The sorting-out process for foreign-trained Kentucky Derby (G1) prospects ran through semifinal heats in weekend racing in Dubai and Japan, turning up some new names to watch.
Brotherly Love, a half brother to a 2025 Preakness Stakes (G1) and Belmont Stakes (G1) runner Heart of Honor, led the way with a victory in the Dubai Road to the Kentucky Derby Stakes Feb. 20 at Meydan Racecourse.
Tokyo Racecourse takes the baton Feb. 22 with the Hyacinth Stakes, penultimate heat in the Japan Road to the Kentucky Derby. Both jurisdictions stage the final tests in the series March 28.
Brotherly Love came with a late rush outside rivals to win the Dubai race by 2 lengths, avenging Heart of Honor's narrow defeat in the same race a year earlier and earning 20 points on the Euro/Mideast Road to the Kentucky Derby leaderboard.
While the finish was exciting enough for owners Jim and Claire Bryce and trainer and jockey Jamie and Saffie Osborne, the start was a mess.
First, Knight of Glory threw a fit behind the gate, rearing repeatedly and dislodging part of his gear. The crew eventually got him into his stall but his continued antics proved contagious with several other horses also acting up.
Then, Salloom, favorite on the international markets and a bad actor earlier in his career, caught the bug, reared, broke through the barrier, and was scratched.
Once the remaining 3-year-olds were sent on their way, Brotherly Love, a Zoustar colt out of the Scat Daddy mare Ruby Love, lingered well back in the field until Saffie Osborne got his engine revving. He swung outside and was flying at the end. Duke of Immatin was best of the rest, followed by Lino Padrino, Sary Shayan and Raajehh, who earned 10, 6, 4, and 2 points, respectively.
"I thought Brotherly Love was easier to ride than Heart of Honor but, just like Heart of Honor, he has just got progressively more lazy," Saffie Osborne said, allowing, "You don't mind them being lazy when they're doing all their best work at the right end of the race.
"His demeanor in the races is making life quite difficult for me. Just like his brother, once I really started getting into him, he found another gear and he just stays all day, this horse. This family obviously has a lot of class."
The 1,900-meter (about 1 3/16-mile) race, formerly the Al Bastakiya Stakes, seems a normal progression to the March 28 UAE Derby (G2), a 100-point race and virtual "win and you're in" for the Kentucky Derby.
The Bryces did not immediately discuss plans. But, if 2025 is any guide, American racing should be prepared.
The same connections, after seeing Heart of Honor finish second by a head in the Al Bastakiya and second by a nose to Admire Daytona in the UAE Derby, sent that colt to Baltimore, where he finished fifth in the Preakness. A well-beaten sixth-place showing in the Belmont ended his 2025 summer campaign but after two wins and a third from three starts at this year's Carnival, he remains in the mix for the Dubai World Cup (G1) March 28.
Admire Daytona used his 100 UAE Derby points to get into the Kentucky Derby starting gate, only to finish last of 19.
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Hyacinth Stakes
Much remains to be learned about the Japanese 3-year-olds vis-à-vis the Triple Crown races. The Hyacinth Stakes could provide some guidance but the ultimate winner of the series will be determined in the Fukuryu Stakes March 28—the same date as the UAE Derby.
The Hyacinth field has the second- and third-place finishers from the first leg of the series, Don Erectus and Arcadia Cafe. If nothing else, their connections' persistence could indicate interest.
Don Erectus, a Danon Legend colt, has been inconsistent. After his good run in the Cattleya Stakes to kick off the Japan Road series on Thanksgiving weekend, he finished 13th in a conditioned allowance race at Tokyo Racecourse Jan. 31. Arcadia Cafe, a Kentucky-bred by Into Mischief , has not raced since the Cattleya.
The winners of the first two legs of the series, Satono Voyage and Pyromancer, are absent. Satono Voyage forsook the Japanese competition in favor of the Middle East route, finishing third in the Saudi Derby (G3). He now has points in both the Euro/Mideast and Japan series. Pyromancer, undefeated after three starts, has not raced since the Zen-Nippon Nisai Yushun Dec. 17.
