T O Elvis

T O Elvis (Japanese: テーオーエルビス, Hepburn: Tēō Erubisu; foaled February 14, 2022)^[5] is a Japanese Thoroughbred racehorse bred in the United States and trained in Japan. He is best known for winning the 2026 Grade I Churchill Downs Stakes in stakes record time.^[6]

T O Elvis was foaled by Stopshoppingdebbie, a mare by Curlin who won nine consecutive start from her debut, but finished fifth in her first and her only graded race start, which was the L.A. Woman Stakes.^[7][8] T O Elvis' sire, Volatile, was also a successful racehorse who won the Alfred G. Vanderbilt Handicap in 2020 but was forced in to retirement shortly after due to a fracture in his right front cannon bone.^[9]

The horse is named after the American singer Elvis Presley, with the "T O" being the eponym (kanmei) of the owner, Tomoya Ozasa.^[2][10]

On September 8, T O Elvis made his debut in a 2-year-old maiden race over 1200m on turf at Chukyo with Katsuma Sameshima in the saddle. He got off to a good start and settled in fourth place during the race, making a strong charge in the final straight but ultimately losing to Panja Tower in third place.^[11] From his second race onwards, he switched to dirt, and on October 5, in a 2-year-old maiden race over 1200m on dirt at Kyoto, he took the lead from the innermost gate and pulled away from the rest of the field in the final straight to claim his first victory in his second race. In the Cattleya Stakes on November 23, he tracked the leaders from a good position and made a strong charge from the outside in the straight, but finished third to Natural Rise, ending his 2-year-old season.^[12]

T O Elvis started his three-year-old season in a three-year-old allowance race over 1400 meters on dirt at Chukyo on January 12, he made a determined run from mid-pack, but narrowly lost, finishing third behind Matenro Command.^[13] He raced over the same class again, dropping back the distance to 1200 meters on dirt at Hanshin on March 30, he settled on the outside of mid-pack, saved his energy, and then pulled away in the stretch to record his second victory by five lengths over the rest of the field.^[14]

After a four-month spell, he returned to race in the Hamamatsu Tokubetsu on August 2, where he was ridden for the first time by Ryusei Sakai. In the race, he tracked from the middle before closing strongly down from the outside in the final stretch, catching the front-running Aster Ruhuna just before the finish to secure his third victory.^[15] In the Auckland Thoroughbred Racing Trophy on September 7, he raced just behind the leaders, took the lead with 200 meters remaining in the stretch, and drew away to win decisively by four lengths, earning promotion to open-class company.^[16]

In his first attempt at a graded stakes race, the Capella Stakes on December 14, Katsuma Sameshima returned to ride him for the first time in three starts, and he was sent off as the favorite to win the race. He settled on the inside in mid-pack during the race, was angled to the outside in the stretch, and surged into the lead before drawing away to win decisively by five lengths. The victory was his fourth in succession and gave him his first graded stakes title.^[17]

After the race, on December 25, his trainer Takayanagi revealed that he would be prepared with either the Riyadh Dirt Sprint or the Dubai Golden Shaheen under consideration as his next start.^[18][19]

T O Elvis was invited to the Dubai Golden Shaheen, scheduled for March 28, as his first start of the season, and preparations were underway for the race. However, due to the worsening situation in the Middle East, his connections abandoned the Dubai expedition and switched his target to the Tokyo Sprint on April 15.^[20] Later, partly out of a desire to give him experience racing overseas, it was decided that he would instead head to the Churchill Downs Stakes, held at Churchill Downs on May 2, Kentucky Derby Day.^[21] Wonder Dean, a stablemate who had won the UAE Derby, is scheduled to run in the Kentucky Derby on the same day.

On May 2, he ran in the Churchill Downs Stakes with Ryusei Sakai aboard. In the race, he tracked from the outside of the mid-pack before turning into the stretch, where he burst clear impressively to win by 3 1/4 lengths over Disruptor. The victory extended his winning streak to five and gave him his first Grade 1 title in his first attempt at a Grade 1 race.^[22]

After the race, his owners had considered sending him to Royal Ascot in June. However, following his performance against the American opposition, the plan was revised, with the horse set to return to Japan to graze and aim for the Breeders' Cup Sprint on October 31.^[23]

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