Dubai Sky Dazzling at Every Point in Spiral Win

Dubai Sky Dazzling at Every Point in Spiral Win: Overcoming the far outside post and a swift pace, Dubai Sky proved victorious in the G3 Spiral Stakes at Turfway Park. Owned by Three Chimneys Farm and Besilu Stables, and trained by Bill Mott, the son of Candy Ride improved his record to 5-4-0-1 and earned 50 Kentucky Derby qualifying points. If the connections nominate him by March 23, they can enter the big race in May.

How impressive was Dubai Sky? From start to finish there were no holes in his performance.

Horses that break from the widest spot in two-turn races need to clear quickly to avoid being caught wide on the first turn. Dubai Sky cleared the outside horses, although he remained slightly wide. Going wide on a turn is less concerning if the pace goes slow. If the pace runs swiftly, then losing ground becomes a larger problem because the horse expends more energy in order to keep up. The pace went at a quick tempo for nine furlongs, with the opening quarter in 22.99 seconds and Dubai Sky running less than three lengths off the leader.

In the middle portion, Dubai Sky still ran four wide as the half went in 47.57 seconds. By this time, the leader Watchyourownbobber felt the effects of the pace and began to fade. Royal Son, the morning line favorite trained by Todd Pletcher, and Wireless Future continued to battle on with Dubai Sky. But at the six furlong point, Wireless Future faded too and Royal Son looked tired.

Turning for home after six furlongs in 1:12.09, Conquest Typhoon and Mike Smith tried to make the race interesting. They ranged up on the outside. As soon as they did, Dubai Sky turned them away and drew off decisively for the win. Dubai Sky reached the mile in 1:36.98 and finished the race in 1:50.26, a good finish considering the opening quarter. Conquest Typhoon held off a mild rally from Firespike to keep second. Task Force Glory came late for fourth in a complete reversal of the John Battaglia Memorial where he lost by 22 lengths. Neither Firespike or Task Force Glory made a serious threat though.

Dubai Sky’s final winning margin of 2 1/4 lengths may not look impressive to some observers. Because synthetic racing resembles turf racing more than dirt, the margins usually never result in a blowout. Without a doubt, Dubai Sky proved best and did not receive any special breaks to help his cause.

Now, the connections must decide whether to pay the late nomination fee for the Derby. If they decide to go, the distance should suit his pedigree. Just a quick glance at Dubai Sky’s profile shows influences such as Cryptoclearance, Danzig and the outstanding broodmare Toussaud in his third generation. Toussaud was the dam of several notable route runners and breeding influences including Empire Maker and Chester House. In addition, Dubai Sky’s full brother Twirling Candy won multiple route races at the graded stakes level including the nine furlong G2 Californian in 2011.

One slight concern might come from whether Dubai Sky handles dirt or not. Twirling Candy’s wins came mostly on synthetic and turf. He ended up taking the G1 Malibu and G2 Strub on dirt late in his career. Even so, Twirling Candy arguably seemed better on the other two surfaces.

Since Dubai Sky’s career debut where he finished third, the colt has won four straight races. His previous efforts tricked some handicappers into thinking he was slow. When analyzing developing three-year-olds, the speed figures are not always reliable predictors of their next performance. With elite connections and a superb route pedigree, Dubai Sky appears destined towards a bright future.

Spiral Stakes 2015 Dubai Sky Replay: