Dubai UAE Derby (G2) sensation Mubtaahij continued to make all the right noises as he kept up his flawless preparation for next Saturday’s 141st Kentucky Derby (G1), where he bids to become the first horse from Dubai to win the ‘Run For The Roses.’
The son of Dubawi, who won four of his five starts during the 2015 Dubai World Cup Carnival at Meydan Racecourse, pleased his connections after completing a light work-out on the polytrack surface at Arlington Park in Chicago.
With stable companion and fellow Carnival scorer Umgiyo for company, Mubtaahij handily cantered one lap under regular work rider Lisa Moncrieff, a day in advance of another planned breeze.
After the work, Trevor Brown, assistant to globe-trotting handler Mike de Kock, issued an upbeat bulletin saying: “They are popping at the moment, really ready to go.
“We are ready to go today if we needed to. Their prep here has been superb, they are blossoming.”
Owned by Shaikh Mohammad Bin Khalifa Al Maktoum, Mubtaahi last week endured a 24-hour trans-Atlantic flight from his Blue Stables base in Dubai to North America, where his interim home is a cold and chilly Arlington Park.
After arriving in America the three-year-old sensation had previously breezed over a mile alongside his Umgiyo, who runs in the Woodford Reserve Turf Classic (GI), ridded by assistant trainer Trevor Brown. The pair went at an easy pace for the first 800m and then picked it up steadily going into the final 600m, completing the three-furlong kick in 37,5s, with a reported 11,9s for the last 200m.
Brown sent a recorded WhatsApp message to update De Kock of his duo’s status.
“Mubtaahij and Umgiyo worked very well, both enjoyed the exercise and they were fresh and happy afterwards,” De Kock’s website stated. “They’ve settled in here now, they’re eating well, cleaning up their mangers. They’re in a barn with good ventilation. Everything around their preparation is fine and on target. As for Mubtaahij, I think his time of 37.5s was pretty good considering we worked him on the bridle, he wasn’t pushed, just raced along keenly against the bit.”
Brown also stated that Mubtaahij and Umgiyo will travel to Kentucky by truck on Monday (April 27), to continue their final preparations for America’s most famous race meeting.
De Kock’s star, who was not officially rated when he won his maiden at Meydan on New Year’s Eve, landed the UAE Derby by a margin of eight lengths when racing off a mark of 115.
Having demolished a trio of highly regarded Japanese raiders, an Uruguayan Triple Crown winner Sir Fever, American hope My Johnny Be Good and England’s Faithful Creek in the UAE Classic, Mubtaahihj is considered to have serious claims in the Run For The Roses and is a best-priced 10/1 fourth favourite behind the Bob Baffert-trained duo of American Pharoah (2/1) and Dortmund (4/1) and Todd Pletcher’s Carpe Diem (7/1), with most British bookmakers.
Will all prep races having been completed a 20-horse field is expected to line up in the Post positions will be announced April 29.
