Japan Road to the Derby at dead end

It appears unlikely that a horse representing Japan will be in this year’s Kentucky Derby on Sept. 5.

Neither Cafe Pharoah, the points leader on the Japan Road to the Kentucky Derby series, nor Danon Pharaoh, who was second on the list, will travel to Churchill Downs for the Derby, according to Kate Hunter, a Japanese-based racing journalist who is a liaison between Japanese racing and Churchill Downs.

Hunter in a pair of emails on Sunday informed first that the trainer of Cafe Pharoah, Noriyuki Hori, told her that after discussions with the connections of Cafe Pharoah, the decision was made not to travel.

Later Sunday night, she relayed word that the connections of Danon Pharaoh were going by bypass the Derby, too.

Cafe Pharoah, a son of Triple Crown winner American Pharoah, became an exciting Derby prospect with a stylish victory in the Unicorn Stakes on June 21, but as impressive as that performance was, he regressed badly in his subsequent start in the Japan Dirt Derby 17 days later.

Danon Pharaoh, another son of American Pharoah, won the Japan Dirt Derby. Once Cafe Pharoah was no longer under consideration for the Derby, the series’s invitation defaulted to Danon Pharoah. This is the fourth year of the Japan Road to the Kentucky Derby series, which holds open a spot to one invitee from the series, based on points accumulated. A potential invitation can go to the first four point earners, in order, but no invitation is extended if the top four decline. The connections of both the third- and fourthplace horses are not believed to be interested in coming, so it looks as though that spot will go unclaimed this year.

Master Fencer represented Japan last year. He crossed the wire seventh and then was moved to sixth on the disqualification of Maximum Security.