By Alex Henry
Admire Daytona can always easily be spotted on track, as he utilizes a bright red bridle and reins with a vibrant two-tone blue hood adorned with his owner’s late husband’s initials “RK” in gold. He earned his spot in this year’s Kentucky Derby via his narrow victory in Meydan Racecourse’s G2 UAE Derby over 1 3/16 miles on April 5th. He currently sits in the 20th spot on the Derby points leaderboard and looks to be the first horse to win the Kentucky Derby after a victory in UAE Derby and, perhaps more personally satisfying, to finally beat his old rival Luxor Café.
Racing Record and Notable Performances
Admire Daytona needed a winter of close beats and to leave the shadow of Luxor Café to bloom into the contender he is today. Never worse than 4th in six starts, he always seems to try hard with no quit. Trainer Yukihiro Kato remarked before his debut that the colt had a “weak throat” potentially affecting his racing finish, however, Kato has not publicly disclosed what type of throat issue the he had. At present, it seems like those struggles are behind Admire Daytona, as he bounced back after his 4thplace debut to finish a close 2nd in two subsequent maiden races. The race worth discussing, however, is his November 23rd nose loss to fellow Derby entrant, Luxor Café. This brown colt showed a world of fight battling Luxor Café the entire length of the Tokyo straight, truly never giving an inch except for the unlucky head bob when the finish line arrived. Also, it would be remiss not to mention that technically Admire Daytona also broke the 2-year-old 1600m dirt Japanese record, equalingLuxor Café’s time of 1:35.8. Admire Daytona was given the rest of the winter 2024 off to grow and get stronger, and stronger indeed he became. On February 8th Admire Daytona faced a field of 15 other colts and fillies in a bid to finally break his maiden, he was bet down to odds of 1.1 (~1/9). He broke well from the gate and sat off the leader Hakusan Miracle, running 23.7 for the first 400m (~1/4 mile). Ridden with supreme confidence by global sensation Christophe Lemaire, Admire Daytona coasted alongside his rival with minimal urging and when his pilot shook the reins, he displayed nice acceleration to finish the 1600m (~1 mile) in 1:39.0. He only received an 89 Netkeiba Time Index figure for that victory but Lemaire noted that he felt more powerful in this race as compared to past races. Admire Daytona faced his arch nemesis Luxor Café just 2 weeks later in the Hyacinth Stakes; when asked about the quick turnaround, trainer Kato remarked, “He had plenty of energy left in his last race and showed no signs of fatigue, and after one race he’s even better. The competition will be stronger, but his talent is not inferior.” When the gate opened for the Hyacinth stakes, Admire Daytona dwelt at the start and found himself 8th from 10 runners. The pace, set by Vilja Lied, was fast by Tokyo Racecourse wet dirt standards(dirt designated as good), so jockey Katsuma Sameshima opted to stay near in 7th and well off his target who set opening 400m (¼ mile) fractions of 23.6. Around the final turn, Sameshima found himself with a dilemma: go wide and lose ground to the wide but less-so Luxor Café or swing wide and attempt to out kick his rival or find an opening more inside and bide his time. He opted to swing Admire Daytona into the 6-path and appeared to be making up good ground until he flattened out and was passed by the filly Promised Jean. Undeterred by the disappointing result, Kato prepared the colt for the UAE Derby held on April 5th at Meydan Racecourse in Dubai. Breaking well from the 3rd barrier (saddlecloth number 1, however), Admire Daytona found himself on the leadunder Christophe Lemaire. Race time co-favorite Galactic Star and longshot Rafid ranged up to challenge. Galactic Star declined to continue the battle and after the first ¼ mile took back behind Admire Daytona, Rafid continued to apply pressure to his rival for another ½ mile. Around the final turn, Rafid dropped off and Admire Daytona greeted two new challengers, Don in the Mood and Heart of Honor. This trio quickly separated themselves from the rest of the field within a few strides. With 300m (1.5 furlongs) to go, Don in the Mood edged ahead by about ¼ length and appeared home free. However, he began to tire noticeably 200m (1 furlong) from the finish leaving room for Heart of Honor and Admire Daytona to battle for the win. In the end Admire Daytona got his nose down on the line and prevailed over local hope Heart of Honor. The 1 3/16 miles were completed in 1:59.13 with Timeform giving Admire Daytona a 109 speed figure for this win.
Pedigree and Connections
● Sire: Drefong
● Dam & Damsire: Ice Pastel (by Shackleford)
● Owner: Junko Kondo
● Trainer: Yukihiro Kato
● Jockey: Christophe Lemaire
Admire Daytona’s sire Drefong was known as a sprinter, with marquee wins in the 2016 G1 H. Allen Jerkens Memorial, 2016 G1 Breeders’ Cup Sprint (both over 6f), and 2017 G1 Forego (7f). Sold to stand stud in Japan at Shadai Farm in 2018, he’s found early success as a sire by being bred to mares with Japanese stamina influence, notably mares by King Kamehameha, Special Week, Deep Impact, and Zeno Rob Roy. His most successful offspring to date is Geoglyph (o/o Aromatico by King Kamehameha), winner of the 2022 Satsuki Sho over 2000m (~10fT). While Drefong wanted no part of routes, his sire Gio Ponti found longer distances no problem, being a back-to-back winner of the Man O’ War Stakes (11fT), so it’s not surprising that this stamina aptitude perhaps skipped a generation. Ice Pastel’s story is intriguing, she is by Shackleford out of a Japanese-bred mare Million Gift (by Sunday Silence). Though her dam is Japanese-bred and raced, she was sent to Kentucky to be a broodmare, likely to take advantage of US-based sires. Her most successful offspring was Million Seller by A.P. Indy, winner of the Rosenna Stakes 2nd Division at Delaware Park (8.5f). Ice Pastel raced 4 times on Japanese dirt with no success, only managing to finish 6th in her best result. Her sire Shackleford won the Preakness Stakes at 9.5f but faltered at longer distances as exemplified by 4th and 5th place finishes in the 2011 G1 Kentucky Derby and Belmont Stakes, respectively. Sunday Silence is Ice Pastel’s grandsire so there are no questions about her influence on Admire Daytona’s ability to last 10f. Of note, Admire Daytona is the only registered horse with the Drefong/Shackleford cross, surely more will follow in the future given his current success.
Christophe Lemaire is the man in Japan, and globally as well. In his 11 year career in Japan, he’s notched 1,999 wins in 9,079 starts (22% win rate) and boasts 193 graded stakes wins. He has won a JRA jockey award every year since 2015, ranging from most wins, most prize money earned, outstanding jockey, and occasionally all three in one year. Globally, he has G1 wins in Australia, France, Great Britain, Hong Kong, UAE, and the USA.
Trainer Yukihiro Kato has enjoyed a 25 year career in Japan and collected 24 graded stakes wins. His most recent Japanese G1 win was on dirt in the 2018 February Stakes with Nonkono Yume. It’s clear that Kato got Admire Daytona dead fit for the UAE Derby, so in his capable hands we trust. Of note, Admire Daytona galloped ½ mile April 22nd at Churchill Downs in 53 1/5, the slowest of 33 others. However, through Churchill Downs’ Japan representative Kate Hunter, the training team confirmed that the easy gallop is exactly what they wanted from their colt and since he was so fit entering the UAE derby, they are trying to maintain that fitness and not push him too hard to maintain his energy levels.
Owner Junko Kando inherited this racing operation from her late husband and Japanse businessman, Riichi Kondo after his death in 2019. While her husband won 60 JRA graded races at the time of his passing, she is off to a great start and has recorded 5 graded wins as she continues building her stable of runners. Notably, her promising colt Admire Zoom won the G1 Asahi Hai Futurity Stakes in December 2024. Mrs. Kondo has remained a fairly mysteriousindividual to the Japanese public; however, what we do know is that she continues some traditions Mr. Kondo had, including that, when her horses are confirmed to run, she visits Iwashimizu Hachiman-guShrine in Kyoto, Japan on the Friday before a weekend of racing.
Final Prep Analysis
● Final Prep Race: G2 UAE Derby at Meydan (April 5th)
● Finish Position: 1st out of 9
● Final Time: 1:59:13
● Beyer Speed Figure: BSF Not Available, Timeform: 109
Admire Daytona’s connections clearly understand that he excels in dirt routes, so they pursued the UAE derby as the next target after a disappointing result resulting from his tardy start in the Hyacinth Stakes. This colt fixed his breaking issues in the UAE Derby and rocketed out of the gate for Lemaire and never looked back. He assumed the lead and was pressed by longshot Rafid until the far turn when Don in the Mood and Heart of Honor loomed menacingly alongside him. The three 3-year-olds battled throughout the stretch, with Don in the Mood edging clear midstretch, but the distance caught up with him and he faded with 200m (1 furlong) to run. Heart of Honor and Admire Daytona were left to battle in the final stage of the race and Admire Daytona, gritty as ever, nosed out his foe. This was the slowest running of the UAE Derby since Crown Pride’s 2022 win, Crown Pride finished 13th in his Derby bid after pressing Summer Is Tomorrow, contributing to an absolutely torrid early pace to set up Rich Strike for his upset victory.
Strengths and Concerns
Strengths:
- Loves dirt routes, has the stamina to finish 10f given his pedigree.
- Gritty colt and used to large fields, not scared of a fight in the stretch. He is not afraid to battle.
- Christophe Lemaire is a world beater, he’s a strength on any mount.
Concerns:
- Not sure what running style he prefers. His wins have come when having a clear and clean trip, which is difficult to get in the Kentucky Derby.
- Speed figures lag behind Luxor Café, he will need to improve to win on May 3rd.
Expert Opinions and Odds
Admire Daytona is currently 30-1 according to fair odds on Kentuckyderby.com and was sitting as high as 50-1 in the Las Vegas Westgate sports book earlier this week. I believe at least 30-1 odds are deserved, given his lackluster speed figures and narrow win against questionable competition in the UAE Derby. USA hopeful Flood Gate was a non-factor in Dubai, as was the race time co-favorite Galactic Star, who was expected to fire. Heart of Honor, the other co-favorite, fired explosively but given the slow running time of the race, I am unable to give too much credit to him or Admire Daytona.
Conclusion
At the end of the day, more surprising entrants have won the Kentucky Derby with more suspect racing records. Admire Daytona is a G2 winner on an international stage and has proven that shipping does not affect his performance when it counts. He retains arguably the most successful globe-galloping jockey of the last two decades in Christophe Lemaire and has a more than capable trainer in Kato as well. We know he is dead fit from his performance in Dubai and trainer comments; however, the trip will be a major factor for this Drefong colt. As a Japanese racing fan, I am optimistic; but, as an American racing fan, I give this contender a top 4 chance at best.
Kentucky Derby Contender Profiles
Journalism – Sandman – Sovereignty – Burnham Square – Luxor Cafe – Tappan Street – Citizen Bull – Tiztastic – Coal Battle – Rodriguez – American Promise – Final Gambit – Grande – East Avenue – Publisher – Chunk of Gold – Owen Almighty – Flying Mohawk – Admire Daytona – Neoequos – Baeza
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