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| Staff Writer |
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Derma Sotogake was happy to have new travel accommodations on his way to Dubai.
Earlier this year, Derma Sotogake was attacked by another horse while travelling to Riyadh. That turned a trip to Saudi Arabia into a nightmare.
“I heard that while he was in the stall on a plane heading from Japan to Saudi Arabia, the horse next to him bit him on the left side of his face, and when he tried to avoid it, he ended up hitting his right side against the wall,” trainer Hidetaka Otonashi said. “When he arrived in Saudi Arabia, his right eye area was severely swollen, and his face was covered in blood.”
Despite the eye injury, Derma Sotogake was still well enough to compete in the Gr.1 Saudi Cup. He finished fifth in a deep field with several horses that will be a part of the Dubai World Cup on 30th March.
While that was a traumatic incident for Derma Sotogake, it hasn’t slowed his momentum down much, and he is set to participate in a deep field at the Gr.1 Dubai World Cup.
When it came to naming Derma Sotogake, Otonashi said that a lot of thought went into it. The name is a combination of factors, partially relating to the horse being owned by
Hiroyuki Asanuma.
“Derma is one of the identifying factors of a horse owned by Hiroyuki Asanuma, a dermatologist,” Otonashi said. “Sotogake is a sumo wrestling manoeuvre in which the attacker hooks an opponent’s lead leg and forces him backwards.”
When getting ready to move Derma Sotogake to Dubai this time around, Otonashi ensured that he would have the best transportation possible. This time, he was transported directly from Riyadh to Dubai. It seems that Ushba Tesoro was next to him in the stall during transportation this time, and there were no accidents, so he was able to arrive in Dubai safely.
When Derma Sotogake got bitten earlier in his career, it caused a major change in how Otonashi approached training him.
Otonashi said that there was no record of him entering the track for the first four days. He was able to train on the track for the first time on the fifth day after arriving. He had only five days left before the big race.
“By the time of the race, he had recovered a lot, and his face was no longer swollen,” Otonashi said. “I was officially given the go-ahead and entered. As a result, the final straight line produced a highlight. Although he lost to the 5th place finisher, he showed his determination without being defeated too badly.”
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Following Derma Sotogake’s success at the UAE Derby last year, he was able to go to the United States to participate in a few big races. He competed in the Kentucky Derby, placing sixth with a time of 2:01.57.
Six months later, the colt finished in second place at the Group One Breeders’ Cup Classic. Derma Sotogake finished behind White Abarrio, who will be on the Dubai World Cup field as well. White Abarrio would go on to be the betting favourite in the Saudi Cup but would end up getting stuck in the pack and not placing in that race.
“Despite the lack of progress, he was able to cross the finish line with a close margin. As expected, I can say that he showed his strength by coming in second place in the Breeders’ Cup Classic.”
Many were impressed with how Derma Sotogake raced at the Dubai World Cup. Before entering the Kentucky Derby, he had five wins in 16 races.
The race that Derma Sotogake will enter is set to feature several high-profile competitors. A major storyline will be the battle between Ushba Tesoro and Senor Buscador. Ushba Tesoro is the defending champion at the track, but Senor Buscador edged him out in the Saudi Cup last month. There will be a lot of anticipation for the horses to meet up again after Senor Buscador won the Saudi Cup by a nose over Ushba Tesoro. However, this is a deep field, and even the defending champion may need help outlasting everyone who participates in this race.
There will be two more Japanese horses in the field, Dura Erede and Wilson Tesoro.
The Dubai World Cup drew great interest from all around the world and brought in 1,423 nominations from 19 countries for the US$30.5 million event at Meydan. In total, 868 horses have been nominated across nine races. Two hundred of those nominees were from Japan.
Otonashi has extensive industry experience thanks to the many different jobs he has held around horses over the years. He started as a jockey in his native Japan, working from 1979 to 1993. In 1995, he decided to get his training licence. Since getting into the business of training horses, Otonashi has been piling up victories. He is near the 1,000-win milestone for his career. Otonashi’s success has seen him lead the JRA standings in purse earnings and wins during his career. Derma Sotogake was the first of Otonashi’s horses to run in a race in the United States. Otonashi has trained several Group One winners during his career, including Chrysoberyl, Company, Mikki Isle, Mikki Rocket, Mozu Superflare, Orewa Matteruze, Pixie Knight, and Sunrise Bacchus.