The Feb. 20 UAE Oaks (G3), a stop on the Churchill Downs Road to the Kentucky Oaks, was no puzzle for the fans or punters as the favorite, Labwah, ran out an easy winner by 7 1/2 lengths for her third straight win at the Dubai World Cup Carnival.
The puzzle for her connections, now, is: Kentucky Oaks (G1) or a run against colts in the UAE Derby (G2), a virtual "win and you're in" race for the Kentucky Derby (G1).
The 3-year-old Charlatan filly, bred in Kentucky by Calvin Crain, showed the way in the UAE Oaks and obviously enjoyed stretching out to 1,900 meters (about 1 3/16 miles). After leading early, she responded to challenges turning into the straight but by the 200-meter marker she had left no doubt. With Bernardo Pinheiro in the irons, she stopped the timer at 2:00.57.
"I got a soft lead, to be honest," Pinheiro said. "But she has a wonderful mind. She sits, relaxes, does everything I ask. She has a bright future as she's proved she stays the distance. It will be interesting to see how far she goes."
Trainer Salem bin Ghadayer said distance is not a concern.
"She's out of a middle-distance dam and a 10-furlong stallion so the distance was an advantage for her. We came here confident," he said.
Facing the choice now between running against colts in the UAE Derby (G2) on World Cup night or pursuing the Kentucky Oaks, he added, "I will go back to His Highness Sheikh Hamdan (bin Mohammed Al Maktoum) as she was his pick from the breeze-up sale. I will ask him what he wants to do. But she is ready for both options."
Out of the War Chant mare War Tigress, Labwah got her first win at 1,400 meters (about 7 furlongs). Moving right up to the main preview for the Oaks, the Cocoa Beach Stakes, she hooked up in a tight duel with Tjareed, swapped the lead and prevailed by a head while going 1,600 meters (about 1 mile).
After that tussle, the Oaks distance proved quite suitable.
She earned 50 points on the Road to the Kentucky Oaks leaderboard, placing her second behind only Bella Ballerina, winner of the Rachel Alexandra (G2) and 2025 Golden Rod (G2) stakes.
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Elsewhere on the card
Despite having three of the six runners, Godolphin suffered a rare defeat on the Meydan turf as Fairy Glen, with Mickael Barzalona up for Simon and Ed Crisford, powered to a three-quarter-length victory in the Balanchine (G2T) for fillies and mares. The Farhh mare usually is seen going much longer than the 1,800 meters (about 1 1/8 miles) of the Balanchine but willingly took the lead from Godolphin's overeager Blue Nazare and held off Riyabovka.
Dubai Treasure and Dubai Beach were third and fourth, respectively, for Sheikh Mohammed's team and Blue Nazare, who frustrated jockey William Buick's efforts to relax her early, faded to finish sixth.
In the nightcap, Al Nayyir, an 8-year-old Dubawi gelding, chased down Sunway in the final 100 meters of the Nad Al Sheba Trophy (G3T) and won by a neck. Sunway appeared headed for the winner's enclosure before jockey Rossa Ryan kicked Al Nayyir into gear in the marathon, a preview of the Dubai Gold Cup (G2T) on World Cup night.
Godolphin's By the Book was up for third with a mild, late rally under Buick.
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