Tokyo Yūshun

Tokyo Yūshun
*Japanese Derby*
東京優駿
*日本ダービー*
Race information
Grade 1 race
Location	Tokyo Racecourse, Fuchū, Tokyo
Inaugurated	1932
Race type	Thoroughbred Flat racing
Distance	2400 meters
Surface	Turf
Track	Left-handed
Qualification	3-y-o, Colts & Fillies
Weight	Colt 57 kg, Filly 55 kg
Purse	¥ 380,000,000 (as of 2015) 1st: ¥ 200,000,000

The Tokyo Yūshun (東京優駿), also called as the Japanese Derby (日本ダービー, Nippon Dābii) 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.

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 name	Grade	Racecourse	Distance	Priority-entry-rights to Derby
1	Satsuki Shō	GI	Nakayama	Turf 2000m	Yes (top 4)
2	Aoba Shō	GII	Tokyo	Turf 2400m	Yes (top 2)
3	Principal Stakes	Open	Tokyo	Turf 2000m	Yes (winner)
4	Kyoto Shimbun Hai	GII	Kyoto	Turf 2200m	No (in normal case)
5	NHK Mile Cup	GI	Tokyo	Turf 1600m	No

Notes
1.If horses from National Association of Racing won any 3-year old JRA Grade 2 or 3 races before the Derby, they will be eligible for entering the Japanese Derby if ranked high enough in Prize money. Priority-entry-rights cannot be applied to them, should they finished 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 of Japanese Derby. The top four finishers in the Satsuki Shō, the top two finishers in the Aoba Shō and the winner of the Principal Stakes will guarantee a place in the field for the Derby, regardless of prize money. Overall, there are seven automatic qualifying spots in the Derby; the other 11 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 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 1994

Year	Winner	Jockey	Trainer	Owner	Time
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 Racehorse Co. Ltd.	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	Ken-ichi Ikezoe	Yasutoshi Ikee	Sunday Racing Co. Ltd.	2:30.5
2012	Deep Brillante	Yasunari Iwata	Yoshito Yahagi	Sunday Racing Co. Ltd.	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 Co. Ltd.	2:23.2

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
1990 - Ines Fujin
1991 - Tokai Teio
1992 - Mihono Bourbon
1993 - Winning Ticket

List of Japanese Grade I horse races

Japan Racing Association (JRA) GI Races (International GI)	February Stakes (dirt) Takamatsunomiya Kinen Oka Sho (Japanese 1000 Guineas; 3-year-old fillies) Satsuki Sho (Japanese 2000 Guineas; 3-year-olds) Tenno Sho (Spring) NHK Mile Cup (3-year-olds) Victoria Mile (fillies and mares) Yushun Himba (Japanese Oaks; 3-year-old fillies) Tokyo Yūshun (Japanese Derby; 3-year-olds) Yasuda Kinen Takarazuka Kinen Sprinters Stakes Shūka Sho (3-year-old fillies) Kikuka Shō (Japanese St. Leger; 3-year-olds) Tenno Sho (Autumn) Queen Elizabeth II Cup (fillies and mares) Mile Championship Japan Cup (invitational) Champions Cup (dirt) Hanshin Juvenile Fillies (2-year-old fillies) Asahi Hai Futurity Stakes (2-year-olds) Arima Kinen (Grand Prix)

National Association of Racing (NAR) JpnI and GI Races (Domestic or international GI races, dirt)	Kawasaki Kinen Kashiwa Kinen Teio sho Japan Dirt Derby (3-year-old) Mile Championship Nambu Hai Japan Breeding farm's Cup (Sprint - Ladies' Classic [fillies and mares] - Classic) Zen-Nippon Nisai Yushun (2-year-olds) Tokyo Daishōten (international)

JRA Steeplechase Races (J-GI races)	Nakayama Grand Jump (international) Nakayama Daishogai (international)

Domestic Grade I Equivalent Races	Haneda Hai (Ohi) Tokyo Derby (Ohi) Ban'ei Kinen (Ban'ei, Obihiro)

See also	Japan Racing Association National Association of Racing Horse racing in Japan

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