Kentucky Derby: Wonder Dean and Danon Bourbon Representing Japan in the Triple Crown Opener

For the fifth consecutive year, a Japan-trained thoroughbred will participate in the Kentucky Derby.

The 152nd Run for the Roses is on Saturday night, May 2 (Sunday at 7:57 AM JST), with Wonder Dean and Danon Bourbon set to compete in the opening race of America's Triple Crown.

Wonder Dean is the more experienced of the two racehorses, having made six career starts. The Dee Majesty progeny was victorious in his last race, the Grade 2 UAE Derby, a 1,900-meter dirt event in Dubai, on March 28. He also had a win in the Two-Year-Old Maiden Race in September 2025 at Nakayama Racecourse in Funabashi, Chiba Prefecture.

Danon Bourbon, who was bred at Blue Heaven Farm in Versailles, Kentucky, has had a trio of starts in Japan. The Maxfield offspring won all three, including, most recently, the 1,800-meter Fukuryu Stakes on March 28 at Nakayama Racecourse. Most notably, the grandson of 2007 Kentucky Derby winner Street Sense collected those three wins by a combined 18½ lengths.

For both horses, Saturday's Kentucky Derby will be their longest-ever race at 2,012 meters (1¼ miles) at Churchill Downs in Louisville, Kentucky.

Ryusei Sakai, who rode Forever Young to a third-place finish at the 2024 Kentucky Derby ― the best-ever showing for a Japanese horse ― is back at Churchill Downs in pursuit of victory. Sakai is Wonder Dean's Derby jockey.

Wonder Dean has been assigned the No 10 post position, and was listed as a 20-1 longshot on Thursday, April 30, according to the official race website. Daisuke Takayanagi, gearing up to saddle a Derby entrant for the second time, is his trainer.

In Pursuit of a Kentucky Derby Victory

Noting that Japan is chasing its first-ever victory in the Triple Crown-opening race, assistant trainer Takuya Nakano spoke about the significance of Wonder Dean's quest.

"If [Wonder Dean] won, it would be like changing history," Nakano was quoted as saying by the Lexington Herald-Leader through an interpreter.

Seeking to Stay Unbeaten

In Danon Bourbon's fourth career start, he'll be seen in the No 7 post position. On Thursday, he was listed at 14-1 odds on KentuckyDerby.com.

Jockey Atsuya Nishimura is making his Derby debut this weekend for trainer Manabu Ikezoe's entrant. It will be the 26-year-old Nishimura's third consecutive race aboard the bay colt.

"Of course, the success of Japanese horses over the past couple of years has given us more confidence in participating," said Danon Bourbon assistant trainer Satoshi Oshita, according to the Lexington Herald-Leader.

In addition to Forever Young's third-place finish in 2024, T O Password (Takayanagi's entrant) was fifth in that race. Also for Japan, Derma Sotogake placed sixth in 2023, and Mandarin Hero was 12th.

In 2025, Luxor Cafe finished 12th.

Analysis of Japan's 2026 Derby Horses

On the official Kentucky Derby website, Alastair Bull shared his thoughts on Danon Bourbon and Wonder Dean, as well as analytic views on the rest of the field for the marquee race.

"Stamina is unlikely to be an issue for Danon Bourbon," wrote Bull. "Nor [is] his pattern of racing ― he is generally a stalker, and he should get a nice position from gate seven. The big questions are over how good he is ― the Japanese form is hard to assess ― and how his rider, Atsuya Nishimura, will cope with his first visit to Churchill Downs."

And what's Bull's impression of Wonder Dean?

"Doesn't have the same question over jockeyship as his compatriot Danon Bourbon does, given that his rider, Ryusei Sakai, was two noses away from a Derby victory two years ago," Bull wrote. "The class question, however, is very much the same, especially given the lack of victories in this race out of the UAE Derby."

Author: Ed Odeven

Follow Ed's [Japan Sports Notebook] on Sundays, [Odds and Evens] during the week, and he can be found on X (formerly Twitter) ＠ed_odeven.