Euro/Mideast Road to KY Derby Will be Settled in Dubai

The winner of the Euro/Mideast Road to the Kentucky Derby will be decided in the UAE Derby (G2) April 5 in Dubai after the penultimate leg March 7 in Ireland ended in an upset.

Titanium Emperor, a first-time starter, led home a 1-2 finish for Amo Racing in the Patton at Dundalk, the final European race in the series. Spicy Margarita, an Earthlight  filly co-owned with Giselle De Aguiar, finished second, three lengths back. Both are trained by Adrian Murray.

The odds-on favorite, Coolmore's Mount Kilimanjaro , had no closing punch when asked by jockey Ryan Moore and finished another half-length back in third in the one-mile test over Polytrack.

Titanium Emperor earned 20 points to put him into a three-way tie atop the Road leaderboard with Godolphin's Opera Ballo  and Silverton Hill Partnership's Hotazhell . None is an original nominee to the United States Triple Crown.

Murray was the original trainer of another Amo Racing runner Hill Road , a Quality Road   colt who finished third in the 2024 Breeders' Cup Juvenile (G1) at Del Mar. Hill Road has been transferred to Chad Brown and is entered in the March 8 Tampa Bay Derby (G3) at Tampa Bay Downs.

Dubai Finale

The UAE Derby winner gets 100 points with 50, 25, 15, and 10 for the minor placings, so the first three finishers will occupy the top three rungs in the final standings for a guaranteed bid to the May 3 Kentucky Derby (G1).

In previous years, the UAE Derby was part of Churchill Downs' main, American-based Road to the Kentucky Derby series. It was shifted this year in a restructuring of efforts to increase international interest in the Run for the Roses.

Churchill Downs also sponsors the Japan Road to the Kentucky Derby but Japanese connections for the past several years have eschewed that path in favor of the one-shot qualifier in Dubai.

Trainer Yoshito Yahagi used the 2024 UAE Derby as an entry portal to the Kentucky Derby for Forever Young . After winning in Dubai, the Real Steel  colt went on to finish third in a dramatic photo at Churchill Downs and third again in the Breeders' Cup Classic (G1) at Del Mar.

A year earlier, Derma Sotogake  won in Dubai, finished sixth in the Kentucky Derby and was second behind White Abarrio  in the Breeders' Cup Classic.

And in 2022, Crown Pride  and Summer Is Tomorrow  finished 1-2 in the UAE Derby, then burned themselves up on an unstainable pace in Louisville, Ky., opening the door for Rich Strike  's upset victory.

Derma Sotogake and Forever Young both prepped for the Dubai race in the Saudi Derby (G3). This year's Saudi winner, Golden Vekoma , is based in Dubai and expected to shoot for the Mideast "Derby double" on Dubai World Cup (G1) night at Meydan Racecourse.