5 Fast Facts: UAE Derby

Mar 30, 2018 Jennifer Caldwell/Brisnet.com

1. Mubtaahij established the current time record for the race when going about 1 3/16 miles in 1:58.35 on March 28, 2015; it is, however, not the fastest running of the race, just the quickest since Meydan switched to dirt that same year. The fastest UAE Derby was run in the second edition by Express Tour, who clocked 1:47.04 over the dirt at the old Nad al Sheba track on March 25, 2001.
2. Express Tour’s fastest running of the UAE Derby came at the expense of Street Cry, who just missed by a short head. Street Cry returned the next year for a 4 1/4-length romping win in the Dubai World Cup (UAE-G1). He is the only UAE Derby runner to sire a Kentucky Derby winner, thanks to 2 1/4-length score by son Street Sense in the first jewel of the 2007 Triple Crown.
3. Street Cry isn’t the only UAE Derby runner to return the next year and triumph in the Dubai World Cup. Moon Ballad finished fourth in the 2002 edition before scoring in the 2003 Dubai World Cup over Harlan’s Holiday, and Invasor was fourth in the 2006 UAE Derby but 1 3/4 lengths the best in the Dubai World Cup 12 months later;
4. In 18 runnings of the UAE Derby, 10 winners have gone on to try the Kentucky Derby. However, there was a period from 2004 through 2008 when not a single starter from the UAE Derby showed up under the Twin Spires on the first Saturday in May.
5. No UAE Derby winner has managed to break the top three in the Run for the Roses. China Visit, victor of the inaugural running of the race, earned the closest finish when sixth in 2000. Master of Hounds, who just missed by a nose in the 2011 UAE Derby, recorded the best finish of any starter from that race, running fifth while beaten 5 1/2 total lengths by that year’s Kentucky Derby hero, Animal Kingdom.