Salloom heads competitive Dubai Road to the Kentucky Derby field Friday

Salloom heads a competitive field in Race 7 at Meydan today as the Dubai Road to the Kentucky Derby Stakes resumes the Euro/Mideast series with 20-10-6-4-2 points on offer to the top five. The Listed 1,900-meter test - about 1 3/16 miles - carries a purse reported as $217,760 by TDN and $218,210 by Pressbox and HorseRacingNation, and has a post time of 1:10 p.m. Eastern.

Owned by Prince Abdullah Bin Al Aziz and Sons and trained by Bhupat Seemar, Salloom will break from gate 7 with Tadhg O’Shea aboard after a one-mile debut victory at Meydan on Jan. 30 in which he won by 6 3/4 lengths. Bred in Kentucky by Machmer Hall and by Authentic out of Rumandice (Congrats), Salloom scraped into the calendar after being scratched from a planned December debut; Seemar says, “Salloom is doing great and I think he came out of the last race really well. He's ready to go again and take his chance but I hope he behaves in the gate. That's the biggest thing.”

Entries for the Feb. 20 card were reported as 14 initially by Pressbox and HorseRacingNation, while BloodHorse lists the final field at 12 after two nonrunners were declared. Besides Salloom, Seemar has multiple runners declared including Lino Padrino and Omaha Front, and HorseRacingNation names other entrants such as Senator of the State, Watch Collector, Brotherly Love, Raajehh, Al Khawaneej, Duke of Immatin, Knight of Glory, Sary Shayan, Fire D’Oro and Yu Pharoah - the latter a son of American Pharoah switching from turf to dirt for the first time after eight grass starts.

Notable by his absence is Six Speed (Not This Time), the G3 UAE 2000 Guineas winner who vaulted to the top of the Euro/Mideast leaderboard with 20 points and is being trained up to the G2 UAE Derby on March 28. The UAE Derby awards 100 points to the winner and is widely understood to effectively lock up an automatic Kentucky Derby bid; Kentuckyderby.com noted that “If Salloom passes that test, he could join Six Speed in the March 28 UAE Derby (G2).”

The regional road intersects with the Japan Road this weekend as well, with the Listed Hyacinth Stakes at Tokyo Racecourse slated Sunday as a one-turn mile carrying a purse of $245,100 and serving the Japan Road to the Kentucky Derby. Back in Dubai, the Meydan card also includes the GIII UAE Oaks in Race 3 with a 10:50 a.m. Eastern post time, and the Dubai prep remains a vital stepping stone for Dubai-trained Triple Crown nominees like Lino Padrino and Omaha Front as they weigh a transcontinental path toward the Run for the Roses.

Connections of several entrants listed by HorseRacingNation - including Brotherly Love, Raajehh, Watch Collector, Duke of Immatin, Knight of Glory, Senator of the State, Sary Shayan and Fire D’Oro - can still buy into the U.S. Triple Crown with a $6,000 late nomination fee due by Monday, April 6. With 20 points up for grabs and the UAE Derby’s 100-point prize looming on March 28, owners and local racing economies in Dubai are watching whether Salloom’s jump in distance and Seemar’s gate concerns will materialize into a path to Kentucky. Share your pick for Meydan’s 1,900-meter test and weigh in on whether Salloom can make the trip to the UAE Derby.