Arabian Knight gets back to work with eye on Kentucky Derby points

ARCADIA, Calif. – The brilliant and unseasoned Arabian Knight, who went 19 days without a workout during the Santa Anita wet-weather track closures, is back on the tab. An early favorite for the Kentucky Derby after runaway wins in a maiden sprint at Keeneland and Grade 3 Southwest at Oaklawn Park in January, Arabian Knight worked five furlongs Saturday in 59.20.

Arabian Knight is owned by Amr Zedan, whose racing manager is noted California clocker Gary Young. The Santa Anita work was the day’s third-fastest at five furlongs.

“It wasn’t supposed to be overly fast,” Young said. “To look at [the work], it’s hard to believe he went that fast. But he did go that fast. He looked terrific.”

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Tim Yakteen is the new trainer for Arabian Knight, who was previously trained by Bob Baffert. It is not clear why Arabian Knight did not follow a Feb. 13 comeback work by working again a week later, prior to the Santa Anita training interruption, but the issue is moot, Young said.

“Missing a work in February is not going to lose you the Derby in May,” Young said. “Especially since he’s got a two-turn race in him. He’s a beast.”

Arabian Knight, however, is a beast without points. He earned no Derby points winning the Southwest due to the Churchill Downs/Baffert ban. Arabian Knight probably must finish first or second in an upcoming points race to ensure a berth in the Kentucky Derby. One option for Arabian Knight is the Grade 1 Santa Anita Derby on April 8. A decision on his next start is pending.

Yakteen also trains San Felipe winner Practical Move, whose 60 points already ensures him a Kentucky Derby berth. Practical Move is a candidate for the Santa Anita Derby. If both start in the Santa Anita Derby, Arabian Knight likely would be favored over Practical Move.

O’Neill duo flourishing in Dubai

California-based trainer Doug O’Neill this winter sent a pair of 3-year-olds to Dubai – Tall Boy and Ah Jeez.

“So far, it’s played out perfectly,” O’Neill said.

Has it ever. Tall Boy scored his first win Feb. 10 in the Group 3 UAE 2000 Guineas; Ah Jeez won an allowance on Feb. 24. Both races were at Meydan.

Tall Boy and Ah Jeez have done well since.

“Both came out in great shape, and both are on for the UAE Derby,” O’Neill said this week.

The Group 2 UAE Derby on March 25 offers 100 Kentucky Derby qualifying points to the winner, 40 to the runner-up. At a mile and three-sixteenths, the UAE Derby will be the longest either colt has raced. The distance suits Tall Boy.

“I don’t see that being a problem at all,” O’Neill said. “He’s always acted like he’s got tremendous stamina. The biggest questions were how he would travel to Dubai and how he would settle in. He’s checked those boxes. He seems like he’s flourishing. The added distance I think will only be a benefit for him.”

Before shipping to Dubai, Tall Boy finished fourth in the Grade 2 Los Alamitos Futurity, which turned out to be a productive race. The winner, Practical Move, scored an emphatic win Saturday in the San Felipe at Santa Anita.

O’Neill acknowledged the UAE Derby is a potential challenge for Ah Jeez.

“He’s still kind of a question mark at that distance,” the trainer said. “His stallion, Mendelssohn, won the UAE Derby, so we have that going for us.”

After winning the UAE Derby by more than 18 lengths, Mendelssohn subsequently finished last in the 2018 Kentucky Derby over a sloppy track. The Dubai-to-Kentucky Derby challenge is historically difficult. Ten winners of the UAE Derby made their next start in the Kentucky Derby. The best finish was a seventh by Lines of Battle in 2013.

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Henry Q is another O’Neill-trained 3-year-old taking a circuitous route to the Kentucky Derby. Henry Q scored a 14 3/4-length victory Feb. 28 in the Mine That Bird Derby at Sunland Park while racing for trainer Todd Fincher.

Henry Q will stay with Fincher at Sunland to prepare for the 50-points-to-the-winner Sunland Derby on March 26. O’Neill said Henry Q “will ideally run well, come out of it well, and then he’ll go to our barn in Kentucky.”

Henry Q earned a 93 Beyer winning the Mine That Bird Derby under Edwin Maldonado, who rides him back in the Sunland Derby. Henry Q raced with Lasix his last three starts, including a maiden win two starts back.

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