Hirofumi Shii took Deep Sky with him into the record books on Sunday as the jockey won the Tokyo Yushun (Japanese Derby) for the second straight year aboard the Agnes Tachyon colt.
After winning the Japanese Derby last year in stunning fashion with Vodka, Shii on Sunday became just the second jockey of all time to win the second leg of the triple crown in consecutive years.
Deep Sky's winning time was 2 minutes, 26.7 seconds over the 2,400 meters as the Japanese Derby favorite delivered for the seventh time in eight years before a crowd of 124,951 on a beautiful afternoon at Tokyo Racecourse.
Deep Sky soared down the outside lane to finish a comfortable length and a half ahead of Smile Jack, the long-shot ridden by this year's Oka Sho winner Futoshi Komaki. Deep Sky became the second horse ever to win both the NHK Mile Cup and the Japanese Derby after King Kamehameha.
"I just won a top-class race a few weeks ago and I was still in the clouds. Now this," trainer Mitsugu Kon said, referring to the May 11 NHK Mile Cup which his horse won by almost two lengths. "I think it says a lot about the quality of this horse."
Kon, who won the race for his first time, rose to the top of Japanese thoroughbred racing just eight years after opening his stable.
"I didn't think someone like me could ever win the Derby. We had a plan all long, but I never expected everything to go so well. We were going to decide on the Derby depending on how he won the Mile Cup."
Taking third three-quarters of a length behind Smile Jack was Black Shell, who was ridden by Yutaka Take-the only other jockey to have won the Japanese Derby back-to-back.
Shii, whose horse was drawn in the inside barrier, said he used Take's mount leaving from the No. 3 post as a marker during the trip.
"I was right near [Take] and I wanted to wait for him to make the move first," Shii said. [Take] happened to slide in front of us so I dropped back. The trip went real smooth.
"The one thing I was worried about was the inside barrier. The turf was a bit rough on the inside so I was thinking about where to run him. It was especially bad from the third turn to the last.
"I looked up and I saw that it was crowded on the inside so I knew right away I was going outside.
"He was strong."
Deep Sky cut a time of 34.2 seconds over the final three furlongs-fastest in the field of 18 by half a second. He weighed in heavier than he did at NHK Mile Cup, but clearly, whatever he put on was all muscle.
"At the paddock, I was told by the trainer that he'd put on six kilograms from his last race," said Shii, whose horse tipped the scales at 514 kilograms. "But he did everything he had to in his workouts, so I knew he was in very good condition.
"He felt good on the straight, but this is the Derby. Anything can happen. I couldn't let up until I was past the finish."
Bettors had made Deep Sky the top pick, but critics pointed to his lack of experience in the longer races. The longest he had run in his previous 10 races was 2,000 meters back in January, in which he finished ninth.
Shii wasn't sure if Deep Sky could be as effective in races longer than 12 furlongs. And for the time being, he was going to enjoy his latest victory.
"It's hard to say, but I wouldn't say there's absolutely nothing to worry about," he said.
"Deep Sky only gets one shot at the Derby, and I wanted to make him a champion. I like to think I fulfilled my duty.
"I can't tell you how fortunate I feel to win this race two years in a row. The racing gods were definitely with me today.
"When you win everything tends to fall in place."
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