The unofficial “Dubai to Kentucky Derby” looks like a roundabout on February 10 at Meydan Racecourse as trainer Doug O’Neill loops around the Baffert traffic jam in California to start Tall Boy in the Two thousand Guineas of the United Arab Emirates (G3).
The race is key among the six purebred events on the show, some of which have potential contenders for Super Saturday or the March 25 Dubai World Cup.
Guineas themselves have no weight with Churchill Downs. But it led straight to the UAE Derby (G2) and that race yielded 100 Derby points for the winner and 50 for the runner-up, more than enough to secure a spot in the Louisville starting gate.
The tall boy was still a teenager after four starts but Camp O’Neill succeeded in his final race, finishing fourth in Los Alamitos Futurity (G2). That said, Tall Boy could still face a high order in his first start of the season and after a long ride, as he was beaten 9 and a half minutes into Futurity, lacking any react in that time and finish only one horse.
On the plus side, his three opponents in Futurity are all from the Baffert warehouse and he won’t face any formidable herds in this Dubai race. And, the horse he beat in Los Al was Baffert’s. Arabian lion .
“The reason he’s in Dubai is because we think he has the potential to be sent to the UAE Derby,” said O’Neill assistant Leandro Mora. “He’s got two Kentucky Derby points and we like him because he’s run three tough races with Bob Baffert’s horses. He’s a gentle giant with a lot of talent.”
Tall Boy was bred by Rockingham Ranch and raced for Calumet Farm. He’s on the side Looking Lucky who was coached by Baffert to win Preakness Stakes (G1) in 2010, out of Scat Daddy mare Mrs Mayra .
Tall Boy isn’t the only US-owned contender in Guineas like Doug Watson’s fields girl’s bee to owner Charles Fipke. Fipke hybrid Bee shirt colt, who won the previous single start at Meydan on December 23. There is little doubt of hope for that.
“Shirl’s Bee will be our most exciting athlete on Friday,” said Watson, the seven-time UAE champion coach. “He’s been training well and we like him a lot. He’s got a good charm and we’re really looking forward to seeing him play.”
Both Tall Boy and Shirl’s Bee are among the earliest 369 US Triple Crown nominations.
Locals will be in effect for tiger countryOne Tamarkuz foal 2vs2 and won the UAE’s Two Thousand Guineas Test in the latest. Others will have something to prove at this level. But there are no Arabian lions appearing in Dubai yet. Maybe on Friday’s Arabian night that will change.
While the Two Thousand Guineas were the focal point of the evening, at least one other race would make sense for World Cup night. Blue Point Sprint (G2) at 1,000 meters (approximately 5 furlongs) on grass with a proven field of 13 and a proven track record of preparing candidates for the Al Quoz Sprint (G1) in big night.
Rivals from England, Ireland and the Czech Republic will challenge the local favorites Lazuli who kicked off the Meydan Sprint with race and distance wins in January, and man of promise , which last debuted during the Dubai Sprint listed. The two have faced off twice, each winning once.
Charlie Appleby trains both Lazuli and the Man of Promise. This race will have special meaning for him as he trains green point who won the event in 2019, starting a streak of five race wins, the last three of which were Level I events, to end his career.
“Lazuli has been tried and tested over five stretches at Meydan and this has been his ultimate ride,” said Appleby. “He’s in great form and, even when drawn in the first stall, he has speed horses around him and looks like the one to beat.
“Man of Promise ran a good race on this track in Dubai Dash and he seems to be running better these days.”
Czech invaders Pontos finished third behind Lazuli in their final race. Irish coach Johnny Murtagh, participating in this season’s Carnival for the first time, is represented by ladies’ church who received some much-needed relief after reporting the seventeenth in the Year of the Fly (G1) at home last time.
