"Derby...
Although there were still more than ten days until the main race, talk of the Derby had visibly increased in casual conversations, whether among Central Trainers and Jockeys or the producers here in Hokkaido.
On top of that, the string of auctions that began a week after the Derby and continued for several months, along with visitors from Honshu, had allowed Hidaka to regain a little of its pre-earthquake bustle.
However—
At Mejiro Farm in Mitsuishi, although the number of industry visitors arriving each week was still higher than in previous years, the staff had instead entered a period that could, at a stretch, be called leisurely.
The supreme stage for three-year-olds, once in a lifetime: the Tokyo Yushun—Japanese Derby.
Despite the considerable calls from racing fans, experts, and industry figures alike, there had been no expectation of sending a three-year-old to the Derby this year.
There was only one colt and one filly in the three-year-old generation. Sawin's major target remained the domestic Autumn campaign—more precisely, a choice between the Grade 1 Autumn Emperor's Prize over 2,000 meters on Tokyo turf and, somewhat later, the Grade 1 Champion Mile over 1,600 meters on Beijing turf.
As for his earlier next start, the likely options were not mainstream races such as the Derby or Tokyo Yushun, but the Deauville Racing Festival in the European summer, or perhaps the Ebor Festival at York later still—choices that might disappoint domestic racing fans somewhat.
It was true that the 2,000 Guineas Stakes had not taken as much out of him as expected before the race. But considering that it had still been a demanding overseas campaign for a three-year-old, Sawin had been allowed to begin recuperating in the most relaxed atmosphere possible after returning to the farm, even during this season when