Connections of Transcend are angling for an invitation to the Dubai World Cup after the 5-year-old son of Wild Rush led throughout to win the Grade 1, $2.2 million February Stakes at Tokyo on Sunday.
Calvin Borel won the Meydan Masters International jockey competition at Meydan Racecourse on Friday, a night when trainer Mike de Kock scored a one-two knockout in the Group 2, $200,000 Balanchine Stakes with River Jetez and Reem.
Transcend will prepare for his March 26 date in the Godolphin Mile at Tokyo Racecourse on Sunday when he takes on Furioso in the $2.2 million February Stakes, a Grade 1 one-mile dirt race that his been won in recent years by Japanese dirt champions Espoir City and Kane Hekili.
Derbaas held off the late challenge of Raihana to win the Group 2, $250,000 Al Fahidi Fort on Thursday night at Meydan, where Calvin Borel leads the Meydan Masters jockey challenge after the first two legs of the four-race series.
The in-form Aspectoflove meets the off-the-layoff Strawberrydaiquiri in an intriguing running of the Group 2, $200,000 Balanchine Stakes at Meydan on Friday night when Calvin Borel will ride in legs 3 and 4 of the Meydan Masters jockey competition.
The Group 2, $250,000 Al Fahidi Fort, the second of three local stepping-stones to the $5 million Dubai Duty Free at Meydan, is a wide open affair Thursday night, lacking a standout, in which a pair of fillies could steal the show.
To the Glory signaled that he will be a force to be reckoned with in Japan this year when he beat a top-class field in the Grade 2, $1.4 million Kyoto Kinen at Kyoto Racecourse on Sunday.
The Grade 2, $1.4 million, Kyoto Kinen, to be run at Kyoto Racecourse on Sunday at 1 3/8 miles on turf, has become a keen pointer to Japanese hopes in Dubai in recent years.
Zanzamar was an unlucky runner-up in the Group 3, $250,000 UAE 2000 Guineas at Meydan on Thursday night as Splash Point took advantage of his rival’s trouble in escaping with a one-length victory.
Calvin Borel has been selected to represent the United States in the Meydan Masters jockey competition at Meydan Racecourse in Dubai on Feb. 17-18.
