 Mihono Bourbon Sadahiro Kojima Tameo Toyama Mihono International 2:27.8
1993 Winning Ticket Masato Shibata Yuji Ito Yosimi Ota 2:25.5
1994 Narita Brian Katsumi Minai Masaaki Okubo Hidenori Yamaji 2:25.7
1995 Tayasu Tsuyoshi Shinji Kojima Akio Tsurudome Kanichi Yokose 2:27.3
1996 Fusaichi Concorde Shinji Fujita Minoru Kobayashi Fusao Sekiguchi 2:26.1
1997 Sunny Brian Naohiro Onishi Senji Nakao Moriyasu Miyazaki 2:25.9
1998 Special Week Yutaka Take Toshiaki Shirai Hiroyoshi Usuda 2:25.8
1999 Admire Vega Yutaka Take Mitsuru Hashida Riichi Kondo 2:25.3
2000 Agnes Flight Hiroshi Kawachi Hiroyuki Nagahama Takao Watanabe 2:26.2
2001 Jungle Pocket Koichi Tsunoda Sakae Watanabe Yomoji Saito 2:27.0
2002 Tanino Gimlet Yutaka Take Kunihide Matsuda Yuzo Tanimizu 2:26.2
2003 Neo Universe Mirco Demuro Tsutomu Setoguchi Shadai Race Horse 2:28.5
2004 King Kamehameha Katsumi Ando Kunihide Matsuda Makoto Kaneko 2:23.3
2005 Deep Impact Yutaka Take Yasuo Ikee Makoto Kaneko 2:23.3
2006 Meisho Samson Mamoru Ishibashi Tsutomu Setoguchi Yoshio Matsumoto 2:27.9
2007 Vodka Hirofumi Shii Katsuhiko Sumii Yuzo Tanimizu 2:24.5
2008 Deep Sky Hirofumi Shii Mitsugu Kon Toshio Fukami 2:26.7
2009 Logi Universe Norihiro Yokoyama Kiyoshi Hagawara Masaaki Kumeta 2:33.7
2010 Eishin Flash Hiroyuki Uchida Hideaki Fujiwara Tomomitsu Hirai 2:26.9
2011 Orfevre Kenichi Ikezoe Yasutoshi Ikee Sunday Racing 2:30.5
2012 Deep Brillante Yasunari Iwata Yoshito Yahagi Sunday Racing 2:23.8
2013 Kizuna Yutaka Take Shozo Sasaki Shinji Maeda 2:24.3
2014 One And Only Norihiro Yokoyama Kojiro Hashiguchi Koji Maeda 2:24.6
2015 Duramente Mirco Demuro Noriyuki Hori Sunday Racing 2:23.2
2016 Makahiki Yuga Kawada Yasuo Tomomichi Makoto Kaneko 2:24.0
2017 Rey de Oro Christophe Lemaire Kazuo Fujisawa U Carrot Farm 2:26.9
2018 Wagnerian Yuichi Fukunaga Yasuo Tomomichi Makoto Kaneko 2:23.6
2019 Roger Barows Suguru Hamanaka Katsuhiko Sumii Hirotsugu Inokuma 2:22.6
2020 Contrail Yuichi Fukunaga Yoshito Yahagi Shinji Maeda 2:24.1
2021 Shahryar Yuichi Fukunaga Hideaki Fujiwara Sunday Racing 2:22.5
2022 Do Deuce Yutaka Take Yasuo Tomomichi Kieffers Co Ltd 2:21.9
2023 Tastiera Damian Lane Noriyuki Hori U Carrot Farm 2:25.2

Earlier winners
  • 1932 - Wakataka
  • 1933 - Kabutoyama
  • 1934 - Fray Mor
  • 1935 - Governor
  • 1936 - Tokumasa
  • 1937 - Hisatomo
  • 1938 - Sugenuma
  • 1939 - Kumohata
  • 1940 - Ieryu
  • 1941 - St Lite
  • 1942 - Minami Homare
  • 1943 - Kurifuji
  • 1944 - Kaiso
  • 1945 - No race
  • 1946 - No race
  • 1947 - Matsu Midori
  • 1948 - Miharu O
  • 1949 - Tachikaze
  • 1950 - Kumono Hana
  • 1951 - Tokino Minoru
  • 1952 - Kurino Hana
  • 1953 - Bostonian
  • 1954 - Golden Wave
  • 1955 - Otokitsu
  • 1956 - Hakuchikara
  • 1957 - Hikaru Meiji
  • 1958 - Daigo Homare
  • 1959 - Komatsu Hikari
  • 1960 - Kodama
  • 1961 - Hakusho
  • 1962 - Fair Win
  • 1963 - Meizui
  • 1964 - Shinzan
  • 1965 - Keystone
  • 1966 - Teito O
  • 1967 - Asa Denko
  • 1968 - Tanino Harromore
  • 1969 - Daishin Volgard
  • 1970 - Tanino Moutiers
  • 1971 - Hikaru Imai
  • 1972 - Long Ace
  • 1973 - Take Hope
  • 1974 - Colonel Lancer
  • 1975 - Kaburaya O
  • 1976 - Climb Kaiser
  • 1977 - Lucky Ruler
  • 1978 - Sakura Shori
  • 1979 - Katsurano Haiseiko
  • 1980 - Opec Horse
  • 1981 - Katsu Top Ace
  • 1982 - Bamboo Atlas
  • 1983 - Mr. C.B.
  • 1984 - Symboli Rudolf
  • 1985 - Sirius Symboli
  • 1986 - Dyna Gulliver
  • 1987 - Merry Nice
  • 1988 - Sakura Chiyono O
  • 1989 - Winner's Circle

See also

References
  1. "List of JRA Graded Races 2022｜List of JRA Graded Races｜Horse Racing in Japan".
  2. "同一年度に本会が定める競走に優勝した馬に対する褒賞金交付基準" (PDF) (in Japanese). Japan Racing Association.
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