Mubtaahij Heads to Skylight in Louisville
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UAE Derby (UAE-II) winner Mubtaahij is scheduled to depart Dubai April 15 en route to Louisville and a bid in the May 2 Kentucky Derby Presented by Yum! Brands (gr. I).
The 3-year-old Irish-bred son of Dubawi, owned by Sheikh Mohammed bin Khalifa al Maktoum, will spend two days in quarantine at Arlington International Racecourse before heading to Kentucky, where he will take up residence at Skylight Training Center near Goshen, run by trainer Conor Murphy, along with business partner Justin Curran.
Skylight has a Polytrack surface, and Mubtaahij has done all his training in Dubai on the Tapeta surface training track, so it is natural for trainer Mike de Kock to want to train the colt on a synthetic surface and follow the same routine that has proven so successful.
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Mubtaahij will be the first Derby starter for de Kock, a well-known South African conditioner.
"He has to be on the grounds 72 hours before the race, but we'd like to come a day or two before that and give him a little spin around there and let him have a look at it. And we'll school him in the gate as well," de Kock said.
"I'm really looking forward to it. It's something I've really wanted to do all my life and I may never have another horse who qualifies. Sheikh Mohammed (bin Khalifa) is a keen supporter of the game and he's excited about the whole prospect.
"It will be nice and peaceful where he'll be training. But after that I'm prepared for the media storm."