The Dubai to Kentucky Derby (G1) route has not been a productive route in its history. From 18 starts, the best record in a Derby match for an athlete from the UAE Derby (G2) is fifth Master of the Hound In 2011.
However, this $1 million race at Meydan has produced quite a few talented athletes over the years, such as the two-time Dubai World Cup (G1) champion. thunder and Longines Breeders’ Cup Turf (G1T) winner 2022 Rebel’s Romance .
The 2023 UAE Derby attracts an even group of 13 runners with some notable Japanese and US runners along with the top contender from the coach’s powerful stables Irishman Aidan O’Brien.
Kentucky Derby Score: 100-40-30-20-10 for the top five finishers respectively.
PLEASE NOTE: Numbers shown are saddle cloth (with post position in parentheses).
1.(7) Es-Unico (Morning Odds 20-1): Needs improvement to finish fourth in the Saudi Arabia Derby (G3) to be a factor here. His record of winning three races in 2022 comes in sprints, but he’s never run a bad race in seven starts and the price has to be right.
TEACHER: Antonio Cintra; RACE: Joao Moreira
2. (4) (4) Oh man (12-1): After racing exclusively on grass and picking up a few wins in his first six starts in the United States, Mendelssohn colt took a giant leap forward when it first moved onto the main track in Dubai. He won the February 24 conditional race at Meydan with about seven spans 2 1/4 lengths, beating eight competitors. America’s top racer, Tyler Gaffalione, rides on a fascinating nasty opponent.
TEACHER: Doug O’Neill; RACE: Tyler Gaffalione
3. (5) (5) Cairo (5-2): Characters vie for bias in a two-time win on March 3 in the Patton Stakes on the composite main track at Dundalk, which gets him 20 points (European Road) to qualify for the Kentucky Derby. He is the team bet winner on grass in Ireland for elite coach Aidan O’Brien and has never finished second in five races. Terrible if he can handle the transition to land, but it’s a significant setback.
TEACHER: Aidan O’Brien; RACING: Ryan Moore
4. (12) continue (15-1): He finished fifth in the Arabian Derby after winning two of his three starts in Japan. The big racing days in recent years have taught racing fans to respect the Japanese athletes’ chances, but other Japanese athletes look more promising in this position.
TEACHER: Yoshito Yahagi; RACE: Ryusei Sakai
5. (1) sotogake skin (10-1): This one your cookie heart The foal won three straight matches in Japan at the one-mile to one-and-a-half mile range, including a bet win that earned it 20 Kentucky Derby qualifying points (Japan Road), before shipping. to the Middle East and ran third in Saudi Arabia Horse race. Worth watching for a long time.
TRAINER: Hidetaka Otonashi; RACING: Christophe Lemaire
6. (8) Dura Erede (6-1): Wins his only previous attempt on dirt roads in Japan and enters this race with a very nasty showdown by winning group 1 Hopeful Stakes on December 28 in Nakayama. A classy 3-year-old boy, but it’s hard to gauge the quality of competition from his lone dirt win plus the fact that Dura Erede hasn’t raced since Hopeful.
TRAINER: Manabu Ikezoe; JOCKEY: Cristian Demiro
7. (2) Go Soldiers (15-1): Back-to-back win at about 1 1/8 mile on this main track at Meydan, most recently a win over Al Bastakiya over UAE Derby contestant Mr Raj. Has shown significant improvement late and should not be ignored.
TEACHER: Fawzi Nass; JOCKEY: Adrie de Vries
8. (13) Goraiko (8-1): Finished in fifth place after a three-and-a-half-month break from the mile-long Hyacinth Stakes in Tokyo after an extended win in his home country of Japan in the 1/ 8 miles. Longer distance could help his chances and he will improve in his second start after being sacked, but the outer post is not in his favor.
TEACHER: Koichi Shintani; RACE: Yuga Kawada
9. (9) lahresh (30-1): Impressive on his 3-year-old debut when he won a 4 1/2 conditional race at about 1 1/8 mile on this main track, but he fell behind one step when defeated 6 3/4 the length of Go Soldier Go in Al Bastakiya. Eligible to join with counter attempt but not sure he’s fast enough.
TEACHER: Musabbeh Al Mheiri; FIGHT: Mickael Barzalona
10. (6) Mr. Raj (20-1): He finished third in the UAE’s Two Thousand Guineas (G3) and then finished second against his competition UAE Go Soldier Go Derby on March 4 in the Al Bastakiya tournament sponsored by Arabian Adventures aid. He has taken a very long lead in his most recent race and if repeated attempts put him in danger of finishing in the top three.
TEACHER: Ahmad Bin Harmash; RACING: Ray Dawson
11. (3) Perriere (15-1): Winner Hyacinth Stakes won three of his four career starts and was beaten only by a distance when he finished third in Zennippon Nisai Yushun, a Kentucky Derby (Japan Road) scoring race. , in his only loss. Distance was an issue for Perriere but he closed strongly in Hyacinth and was very consistent. A winning candidate.
TEACHER: Yoichi Kuroiwa; JOCKEY: Oisin Murphy
12. (10) Tall Boy (10-1): Third place in two of coach Doug O’Neill’s four US starts. He was fourth in 2nd grade Los Alamitos Futurity but was transferred to Dubai at the age of 3 and won his breakout win for a long time in UAE Two Thousand Guineas. If he can repeat the efforts of the UAE’s Two Thousand Guineas, Tall Boy is a player who has won top honors.
TEACHER: Doug O’Neill; RACING: William Buick
13. (11) Worcester (5-1): Although he is yet to win his three starting games, Worcester will probably be one of the favorites to come out of coach Bob Baffert’s barn in the Great Hall. USA Fame after finishing third, defeated twice, in 3rd grade Robert B. Lewis Stakes February 4 at Santa Anita . Park. Lewis was a big race on his first try by about two turns, and he was the pick in that race.
TEACHER: Bob Baffert; RACE: Frankie Dettori
SELECT: Worcester
LONG PHOTO LIVE: Derma Sotogake
PRODUCT: 13-5-8-6
