Labwah

Sheikh Hamdan Bin Mohammed Al Maktoum's Labwah (Charlatan) will face some considerable obstacles when she enters the gate for Saturday's $1-million G2 UAE Derby at Meydan Racecourse. Not only will she attempt to become just the second of her sex to beat the boys in the Road to the Kentucky Derby points race (Khawlah, 2011), she will also have to see off an always-deep challenge from Japan, whose runners have taken out the last four runnings. While the filly's Lexington-area breeder Calvin Crain wasn't prepared to make any bold predictions,...

The two new names on the GI Kentucky Derby trail each exemplify one of the principal alternatives to what nowadays feels like the ideal route, namely to exploit the imbalances of the commercial market with a breed-to-race program. Nobody having ever operated one of those on a scale as lavish as the one that produced Sovereignty (Into Mischief), the choice between these other models is strictly practical. If you can run to $2.4 million for a Saratoga yearling, as did Speedway Stable for the Into Mischief colt we now know...

The biggest move made in this week's poll was the jump made by Explora (Blame) after her game win in the GIII Honeybee Stakes at Oaklawn. She jumped from seventh to third. The latest list also includes She Be Smooth (Lexitonian), who lands at No. 4 after her impressive win in the GII Davona Dale Stakes. It will be a quiet weekend for the 3-year-old filly division, but they will run the rescheduled GIII Santa Ysabel Stakes Sunday at Santa Anita. All eyes will be on last year's 2-year-old filly...

Labwah gifted her sire Charlatan the first graded/group winner of his young stallion career when running off with the G3 UAE Oaks at Meydan on Friday. Thanks to her 7 1/2-length victory, the Sheikh Hamdan bin Mohammed Al Maktoum-owned filly earned 50 points toward a start in the GI Kentucky Oaks in May. One of the quickest away, the bay set out under pressure from Pretty And Famous (Known Agenda) to her outside. Able to walk the dog through the early stages, Labwah was still under fire with less than...