Even as Japanese racehorses have ascended over the last decade, becoming the most powerful force in international competition, the race the Japanese most covet, the Prix de l’Arc de Triomphe, has eluded them. In fact, a Japanese horse easily could win a Kentucky Derby before one wins an Arc. It could happen as soon as this year. Forever Young at this early stage of his career looks as strong as any Japanese 3-year-old with designs on the Derby. He has won all three of his starts in Japan, won them smashingly, and gets his first real class test Saturday at King Abdulaziz Racecourse in Saudi Arabia, where Forever Young faces 10 rivals in the $1.5 million Saudi Derby. Saturday’s one-turn mile isn’t part of the Road to the Kentucky Derby and Forever Young won’t qualify for the race through the Japan Road to the Derby, but he can earn a trip to Churchill Downs next month in the UAE Derby at Meydan Racecourse. “If he can run well in Saudi and then in Dubai, which qualifies him for the Kentucky Derby, then yes, I would like to send him to America to compete in the Triple Crown races,” trainer Yashito Yahagi said. Yahagi is in Saudi Arabia with Forever Young and answered written questions from Daily Racing Form through an interpreter. In 2023, Derma Sotogake finished third in the Saudi Derby before winning the UAE Derby, a major qualifying race toward the Kentucky Derby, by more than five lengths. He came to Kentucky, the fifth Japanese horse in the Derby (a sixth, Mandarin Hero, finished 12th last year), looking like a major player before checking in a disappointing sixth, his chances diminished by a sluggish start. :: KENTUCKY DERBY 2024: Derby Watch, point standings, prep schedule, news, and more Derma Sotogake, however, dispelled any notion he lacked the inherent quality to reach Derby contention when he finished a strong second last fall in the Breeders’ Cup Classic. “I believe he was in good form when he went to Kentucky, but he didn’t have experience with stall handlers” in the starting gate, said trainer Hidetaka Otonashi, who is in Saudi Arabia this week with Derma Sotogake, who runs in the Saudi Cup. Japanese horsemen learn from their mistakes abroad, and you can bet Yahagi, Forever Young’s trainer, will leave no stone unturned if the colt takes him to the Derby. Yahagi, who won two Breeders’ Cup races in 2021, also brought a horse to the 2023 Derby, Continuar, who was scratched two days before the race. Forever Young appears to be a significantly better animal and already is ranked 10th in Daily Racing Form’s weekly Derby Watch. Forever Young is by Real Steel, whom Yahagi trained, and out of the Congrats mare, Forever Darling, winner of the 2016 Santa Ynez Stakes. Forever Young, who has only raced on dirt, made a strong visual impression debuting in a 1 1/8-mile maiden race Oct. 14 at Kyoto, winning four lengths in a 14-runner field. Back three weeks later, he won a nine-furlong stakes at Mombetsu Racecourse, beating 11 foes, and on Dec. 13 turned in his best showing yet, cutting back to one mile to capture the Zen Nippon Nisai Yushun at Kawasaki by seven lengths. Facing 11, Forever Young raced comfortably among horses, split rivals turning for home, and coasted to a seven-length win, his ears pricked at the wire. Derma Sotogake won the same race in 2022 by a head before heading to the Saudi Derby, a race which marks Forever Young’s first try in a one-turn contest. “He’s a versatile type of horse with lots of power, which helps him to handle any type of race,” Yahagi said. “I think he can [adapt to American racing], but he needs to build up more speed to keep up with the pace.” Forever Young appears to go about his racing with a professional, willing attitude. He traveled without issue to Saudi Arabia, where he blew out a half-mile Wednesday morning. “He is easy to handle at home, but once he goes to the racetrack, he switches on and really sharpens up. He knows his job and how to separate it from his private life,” said Yahagi. :: Get the Inside Track with the FREE DRF Morning Line Email Newsletter. Subscribe now.  With a good race Saturday and a better one in Dubai, Forever Young won’t have much of a private life any longer as Japan’s latest Derby hope. ◗ The second 105-point qualifying race on the Road to the Derby, the Rebel Stakes on Saturday at Oaklawn, on the surface appears to be a one-horse affair, with Timberlake the 6-5 morning-line favorite despite returning from a layoff of nearly four months while facing 12 opponents. Timberlake won the Grade 1 Champagne Stakes over a sloppy track at Aqueduct in October before finishing fourth, beaten eight lengths, in the Breeders’ Cup Juvenile. Based at Fair Grounds, he appears, for the time being, at least, the leading Derby hope for trainer Brad Cox. :: Want to learn more about handicapping and wagering? Check out DRF's Handicapping 101 and Wagering 101 pages.