Japanese Triple Crown hero Contrail sired his first group winner when Going To Sky punched his ticked for the G1 Tokyo Yushun (Japanese Derby) with a three-quarter length win in the G2 Aoba Sho on Saturday.Stepping up to 2400 metres for the first time, the son of the stakes-winning Tapit mare Goin To The Window was sent off at 7-1. Breaking in stall 16 of 18, the Field Racing runner secured a spot in midfield while Noche Cerrada (Drefong) showed the way into the first turn. The pace was steady with the first 1000 metres covered in 1:00.40.Relaxed under Yuka Take, the colt continued to track the leaders from eighth with 1800 metres reached in 1:48.80. Spinning off the bend well off the fence, he split horses willingly inside the quarter pole and cruised to the front through 2000 metres in 2:00.50. Striding home professionally from there, he fended off Tidal Lock (Maurice), who made a race of it, and Going To Sky held firm at the line. Favoured Black Olympia (Kitasan Black), out of G1 Kennedy Oaks heroine Pinot (Pierro), was third, another 2 1/2 lengths behind. Second choice Noble Savage (Leontes) failed to finish.“I thought he was a very good horse, and I really wanted to secure a Derby spot here, so I'm relieved,” said Take to Net Keiba. “From a wide barrier and considering he's not the quickest out, I was hoping to settle around midfield, but we ended up in a better position than expected. He quickened well when I asked, and he kept finding to the line. It was a very good performance.“To produce that kind of performance over the same distance and in a good time is very encouraging. I'm looking forward to the big one. He'll probably head to the [May 31] Derby next, and I'm excited for it.”A debut winner at Tokyo over 2000 metres in October, he ran third in the G3 Kyoto Nisai Stakes in November. In his three-year-old bow, he ran sixth cutting back to 1800 metres the first time in the G3 Kisaragi Sho at Kyoto in February. Saturday's effort was his first try at 2400 metres.Pedigree NotesJapanese Triple Crown hero Contrail has now sired two stakes winners, with Going To Sky his first group winner. Listed Hagi Stakes hero Badrinath is his first. Gene King has been placed twice at group level.The seventh foal out of the U.S. stakes winner Goin To The Window (Tapit), the winner is followed by a two-year-old half-sister by Kitasan Black, and a yearling full-sister to the winner. Goin To The Window was covered by Real Steel last spring. The dam earned her stakes win in Washington, but the family goes back to GI Maskette Stakes heroine and bluehen Too Chic (Blushing Groom). This is the family of champion Queena (Mr. Prospector) and her trio of stakes winners in GI Hollywood Derby hero-turned sire Brahms (Danzig) and GIII Tempted Stakes victress La Reina. GI Ashland Stakes heroine Chic Shirine is a full-sister to Queena.Saturday, Tokyo, JapanTV TOKYO HAI AOBA SHO-G2, ¥105,360,000, Tokyo, 4-25, 3yo, 2400mT, 2:23.00, fm.1–GOING TO SKY (JPN), 126, c, 3, by Contrail (Jpn) 1st Dam: Goin to the Window (SW-US, $128,993), by Tapit 2nd Dam: Queens Full, by Indian Charlie 3rd Dam: Puestera, by Forty Niner1ST BLACK-TYPE WIN. 1ST GROUP WIN. (¥30,000,000 Wlg '23JRHAJUL). O-Field Racing; B-Chiyoda Farm (Jpn); T-YukiUehara; J-Yutaka Take; ¥55,302,000. Lifetime Record: 4-2-0-1,¥71,158,000. Werk Nick Rating: B+. Click for the eNicks report & 5-cross pedigree. Click for the free Equineline.com catalogue-style pedigree.2–Tidal Lock (Jpn), 126, c, 3, Maurice (Jpn)–Earthrise (Jpn), byManhattan Café (Jpn). *1ST BLACK TYPE. 1ST GROUP BLACK TYPE. O-Sunday Racing; B-Northern Farm (Jpn); ¥22,372,000.3–Black Olympia (Jpn), 123, c, 3, Kitasan Black (Jpn)–Pinot(Aus), by Pierro (Aus). *1ST BLACK TYPE. 1ST GROUP BLACK TYPE. O-Sunday Racing; B-Northern Farm (Jpn); ¥14,186,000.Margins: 3/4, 2HF, 1. Odds: 7.10, 5.10, 1.40.Also Ran: Noche Cerrada (Jpn), Mikki Falcon (Jpn), Sagarmatha (Jpn), Akkan (Jpn), Shadow Master (Jpn), Cut Solo (Jpn), Kenton (Jpn), Last Smile (Jpn), Palladion (Jpn), Hishi Amoureuse (Jpn), Teruhiko (Jpn), Yoka O (Jpn), Cosmo Gigantea (Jpn), Tuna Study (Jpn), Noble Savage (Jpn). Click for the JRA chart & video.The post Going To Sky Goes To Town In Aoba Sho For Contrail appeared first on TDN | Thoroughbred Daily News | Horse Racing News, Results and Video | Thoroughbred Breeding and Auctions.