Forever Young headed to Kentucky Derby

The Japanese connections of the 3-year-old colt Forever Young have made no secret of their desire to run the horse in the Kentucky Derby. The 100 qualifying points Forever Young earned winning the U.A.E. Derby on Saturday, a key cog in Churchill Downs’ Road to the Derby, assure him a spot in the field, and Forever Young leaves Dubai for Churchill on April 10.

Forever Young, trained by Yoshito Yahagi, ran his record to five wins from five starts, his Dubai success following a narrow score over the American gelding Book’em Danno in the Saudi Derby and three comfortable tallies in Japan. Saturday, Forever Young overcame a tough outside post and a wide trip beating Auto Bahn by two lengths in a race contested over 1,900 meters, about 1 3/16 miles.

Auto Bahn finished almost five lengths clear of the third-place runner, and while a colt of no great achievement, he has been progressive through the winter. Bred in Argentina on Southern Hemisphere time, Auto Bahn is considered a 4-year-old on the Northern Hemisphere calendar.

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Forever Young clocked 1:57.89, about an average time for the U.A.E. Derby, but did turn in a strong 24-second final 400 meters. That not only topped the U.A.E. Derby but was faster than any final 400 meters in the 2,000-meter Dubai World Cup.

The Timeform Rating for the race came up a 107, or roughly a low-90s Beyer Speed Figure.

“I’d say we’ll rate him an average winner of the race but with the probability that he hasn’t yet shown all he can do,” Mark Milligan, a Timeform handicapper in England, said Sunday. “I suspect he’s the sort of horse who just wins without being flashy and could well raise his game further against stronger opposition.”

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Forever Young, who is by Real Steel, will be the third Japan-based U.A.E. Derby winner to start in the Kentucky Derby. In 2022, Crown Pride contested a furious pace and faded to 13th at Churchill, while Derma Sotogake was sixth in the 2023 Derby.

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