Canada's favourite Kazushi Kimura will ride T O Password in the Kentucky Derby

According to CanadianThoroughbred.com, Kazushi Kimura, a prominent Canadian jockey, has been selected to ride Japan's T O Password in the highly anticipated Kentucky Derby. Kimura achieved an impressive 12th-place result in his debut Run for the Roses in 2023, riding the talented Mandarin Hero.

Kimura has dominated as the top jockey at Woodbine for the last three years.

As per a news update shared on Twitter by @sponichikeiba, trainer Daishi Takayanagi mentioned the jockey assignment and expressed his satisfaction with T O Password's performance. The horse has been with the stable since the previous race and is in good condition. He plans to enter quarantine on the 16th of April and is set to leave from Narita on the 23rd.

T O Password is the offspring of Sunday Silence's great-grandson, Copano Rickey, who was Japan's leading dirt horse in 2015. The young colt has competed in two races, emerging victorious in his debut at Kyoto in January and claiming the Fukuryu Stakes at Nakayama to accumulate 40 points and secure the leading position on the Japan Road to the Kentucky Derby.

The password belongs to Tomoya Ozasa.

While a number of horses trained in Japan have participated in the prestigious Run for the Roses in recent times, T O Password will only be the second horse to qualify through the Japan Road to the Kentucky Derby. One of the contenders was Master Fencer, who secured a respectable sixth place in 2019 (Continuar was also invited but unfortunately had to withdraw before the 2023 race).