UAE Derby Winner Wonder Dean Leads International Arrivals for Derby Season

Wonder Dean arrived at Churchill Downs on Wednesday, stepping off his flight as the headline act of what shapes up as the most internationally flavored Kentucky Derby prep period in recent memory.

The Dee Majesty colt, trained by Daisuke Takayanagi, will bid to become the first Japanese-bred winner of the Run for the Roses when the May 2 race goes to post. He enters Churchill Downs carrying 106 qualifying points accumulated on the Euro/Mideast Road to the Kentucky Derby, more than enough to lock in a spot in the starting gate.

His UAE Derby victory was built on class and stamina. Six Speed, the UAE 2,000 Guineas winner trained by Bhupat Seemar, set the pace through a mile at Meydan and appeared to have the race in hand before Wonder Dean ran him down in the final furlong, winning by 2½ lengths in the $1 million Grade 2 event on March 28. It was the fifth consecutive year a Japan-bred, Japan-based runner won the UAE Derby.

Six Speed's part owner Reed Zimmer left little doubt about his colt's next destination. "He's definitely going to the U.S.," Zimmer said. "He's going to the Derby. He will 100% go to the Kentucky Derby." Trainer Seemar acknowledged the pace questions raised in Dubai. "He just didn't stay. He doesn't help himself. He's got so much speed but he needs to learn to relax. The plan is to go to Kentucky Derby next." Six Speed is scheduled to ship into Louisville on Friday, April 24.

The third international arrival, Japan invitee Danon Bourbon, touches down Tuesday, April 21. The Maxfield colt, trained by Manabu Ikezoe, secured his spot through the Japan Road to the Kentucky Derby after winning the Fukuryu Stakes at Nakayama Racecourse and banking 40 qualifying points. His path was complicated when Don Erectus matched that total in the Fukuryu, but Churchill Downs' tiebreaker rules favor lifetime earnings, and Don Erectus declined the trip to America, clearing the way for Danon Bourbon to accept the invitation.

Together, the three horses represent two separate qualification pathways, with Wonder Dean and Six Speed coming through the Euro/Mideast Road and Danon Bourbon through the Japan series. Churchill Downs rules permit up to two invitees from the Euro/Mideast track, meaning both UAE Derby finishers can co-exist in the field.

Oisin Murphy has been named to ride Wonder Dean in Louisville. If he gets the job done on the first Saturday in May, it would represent a watershed moment for Japanese thoroughbred breeding, five years in the making at Meydan.