UAE Derby Victory Forged by Friendships

When Conor Foley was traipsing through the barn area at Keeneland late one afternoon during the 2017 September Yearling Sale, a chestnut son of Point of Entry  caught the agent's attention as he walked by the Vinery Sales consignment.

"I had to go see another horse who was an RNA (buy-back with its reserve not attained) in the back barns and I remember walking by the shedrow—it was 5:30 or 6:00—and all the other horses were sleeping, and he was standing looking out the stall window," recalled Foley, who operates Lexington-based Oracle Bloodstock. "I had seen him the day before but that stood out to me. Everybody else (other horses) were exhausted from being shown all day, and he was the one who was like, 'Hey this hasn't worn me out too much.'"

Foley, who had already inspected the ridgling and was struck by his balance and "presence," stepped up and bought the yearling for $135,000 when he went through the ring during the sale's eighth session.

And as they say, the rest is history.

The 3-year-old ridgling named Plus Que Parfait—which can be translated from French as 'more than perfect'—stamped his ticket to the Kentucky Derby Presented by Woodford Reserve (G1) with a game victory March 30 in the $2.5 million UAE Derby Sponsored by Saeed & Mohammed Al Naboodah Group (G2) on the Dubai World Cup card at Meydan Racecourse.

Ridden by Jose Ortiz for trainer Brendan Walsh, the Imperial Racing runner split horses in the stretch to take the lead and then held off the closing bid of American rival Gray Magician en route to a three-quarters-length victory in a final time of 1:58.41 for 1,900 meters (about 1 3/16 miles).

The victory improved Plus Que Parfait's earnings to US $1,590,400 gleaned from a record of 2-1-2 from seven starts and the 100 points he earned on the Road to the Kentucky Derby guaranteed him a spot in the starting gate for the classic.

Bred in Kentucky by Calloway Stables, the UAE Derby winner was produced from the Awesome Again  mare Belvedera, a half sister to 1999 Canadian Oaks winner Touch Dial.

For Foley and trainer Walsh, the Dubai victory was a reward for professional friendships forged over the years.

The ownership group of Plus Que Parfait consists of four partners who have horses in training with Doug Watson in Dubai and wanted to begin a U.S. racing stable. The UAE Derby winner is one of the first of about a dozen yearlings purchased on the partnership's behalf by Foley, who is also involved in the ownership group.

Foley, who took a position with Sheikh Mohammed's Godolphin in Dubai after graduating from Godolphin's Flying Start program, is a friend of Walsh, who also worked for Godolphin in Dubai before establishing his own U.S. stable.

"Dubai holds a special place in my heart, so if you could pick a major race in the world for us to win that would be it," Foley said. "I'm very excited for everyone, mainly for Brendan. This is the biggest win of his career. The trainers do the hard part. It is quite the achievement for everyone associated with the horse. This horse is owned by a group of people I met through Doug Watson. They live in different parts of the world but spend some of their time in Dubai. Doug asked if I could help them out because they wanted to race in America. I have helped Doug find a lot of horses and several have done well."

Foley said he initially thought Plus Que Parfait would prefer turf racing to dirt, "but after his third or fourth workout Brendan said he thought he was going to be a dirt horse."

Plus Que Parfait broke his maiden in impressive fashion at Keeneland last Oct. 7 in his third career start. Ridden by Ricardo Santana Jr. that day, Plus Que Parfait pressed the early pace and following a sustained stretch drive got a nose in front at the wire, defeating eventual grade 2 winner Harvey Wallbanger and grade 3 winner Cutting Humor. Completing his 2-year-old campaign with a second in the Kentucky Jockey Club Stakes (G2) over a sloppy surface Nov. 24 at Churchill Downs, Plus Que Parfait was sent to Fair Grounds Race Course & Slots to begin his Kentucky Derby quest.

In two starts at the Louisiana oval, the 3-year-old was fifth in the Jan. 19 LeComte Stakes (G3) and 13th, beaten more than 20 lengths, in the Feb. 16 Risen Star Stakes presented by Lamarque Ford (G2).

"It was my decision to send him to Louisiana because I thought it would be an easier route to the Kentucky Derby," Foley said. "I don't think he liked it there."

Returned to Walsh's barn at Palm Meadows, Plus Que Parfait impressed the trainer's team with his works, and they were persuaded to send him to Dubai.

"Brendan has done a super job with this horse," Foley said.

Foley was not in Dubai for the UAE Derby, having been shopping The Gulfstream Sale, Fasig-Tipton's Selected 2-Year-Olds in Training Sale earlier in the week, and elected to watch the race on his mobile phone while sitting in his car.

Considering Foley's track record while in attendance for races, it was probably for the best.

"I just feel like most of the horses do well when I'm not there," he said. "I went out to my car, watched it on my phone because most of my success has come when I'm watching it from my car on the phone. If he goes to the Derby I might just go out to my car and watch it from the parking lot."

Foley said Plus Que Parfait will be sent to either Churchill Downs or Keeneland, depending upon logistics, within a week "and everything has to go well for us to go to the Derby."