In the aftermath of Godolphin’s REGAL RANSOM (Distorted Humor) and DESERT
PARTY (Street Cry [Ire]) dominating the finish of Saturday’s U.A.E. Derby
(UAE-G2), trainer Saeed bin Suroor and racing manager Simon Crisford have
confirmed that the two colts will aim for the May 2 Kentucky Derby (G1).
“Regal Ransom has improved a lot and both will now go for the Kentucky
Derby,” bin Suroor told godolphin.com. “I was happy with them, though I think we
will see Desert Party run better races in the future.
“The fact that they finished 15 lengths clear of the third (Soy Libriano)
shows they are two very good horses.”
“We are planning to send both the first and second to America for the
Kentucky Derby if they come out of this all right,” Crisford said. “We were
expecting Desert Party to beat Regal Ransom. I don’t think Desert Party was
quite at his best tonight and did not really pick up when Frankie (Dettori)
asked him.
“Both horses ran super races and they are legitimate contenders for the
Kentucky Derby. Regal Ransom has always worked well and he ran well last time.
He had the run of the race tonight, he kicked clear in the straight and it looks
like a speed-favoring track.
“They will ship to Churchill, and we will wait until closer to the Kentucky
Derby to decide if both run, or we leave one for the Preakness S. ([G1] on May
16), but we will cross that bridge when we get to it,” the racing manager added.
“We are very pleased to have two possible contenders for the Kentucky Derby.”