Duramente continues dominance with Japanese Derby triumph

Duramente continued his domination of Japan’s 3-year-old division with his second classic win of the year in Sunday’s $3,351,865 Japanese Derby at Tokyo Racecourse.

The victory stirred discussions about a potential trip to the $5.4 million Prix de l’Arc de Triomphe in Paris on Oct. 4. Duramente is listed at 12-1 with British bookmakers for the Arc. Treve, the winner of the Arc in 2013 and 2014, is the 7-2 favorite over 8-1 New Bay, who won Sunday’s French Derby.

Duramente, the 9-10 favorite in a field of 18 in the Japanese Derby, raced in mid-pack before jockey Mirco Demuro urged his mount to the front with a quarter-mile remaining. Duramente pulled away to win by 1 3-4 lengths over 17-1 Satono Rasen, the winner of the Grade 2 Shimbun Hai at Kyoto Racecourse earlier this month.

Satono Crown, a 5-1 shot, finished third. The Japanese Derby was run at 1 1-2 miles on a firm turf course. Duramante was timed in a stakes record 2:23.20.

By King Kamehameha, Duramante has won four of six starts for Sunday Racing Co., and trainer Noriyuki Hori, who trains Saton Crown. Earlier this year, Duramente won the Japanese 2000 Guineas on April 19.