UAE Derby

Following his dominant victory in Saturday's GI Curlin Florida Derby, Fierceness (City of Light) has been installed the 7-2 morning-line favorite for the sixth pool of the Kentucky Derby Future Wager. Catching Freedom (Constitution), winner of the GII Louisiana Derby, is 8-1 on the morning line, while Forever Young (Jpn) (Reel Steel {Jpn}), winner of the G2 UAE Derby, is 10-1. The pool, which opens Thursday, closes Saturday at 4 p.m.--prior to the day's three major Derby prep races. Pool 6 will feature $2 Win and Exacta wagering. Fans can...

You need to channel your inner Meat Loaf to put Saturday's trio of points-awarding stakes for the GI Kentucky Derby in perspective. The well-backed winners of the GI Arkansas Derby, GI Florida Derby, and G2 UAE Derby all delivered commanding, speed-centric performances that transformed what has been an underwhelming prep season into a Triple Crown chase suddenly spiked with intrigue. 'TDN Rising Star' Muth (Good Magic) swatted back a surprise mid-race attack to win authoritatively at Oaklawn. Fellow 'Rising Star' and juvenile champ Fierceness (City of Light) administered a 13...

DUBAI, UNITED ARAB EMIRATES -- The 28th running of the $12-million G1 Dubai World Cup is set for Saturday at sprawling Meydan Racecourse and has attracted an internationally flavored field of 12, a third of which are based in various parts of the U.S. Senor Buscador (Mineshaft) will attempt to make history as the first to sweep the 'Desert Double,' having caused a surprise when just touching off the re-opposing World Cup champion Ushba Tesoro (Jpn) (Orfevre {Jpn}) 600 miles to the west of here in the G1 Saudi Cup...

DUBAI, UNITED ARAB EMIRATES -- Headed by the first appearance from the seven World Cup night horses from the yard of Aidan O'Brien, there was a buzz of activity on both the dirt track and turf course Tuesday morning at Meydan proper as well as back on the Tapeta track a couple of furlongs down the road. The Ballydoyle septet slowly ambled out of the tunnel near the 1600-metre starting point on the the dirt surface, led by G3 Red Sea Turf H. hero Tower of London (Ire) (Galileo {Ire},...

An already stiff Japanese challenge for the Dubai World Cup programme at Meydan on March 30 was further fortified on Wednesday when it was announced that the Mikio Matsunaga-trained duo of Matenro Sky (Jpn) (Maurice {Jpn}), upset winner of the G2 Nakayama Kinen, and the three-year-old colt Ballon d'Or (Jpn) (New Year's Day) have accepted invitations to the G1 Dubai Turf and G2 UAE Derby, respectively. Netkeiba was first to report the news. The five-year-old Matenro Sky broke through at the stakes level in the Listed Rigel S. going a...

Mendelssohn Bay (Mendelssohn), whose sire won the 2018 G2 UAE Derby by an Arabian desert in track-record time and whose broodmare sire Curlin counts the G1 Dubai World Cup amongst his conquests, stalked a good pace and kept on gamely through the final 200 metres to win Friday's G3 UAE 2000 Guineas at Meydan Racecourse. Ridden forward by Pat Cosgrave, the Bhupat Seemar stable's second string sat just outside of pacesetting Military Artist (Munnings), as that one took the Guineas field along at a decent tempo. Asked to come after...

With at least two, and perhaps three, horses from Japan set to compete in this year's GI Kentucky Derby, everyone wants to know more about these horses and why the Japanese runners have had so much success internationally over the last few years. To answer those questions and more, the TDN Writers' Room presented by Keeneland called upon Toshi Onikubo whose website, netkeiba.com, is among the best sources of information on Japanese racing anywhere. Onikubo was this week's Green Group Guest of the Week. He is a graduate of the...

GI Kentucky Derby contender Derma Sotogake (Jpn) (Mind Your Biscuits) registered his first published work at Churchill Downs Wednesday going a half-mile in :49.60 (16/20). With exercise rider Masatoshi Segawa in the saddle, Derma Sotogake went through his routine 25-minute warm-up in the one-mile chute prior to beginning his work. The chestnut colt exited the chute and began galloping around the six-furlong pole. He started to pick up his momentum around the three-furlong pole and worked through fractions of :13 and :37.20, according to Churchill Downs clocker John Nichols. "I...

It felt like a literal solstice, a moment marking our transition to a different phase in the alignment of the Thoroughbred firmament. Because the meteoric performance of Equinox (Jpn) in Dubai on Saturday night, as highlight of another momentous evening for Japan, left rival breeders everywhere speechless. Perhaps, they wondered next morning, this was what was meant by a Sunday silence. There are so many lessons in Japan's accession as a dominant influence on the 21st Century Thoroughbred, a trend that even the most obtuse and parochial of us cannot...

A World Cup meeting needs world-class runners plus a global spread of results. This much and more was delivered by the 27th Dubai World Cup and supporting races at Meydan on Saturday. With 26 runners on the night, it was always a given that Japan would feature prominently and, in an exhibition of excellence that we are now becoming accustomed to, they led all comers, just as they had in Riyadh last month. The performance of Ushba Tesoro (Jpn) (Orfevre {Jpn}) alone was pretty dramatic, coming from tailed off to...

WinStar Farm, Commonwealth Thoroughbreds and Zedan Racing's defending G1 Dubai World Cup champion Country Grammer (Tonalist) tops a dozen North American entries for the Dubai World Cup program at Meydan Racecourse Saturday, Mar. 25. The prospective fields were revealed overnight by the Dubai Racing Club. The 6-year-old is one of 13 in the field for the $12-million centerpiece of the meeting, including no fewer than eight runners from Japan topped by Panthalassa (Jpn) (Lord Kanaloa {Jpn}), who registered a half-length defeat of Country Grammer in the G1 Saudi Cup last...

Trainer Steve Asmussen sent his GI Kentucky Derby and GI Kentucky Oaks hopefuls out to work at Churchill Downs Sunday morning. Winchell Thoroughbreds' Derby contender Epicenter (Not This Time) worked six furlongs in 1:12.20 (3/4), while Oaks hopeful Echo Zulu (Gun Runner) went the same distance in a bullet 1:11.80 (1/4). With exercise rider Wilson Fabian in the saddle, Echo Zulu broke to the inside of regular workmate King Ottoman (Curlin), who was ridden by former jockey Eddie Martin, Jr. Echo Zulu worked through eighth-mile fractions of :12.20, :23.80, :35.60...