In what has already been a lucrative international trip, the connections of the speedy 3-year-old, Pinehurst will target more riches March 26 at Meydan in the $1 million UAE Derby Sponsored by Mubadala (G2).
Last month Pinehurst earned $900,000 with his front-end victory in the Al Rajhi Bank Saudi Derby (G3) as the son of Twirling Candy courageously fended off multiple challengers in the stretch in that one-turn test, contested at about a mile. The 2021 Runhappy Del Mar Futurity (G1) winner has earned more than $1.2 million for owners SF Racing, Starlight Racing, Madaket Stables, Robert E. Masterson, Stonestreet Stables, Jay A. Schoenfarber, Waves Edge Capital, Catherine Donovan, Golconda Stable, and Siena Farm and would secure another $580,000 with a victory Saturday.
To grab that victory at Meydan, Pinehurst will have to successfully stretch out to 1,900 meters (1 3/16 miles)—the longest race of his career to date. While the distance could present a challenge for Pinehurst, who finished fifth in last year's 1 1/16-mile TVG Breeders' Cup Juvenile Presented by Thoroughbred Aftercare Alliance (G1), the often speed-favoring surface at Meydan may prove to his liking.
Besides offering a lucrative purse, the UAE Derby also awards 170 Road to the Kentucky Derby qualifying points to the top four finishers (100-40-20-10). But Pinehurst is trained by Bob Baffert and Churchill Downs this year is not awarding any points to horses he trains. Baffert is contesting the track's actions in court.
Baffert also is appealing a 90-day suspension issued by the Kentucky Horse Racing Commission. As a regulatory suspension, that action would be honored by all other racing states and major international jurisdictions. While a Kentucky court on Monday denied a stay of that suspension, it pushed the start date from March 22 to April 4 to allow time for an appeal.
As for Saturday's race, the field features 16 entries, including 13 3-year-olds bred on Northern Hemisphere time as well as a trio of runners bred on Southern Hemisphere time. The Southern Hemisphere horses each will carry 59.5 kilograms (131 pounds)—4.5 kilograms (10 pounds) more than the Northern Hemisphere horses. (As the Southern Hemisphere horses are considered 4-year-olds in the U.S., they're ineligible for Road to the Kentucky Derby qualifying points.)
Besides Pinehurst, the UAE Derby field features two other U.S.-trained runners in Get Back Goldie, who won a conditions race at Meydan last month, and grade 3-placed Gilded Age. Doug O'Neill trains Get Back Goldie, a son of Goldencents , for owners W C Racing, Aldabaugh, Wonderland, and Goldstein. Grandview Equine and Don Alberto Stable's Gilded Age will make his first start since finishing third in last month's Withers Stakes (G3) at Aqueduct. The son of Medaglia d'Oro is trained by Bill Mott.
Leading the international runners are Argentine-bred Irwin, who won a pair of group 1 races in 2021 in Argentina, and Japan-based stakes winner Sekifu, who finished third in the Saudi Derby.
Godolphin will send out a pair of runners in Island Falcon, a two-time winner looking to bounce back from an eighth-place finish in the Saudi Derby; and Japan-bred Combustion, winner of this year's Hyacinth Stakes at Tokyo Racecourse.
