Japan's Kentucky Derby hopes rest with headstrong Lani

Lani punched his ticket to the Kentucky Derby with a UAE Derby victory in March, but even the Japan-based colt's connections admit they can't predict what he'll produce in the first leg of US racing's Triple Crown.

"If he wants to run, we have a big chance," veteran jockey Yutaka Take says of Lani, who will become just the second Japanese-trained horse to run in the Kentucky Derby -- 21 years after Take himself guided Ski Captain to a 14th-place finish in 1995.

However, that's a big "if" given the grey colt's quirks, which have been displayed at Churchill Downs in reluctant works and a testy starting gate training session.

"He is the king, and I am the servant," exercise rider Eishu Maruuchi said resignedly.

Trainer Mikio Matsunaga acknowledged that the Kentucky Derby is a "tough task" for the much-travelled Lani, who departed Japan for Dubai on March 15.

His victory in the Group Two UAE Derby at Meydan was anything but straightforward. He stumbled out of the gate and fell back to last, circling the field to win.

Then followed another long flight to arrive Stateside, where the Kentucky-bred son of Tapit, owned by Koji Maeda, he'll be racing for the first time.

Matsunaga said that despite his aversion to training and his occasional aggression toward other horses around the stable, Lani is a professional when it comes to racing.

"In the races, he always concentrates on how he runs, and he likes racing," Matsunaga said.

Source :AFP