Lucky Kid wins Hyacinth Stakes, earns 30 points to lead Japan Road

Lucky Kid, a Godolphin homebred ridden by Mirai Iwata and trained by Yukihiro Kato, swept to the lead in the final furlong and held off Don Erectus to win the Listed Hyacinth Stakes at Tokyo Racecourse, picking up 30 points on the Japan Road to the Kentucky Derby and vaulting to the top of the standings. The bay was returned as a longshot in reports, listed at 22-1 by one account and 23-1 by another.

The 10-horse field finished with Lucky Kid first, Don Erectus second and Itterasshai third, followed by Boku Mada Nemuiyo, Your Felicity, Arcadia Cafe, Seize The Throne, Yu Pharoah, Summer Madness and Taiki Blitzen. Godolphin described the finish this way: "Lucky Kid quickened powerfully after being switched out by Mirai Iwata at the top of the straight and swept by Arcadia Cafe and Itterasshai to take up the running entering the final furlong. Don Erectus laid down a late challenge, with Lucky Kid holding on for a comfortable neck success to pick up 30 Kentucky Derby qualifying points."

Race action unfolded with Lucky Kid breaking on terms and tracking the pacesetters, settling in a clear fifth as Arcadia Cafe and Itterasshai moved closer around the field. Mirai Iwata elected to switch the colt out at the head of the straight, producing a decisive burst that saw Lucky Kid sweep past rivals and fend off the late charge from Don Erectus, a son of Danon Legend who now has 15 points from the Hyacinth and five earlier from the Cattleya Stakes for a 20-point total. Reports described the margin as a comfortable neck.

Connections and breeding underline the international agenda behind the performance. Lucky Kid is by Darley Japan-based sire Discreet Cat, the colt representing Discreet Cat’s sixth Japanese stakes winner and 41st overall. His dam is Happy Go Lucky, by Pyro; Happy Go Lucky is the dam of a 2-year-old full sister and a yearling filly by Sharp Azteca and was most recently covered by Lemon Pop. Godolphin’s president in Japan, Harry Sweeney, said, "Lucky Kid is entered in the UAE Derby and we now expect that he will be invited. His trainer is keen and he will most likely join Godolphin Japan's other intended runner, Pyromancer, Japan's top two-year-old dirt horse last year. We certainly don't underestimate the task ahead, but it would be great to have two runners in the UAE Derby."

Lucky Kid’s formline before the Hyacinth includes a three-length debut win over 1,600 meters at Tokyo on Oct. 19, with Itterasshai third in that race, and a subsequent third-place finish in a November juvenile event variously described by outlets as the Listed Hyogo Junior Grand Prix, the Jpn G2 Hyogo Junior Grand Prix, or as a minor stakes at Sonoda Racecourse. Godolphin and other reports note an unplaced three-year-old return at Tokyo on Jan. 31, when Lucky Kid finished eighth after a slow start.

The Hyacinth carries a 30-15-9-6-3 points scale for the Japan Road and leaves Godolphin with two of the top three runners in the series heading into the final qualifier, the Fukuryu Stakes at Nakayama on March 28, which awards 40-20-12-8-4. Pyromancer already has 20 Japan Road points from the Zen-Nippon Nisai Yushun, and Don Erectus sits on 20 after his Hyacinth result and the Cattleya Stakes placing. With Lucky Kid now atop the table and an expected UAE Derby invitation in play, Godolphin is lining up a potential international campaign that could carry a Japanese-trained colt toward both Meydan and Churchill Downs.