Brotherly Love, Labwah, Fairy Glen, and Al Nayyir shined on the night at Meydan
- Turf Diario
- 10 hours ago
- 3 min read
They won the Dubai Road to the Kentucky Derby (L), the UAE Oaks (G3), the Balanchine (G2), and the Nad Al Sheba Trophy (G3), respectively
DUBAI, United Arab Emirates (Special for Turf Diario).- The road to Churchill Downs had a British accent on Friday night at the Dubai Racing Carnival. Trainer Jamie Osborne once again proved that he enjoys international adventures as Brotherly Love took the Dubai Road to the Kentucky Derby (L-1900 m, dirt), securing 20 qualifying points for the Kentucky Derby (G1) for the first time in the race's history.
In Meydan, the race had drama before the start when the favorite Salloom (Authentic) broke loose from the gates and was scratched. With an intense pace from the jump, the development proved ideal for Brotherly Love, who was constantly urged by Saffie Osborne until entering the straight. There, he changed leads and surged past with authority to defeat Duke Of Immatin (Gun Runner) by 2 lengths.
“He is looking more and more like his brother in ability and temperament,” commented Saffie, recalling that last year Heart of Honor (Honor A.P.)—a half-brother to the winner—had finished second in this same competition. “Last year was devastating to lose by so little; this is sweet revenge.” Both are out of the Chilean mare Ruby Love (Scat Daddy).
Osborne senior celebrated his sixth victory of the Carnival and did not hide his satisfaction: “Last summer everything about him screamed dirt. When the pace was strong early, I knew it suited us.”
Meanwhile, the experienced Al Nayyir achieved his first victory in Dubai since 2023 by winning the Nad Al Sheba Trophy (G3-2810 m, turf). Now under the tutelage of Tom Clover and with Rossa Ryan in the irons, the 8-year-old returned after 6 months away and defeated the favorite Sunway (Galiway) by half a length.
The victory grants him an automatic pass to the Dubai Gold Cup (G2-3200 m) on World Cup Day. “He is going to improve a lot with this outing and the extra 400 meters will suit him even better,” Ryan noted.
In the UAE Oaks (G3), with 50 points at stake for the Kentucky Oaks (G1), Labwah dominated from start to finish under the guidance of Brazilian Bernardo Pinheiro and won by 7 1/2 lengths. A daughter of Charlatan trained by Salem bin Ghadayer, she left the door open for both the Oaks and the UAE Derby (G2).
“I will speak with Sheikh Hamdan,” said the trainer. “She is ready for either option.”
The evening was perfect for Sheikh Hamdan when Fairy Glen (Farhh) conquered the Balanchine Stakes (G2-1800 m, turf) with Mickael Barzalona, the strongest race of the day.
Richard Spencer added another success for the United Kingdom when Run Boy Run (Rajasinghe) won the DEEPAL S07 Handicap (1000 m, turf). Meanwhile, Khanjar (Kodiac) returned to victory on the dirt (1400 m), and Magic Art (Good Magic) won with authority in the opening mile for Bhupat Seemar and Tadhg O’Shea to break his maiden.
The Carnival will continue on February 28 with the Emirates Super Saturday, the prelude to the great night of March 28. But the headline was already made by Brotherly Love: with points in his pocket and cold blood on the dirt, the dream of the Kentucky Derby stopped being a distant illusion and began to take real shape from the Dubai desert.
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