Nakatomi

Nakatomi delivered a decisive victory in his career debut in April 2021 at Keeneland, where he rolled to a 2 ¼ -length score on a sloppy track for trainer Wesley Ward. Sent over to England for the prestigious Royal Ascot meeting, Nakatomi was unplaced in the Group 2 Norfolk Stakes after a very slow start all but eliminated his chances.

Later during his 2-year-old campaign, Nakatomi finished third in the Grade 2 Saratoga Special Stakes Presented by Miller Lite and that fall won the $150,000 Bowman Mill Stakes by three-quarters of a length on a sloppy track at Keeneland.

Given a freshening before his 3-year-old season, the Firing Line gelding returned from a layoff of more than 7 ½ months to win an allowance-optional claiming race June 26, 2022, at Churchill Downs. He followed with a fourth-place finish in the Grade 2 Gallant Bob Stakes Sept. 24 at Parx Racing, and then closed out 2022 with another allowance win and a fourth in the Grade 1 Malibu Stakes. 

In 2023, Nakatomi won only one of six starts – an allowance optional claiming race at Saratoga on a sloppy track – but competed well in graded stakes, finishing a close second in the Stoll Keenon Ogden Phoenix Stakes and then running the race of his life when he finished third, beaten just a total of two lengths by Elite Power in the $2 million Breeders' Cup Sprint on Nov. 4 at Santa Anita.

Back for a 5-year-old campaign in 2024, the gelding started with back-to-back third-place finishes in a listed stakes at Tampa Bay Downs where he was the even-money favorite, and then in the Group 1 Dubai Golden Shaheen Sponsored by Nakheel. Ward then brought his charge back for another Grade 1 attempt in the Alfred G. Vanderbilt Stakes July 27 at Saratoga, and Nakatomi finally captured his first graded stakes win in start no. 18, wearing down front-running Skelly in the final sixteenth of a mile to win the six-furlong sprint by 1 ½ lengths.

In his next start following the Vanderbilt, Nakatomi was outrun early but made up ground in the stretch to finish a nonthreatening second behind gate-to-wire winner Federal Judge in the Grade 2 Stoll Keenon Ogden Phoenix Stakes held at six furlongs Oct. 4 at Keeneland.