Jahbath Punches Ticket to UAE Derby

While his victory in the Road to the Kentucky Derby conditions stakes March 6 at Kempton Park will not put Sheikh Hamdan bin Rashid Al Maktoum's Jahbath squarely on a path to the Kentucky Derby Presented by Woodford Reserve (G1), the two-length win likely has earned him a trip to Dubai.

Angus Gold of Sheikh Hamdan's Shadwell Farm said they approached Wednesday's race on the synthetic surface as a trial for the March 30 UAE Derby Sponsored by Saeed & Mohammed Al Naboodah Group (G2) at Meydan. After Jahbath quickly opened up on rivals at the top of the stretch and maintained a clear advantage to the wire, Gold said the UAE Derby figures to be the plan.

With Jahbath's four consecutive victories, Gold said the colt is carrying the banner for Shadwell's young sire, Mukhadram, and the hope had been to showcase him in Europe to breeders there. But should he impress in his dirt debut in the UAE Derby, Shadwell certainly isn't ruling out a trip to Kentucky.

Gold said Sheikh Hamdan will first look at his U.S.-based horses on the Derby trail in Triple Crown-nominated Haikal, Motagally, and Sayyaaf. Stakes winner Haikal will stretch out to one mile in the March 9 Gotham Stakes (G3) at Aqueduct Racetrack, a Road to the Kentucky Derby points race. Motagally earned a maiden win Feb. 2 at Aqueduct Racetrack, and Sayyaaf has not yet started. 

Jahbath is not among the early Triple Crown nominees. He is trained by William Haggas, and jockey Jim Crowley guided him to victory Wednesday.

The first crop of Mukhadram, a 10-year-old son of Shamardal, are 3-year-olds this season. Mukhadram won the 2014 Coral Eclipse (G1) and ran second in the Dubai World Cup Sponsored by Emirates Airline (G1). He is the sire of A Bit Special, who impressed in her victory in this year's Sweetest Chant Stakes (G3T) on the Gulfstream Park turf.