A Son of Gun Runner Is One Step Away from Winning the Dirt Triple Crown in Japan
- Turf Diario
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Finger Dominated Once Again from Wire to Wire and Claimed the Tokyo Derby; He Will Seek a Historic Sweep in October's Japan Dirt Classic
TOKYO, Japan (Special to Turf Diario).– With a performance as authoritative as it was mature, Finger confirmed this Wednesday that he is the best 3-year-old dirt specialist of his generation in Japan. The son of Gun Runnerprevailed in the Tokyo Derby, the second leg of the Dirt Triple Crown, and is now just one victory away from completing the ambitious sweep designed by Japanese authorities to boost their dirt runners with an international projection.
Ridden by Keita Tosaki and presented by Hiroyasu Tanaka, the chestnut broke from post 11 and executed a familiar strategy: clearing the field from the jump to avoid the mud and kickback generated by a track rendered sloppy from the rain.
The formula worked to perfection once again. After setting the fractions throughout the 2000-meter journey, Fingerbegan to draw away upon entering the homestretch and ended up winning with absolute authority by 1 1/4 lengths over Silver Ratio (Le Vent Se Leve), who rallied from the back to rescue the runner-up spot. Another three lengths further back, Realize Glint, a son of Kitasan Black trained by Yoshito Yahagi, finished third.
The victory represented the fifth consecutive win for Finger and his second within the Dirt Triple Crown, having previously captured the Haneda Hai, the opening leg of the series, also from wire to wire and breaking from that very same post 11.
Bred by Masahiko Sugino, Finger had shown ability early on, though he required patience to reach his top form. After finishing second in his three starts at age 2, he finally secured his maiden victory in January over 1800 meters at Nakayama.
From then on, he began a meteoric rise. After switching to the National Association of Racing (NAR) circuit, he strung together victories in the Bluebird Cup at Funabashi, the Keihin Hai at Oi, the aforementioned Haneda Hai, and now the Tokyo Derby.
His dam is Estilo Talentoso, a G3 winner and daughter of Maclean's Music, contributing a genetic combination that seems to have found its ideal stage on the dirt surface.
The third and final leg of the Triple Crown will be the Japan Dirt Classic, scheduled for October, a race that has quickly gained international relevance.
In 2024, it was won by Forever Young (Real Steel), who used the event as a launching pad to subsequently become one of the world's leading figures on dirt, culminating in his triumph in the Saudi Cup (G1). A year later, Luxor Cafe(American Pharoah) also used the race as a rebuilding point after competing in the Kentucky Derby (G1).
The Dirt Triple Crown was established in 2024 as part of a program aimed at strengthening Japanese production and competition on this surface, offering substantial purse increases and special bonuses for those who manage to sweep the series.
The objective is clear: to develop horses capable of competing successfully on international stages such as the Saudi Cup, the Dubai World Cup (G1), and the various dirt races of the Breeders' Cup.
For now, Finger has answered every challenge with composure. And if he maintains the level shown at Oi, he will head into October with a concrete chance of becoming the first winner of the young Japanese Dirt Triple Crown.
