It’s a big weekend at Nakayama with Saturday’s Grand Jump to be followed on Sunday by the 75th running of the colts classic, the Satsuki Sho (Japanese 2000 Guineas).

There are 19 nominations for the first leg of the Triple Crown over 2000m with a number of colts coming into the race from different trial races held earlier in the year.

The first four past the post receive automatic entry into the Japan Derby and 22 winners of the Satsuki Sho have gone on to win the Derby. The last two to do so were Orfevre in 2011 and Meisho Samson in 2006.

The first three horses in the betting tend to do well and in the last 10 years winners of their previous race have a 14% win rate, with a 25% chance of a top three finish.

The following are some of the popular choices in early betting markets for the first race in the Triple Crown:

Satono Crown: One of only two unbeaten colts in the line-up and could easily start favourite. His comfortable win in the G2 Hochi Hai Yayoi Sho in March over 2000m at Nakayama means he’s tried and tested at the course and the distance. Trained by Noriyuki Hori, the Marju colt must have a great chance as he’ll be ridden by Christophe Lemaire, looking for his sixth G1 success in Japan.

Real Steel: He is two wins from three starts and only went down by a neck when Kitasan Black just held him in the G2 Sho Spring Stakes over 1800m at Nakayama in March. Prior to that he won the G3 Kyodo News Service Hai at Tokyo in February. He will be ridden by Yuichi Fukunaga, who believes the horse has a great ability to win anywhere and over any distance, and definitely considers him a Derby contender. Real Steel is by Deep Impact and is trained by Yoshito Yahagi.

Kitasan Black: The other unbeaten colt and has won over 2000m at Tokyo two starts ago. His most recent win was in the G2 Fuji TV Sho Spring Stakes over 1800m at this course. His regular jockey Hiroshi Kitamura is suspended.

Danon Platina: Deep Impact colt caught the eye as a 2YO when he won the Begonia Sho last November in Tokyo. He subsequently went on to win the G1 Asahi Hai Futurity at the end of last year, earning him the best 2-year-old colt award for 2014. His colours have been lowered a little this year finishing third to Kitasan Black at Nakayama in March. The man in the saddle will be the evergreen Masayoshi Ebina.

Bright Emblem: Neo Universe colt won his first two starts at Tokyo and Sapporo, and then finished seventh to Danon Platina in the Asahi Hai Futurity Stakes last December. On his latest run in the G2 Hochi Hai Yayoi Sho in March he ran second to Satono Crown. Jockey Hironobu Tanabe has partnered him in all his races.

Duramente: The second of trainer Noriyuki Hori’s runners, Duramente has had four starts and boasts two wins and two seconds, his most recent run being in February when he finished second to Real Steel. Mirco Demuro will be riding the King Kamehameha colt for the first time, it will also be the horse’s first race at Nakayama.

Spirits Minoru: An interesting runner who has managed to win his last three races including the Sumire Stakes by three lengths over 2200m at Hanshin in March. He’s a colt by Deep Sky and is trained by Masaru Honda.

Beruf: From the powerful stable of Yasutoshi Ikee, this Harbinger colt is one of four entries carrying the famous Sunday Racing colours. He is three wins from five starts, with all his wins coming over 2000m.