Japan’s Derby Hopefuls Luxor Cafe, Admire Daytona Work

[Wandering Eyes]

Koichi Nishikawa's Luxor Café (American Pharoah) and Junko Kondo's Admire Daytona (Jpn) (Drefong) turned in works during the 7:15-7:30 a.m. EST training period reserved for Kentucky Derby and Oaks entrants over a fast track Tuesday morning at Churchill Downs.

Trained by Noriyuki Hori, Luxor Café worked five furlongs in 1:02.40 with jockey Joao Moreira aboard. Fractions on the work were :13.40, :26, :37.80 and 1:02.40.

“I was asked to canter a lap as a warm-up,” Moreira said. “Then I galloped him from the five-furlong pole. It was just an easy work, just to keep him ticking over. The horse felt good, relaxed and had good rhythm throughout. I was happy with his action and focus. He pulled up well. Looking forward to the challenge of riding him in the Kentucky Derby.”

Trained by Yukihiro Kato, Admire Daytona worked five furlongs in 1:02.40 with Yoshimitsu Niyashita in the saddle. Working in company with the 3-year-old Dale Romans-trained maiden winner Greatdayforhockey (Twirling Candy), Admire Daytona produced fractions of :13.40, :25.60, :49.40, 1:02.40 and galloped out six furlongs in 1:16.20.

“Up until now he's been just training on his own just maintaining condition from Dubai,” Kato said of the G2 UAE Derby winner. “We wanted to train him in company to tighten the screws down and it was perfect. He is a horse that thrives off a challenge. We really appreciate Dale Romans helping us out today.”

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