Eishin Flash took advantage of the pedestrian pace to win the G1 Japanese Derby in Tokyo on Sunday.  He improved from a third-place finish in the Japanese 2000 Guineas to win by a neck from Rose Kingdom (King Kamehameha) and Victoire Pisa (Neo Universe).

The Derby was a triumph for the Yoshida family.  They bred all three placegetters at either Shadai Stud or Northern Farm.

Australian jockey Craig Williams slowed the tempo on front-runner Aliseo to such an extent, the winner ran the final 600m of the 2400m classic in a blistering 32.7s.  The back-markers, including race favourite Pelusa (Zenno Rob Roy), were never going to make up ground under those circumstances.

Eishin Flash (3c King’s Best – Moonlady by Platini) gave rider Hiroyuki Uchida and trainer Hideaki Fujiwara their first wins in the Derby.  Uchida said the slow pace had not been a problem.  “There was no reason to move him forward early.  I knew there were very good horses in front so wasn’t worried about getting caught behind a wall.”

The Derby winner is by King’s Best who shuttled to Australia for three seasons until 2004.  A Group 1 winning son of Kingmambo, he has been represented by 156 starters in Australia & NZ and his winning strike-rate of 55% is more than adequate.  However, he didn’t sire a single stakes winner which curtailed his stud career in the Hunter Valley.

Eishin Flash is the first winner from G2 German St Leger winner Moonlady.  She also raced in the USA to claim a G2 victory in the Long Island Hcp at Aqueduct.