Gold Town remained unbeaten on dirt and undefeated in Dubai with an easy win in Thursday’s Group 3 United Arab Emirates 2000 Guineas at Meydan Racecourse.

Gold Town is scheduled to have his next start in the $2 million UAE Derby at 1 3/16 miles on March 31 at Meydan. If he wins the UAE Derby, Gold Town might be pointed to the Kentucky Derby, said trainer Charlie Appleby.

Ridden by William Buick for Sheikh Mohammed’s Godolphin Racing, Gold Town led throughout the UAE 2000 Guineas at a mile, cruising to victory by 10 1/4 lengths over the longshot Gotti.

How far they’ll travel along the Triple Crown trail is open to question, but several of the 3-year-olds in Saturday’s $100,000 El Camino Real Derby at Golden Gate Fields look like serious candidates for this spring’s Kentucky Derby preps. The 1 1/8-mile Tapeta race has drawn a field of nine, including Choo Choo and Mugaritz, the one-two finishers in the California Derby at Golden Gate last month; City Plan, winner of the Gold Rush there in December; and Southern California maiden winners Paved, Blended Citizen, and Calexman.

He has two entered in the Risen Star Stakes this Saturday at Fair Grounds and likely will have three in the Southwest Stakes on Monday at Oaklawn Park. And there are several more who could make late impacts on the Kentucky Derby trail. These are heady days for Steve Asmussen, who has as much depth as any trainer with this year’s crop of 3-year-olds as he tries to tick off the one box still left open on his résumé.

Principe Guilherme

Tapit–Aubby K, by Street Sense

Bred in Kentucky by Three Chimneys Farm ($600,000 purchase by Mill Valley Racing at 2015 Fasig-Tipton Kentucky fall selected mixed sale)

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WHO’S HOT

HOT SPRINGS, Ark. – Seven Trumpets will be making his two-turn debut Feb. 19 in the Grade 3, $500,000 Southwest Stakes at Oaklawn. He may be joined in the race by stablemate Promises Fulfilled, said trainer Dale Romans.

HOT SPRINGS, Ark. – Sporting Chance, the most accomplished young horse on the grounds at Oaklawn as the winner of last year’s Grade 1 Hopeful at Saratoga, put in a sharp final work Monday for his 3-year-old debut. He is being pointed for the Grade 3, $500,000 Southwest on Feb. 19.

HALLANDALE BEACH, Fla. – Dale Romans thrives on controlled chaos. With a handful of hopefuls for the 2018 Kentucky Derby, Romans is doing his level best to cut through all the clutter and various options and make it back home to Louisville with one shot or more at the roses.

Grade 3, $200,000 Sam F. Davis Stakes, 1 1/16 miles, Tampa Bay Downs, Feb. 10, 2018
(10 Derby qualifying points for a win, 4 for second, 2 for third, 1 for fourth)

Winner: Flameaway, by Scat Daddy
Trainer: Mark Casse
Jockey: Jose Lezcano
Owner: John C. Oxley
Beyer Speed Figure: 92

The mutuel field closed as a clear-cut favorite over the nearly inseparable duo of Good Magic and Bolt d’Oro after three days of betting into Pool 2 of the 2018 Kentucky Derby Future Wager. The pool opened Friday at noon Eastern and ran through 6 p.m. Sunday.