UAE Derby

Several horses clustered near the bottom of the "Road to the GI Kentucky Derby" are eligible for the race based on points, but their connections have not committed to the Derby. So this list differs slightly from the official qualifying rankings with respect to a few horses who are currently outside the top 20 points leaders and looking to get in. 1) COMMANDMENT (c, Into Mischief--Sippican Harbor, by Orb). O-Wathnan Racing; B-Lee Pokoik (KY); T-Brad H. Cox. Sales history: $485,000 RNA Wlg '23 FTKNOV; $475,000 RNA Ylg '24 FTSAUG; $500,000...

Jockey Ryusei Sakai, who rode Forever Young (Jpn) (Real Steel {Jpn}) to a narrow third-place effort in the 2024 GI Kentucky Derby and has since piloted him to four top-level victories, has picked up the ride on G2 UAE Derby winner Wonder Dean (Jpn) (Dee Majesty {Jpn}) for this year's Run to the Roses on May 2, NetKeiba reported Saturday. Sakai, who turns 29 on May 31, will also renew his partnership with Forever Young owner Susumu Fujita's Shin Emperor (Fr) (Siyouni {Fr}) in the GI Old Forester Bourbon Turf...

For the fifth year running, a horse trained in Japan has proven too good in the G2 UAE Derby, as Wonder Dean (Jpn) (Dee Majesty {Jpn}) went to front-running Six Speed (Not This Time) at midstretch and edged away for a solid victory, to collect 100 points on the European/Middle East Road to the Kentucky Derby Exiting a sound fourth to would-be UAE Derby runner and the undefeated Al Haram (Ire) (Iffraaj {GB}) in the G3 Saudi Derby across in Riyadh on Feb. 14, Wonder Dean jumped with them and...

By Emma Berry and Tom Frary Whatever your preference, as long as you are a fan of the Flat, there is something to whet your whistle this weekend. From early this Saturday morning there is top-class fare to entertain us. Have your alarm set for Dubai Honour (Pride Of Dubai) and Vauban (Galiway) in the G1 Tancred Stakes at Rosehill, where 4,800,000-guinea Yulong purchase Barnavara (Calyx) also makes her return in the G2 Neville Selwood Stakes. For those with the stamina of a Gold Cup contender, the GI Florida Derby...

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,...

It's a tough old life. As we speak, David Redvers has just returned from a weekend in St Moritz for the White Turf meeting, one of the true spectacles of the horseracing world. Between racing on ice and dancing on tables, the Tweenhills maestro has been enjoying a rather good week for graduates from his farm on rather more conventional surfaces, from the turf at Caulfield to the Chantilly all-weather and dirt of Meydan. "We had the most incredible week last week in that we had Buckaroo, who came second...

Godolphin homebred Lucky Kid (Jpn) (Discreet Cat) went on the attack in the stretch and held off a flying finish from Don Erectus (Jpn) (Danon Legend) to register a 22-1 upset in Sunday's Listed Hyacinth Stakes at Tokyo Racecourse. The second winner of the race in the last five years for Sheikh Mohammed's worldwide operation and also second for his Darley Japan-based sire, Lucky Kid earned 30 points on the Japan Road to the Kentucky Derby to rise to the top of the table. A three-length debut winner over this...

'TDN Rising Star' presented by Hagyard Salloom (Authentic) was expected to take all the beating in Friday's Listed Dubai Road to the Kentucky Derby (ex Al Bastakiya), but as he did prior to his would-be debut back in December, he was badly behaved at the gates and busted through before being apprehended and not permitted to take part. A field of 11 was ultimately loaded and Jim and Claire Ltd's Brotherly Love (GB) (Zoustar {Aus})--the half-brother to Jim and Claire Bryce's Heart of Honor (GB) (Honor A. P.), who was...

Danox Co. Ltd's Danon Bourbon (Maxfield), a $450,000 Keeneland September yearling, began to chip away at that outlay when powering home to graduate by 10 lengths at first asking over a muddy main track at this venue last Oct. 26 and was a warm item to pick up where he left off making his 3-year-old debut in a first-level allowance over 1900 meters at Kyoto Racecourse on Feb. 15. Favored at 9-10 despite the absence and drawn one from the outside in a field of nine, the dark bay was...

There are no rules, no guidelines, nothing of the kind, when it comes to Eclipse Award voting. You can vote for whomever you want for whatever reason you want. But I always was of the belief that there was an unwritten rule, or at least an understanding, that the Eclipse Awards were all about recognizing year-round excellence, that champions were the ones who most excelled throughout the year. Maybe that's because I became a racing fan and later a racing journalist when horses really did race more than four or...

Around this time last week, Case Clay, U.S. racing manager to the Emir of Qatar Sheikh Tamim bin Hamad Al Thani's Wathnan Racing, was trackside at Meydan Racecourse in Dubai, closely monitoring the operation's two Thoroughbred entries for the Dubai World Cup meeting--Hit Show (Candy Ride {Arg}) in the main event and Flood Zone (Frosted) for the G2 UAE Derby. Clay hot-footed it to the airport after the races to board a Sydney-bound A380 for the Inglis Easter Yearling Sale and spent a few days there before heading back to...

G2 UAE Derby winner Junko Kondo's Admire Daytona (Jpn) (Drefong) and runner up Heart of Honor (GB) (Honor A.P.) Are amongst five additional 3-year-olds made eligible to compete in the 2025 Triple Crown through a late $6,000 payment that was due Monday. The other late nominees are Brereton's Baytown (Upstart), 'TDN Rising Star' Colloquial (Vekoma) and Just a Fair Shake (Laoban). In total, 378 3-year-olds are now eligible for the Triple Crown series. Horses not originally nominated can be supplemented for $200,000 to become eligible for all three races, or...