Bet On The 2013 UAE Derby

Last year’s winner of the United Arab Emirates Derby, Daddy Long Legs, will not be taking part in this year’s renewal as he sets his sights elsewhere, leaving an interesting field to battle it out for the honours on Saturday at the Meydan Racecourse in Dubai. Part of the Dubai World Cup Night, this race has a purse of $2 million, and is run over 1800m. Secret Member, so far unbeaten in his short career, heads the bookies’ favourites list, but will face stiff competition come Saturday, with Lines Of Battle especially proving to be an early punters’ favourite from the midfield. Several other winners line the field in what will make for a tightly contested affair. We look at the challengers below.

UAE Derby Race Odds

Bet365.com is the ideal place to have a bet on the 2013 UAE Derby. Bet365.com offers the best odds on the race, and is where the odds below were taken from.

Secret Member 9/4

Law Enforcement 5/1

Shuruq 7/1

Now Spun 7/1

Lines Of Battle 8/1

Keiai Leone 9/1

Dice Flavor 12/1

Zahee 12/1

He’s Had Enough 18/1

Snowboarder 25/1

Elleval 40/1

Emotif 50/1

Early doors Secret Member has been pretty well backed, and even at 9/4 looks be a decent value. The Saeed bin Suroor trained horse is unbeaten in his two starts, going away from his rivals comfortably in the listed Al Bastakiya. He won in his only start this season just three weeks ago, and should further improve on his seasonal debut, although he will face a much tougher task here. Bin Suroor has declared himself pleased with his progress, saying that he is looking very good, and has the class to run a big race. One thing to keep in mind, however, is that that win in the Al Bastakiya was the fourth slowest ever at Meydan, as well as one of the slowest finishes. The surface wasn’t running particularly slowly that day, so punters will want to bear this in mind when looking at this horse for Saturday.

Lines Of Battle, together with He’s Had Enough, only one of two horses nominated for the Triple Crown, looks to be a strong selection for the race. He won impressively in the all-weather Irish Stallion Farms EBF Star Appeal Stakes last October in Dundalk. He also impressed in the Breeders’ Cup Juvenile Turf at Santa Anita, where he was unlucky to be drawn in gate 14 and therefore had to cover 76 feet more than the winner, but actually finished with a higher average speed despite finishing six lengths behind. From gate four on Saturday, he looks good for a strong performance and could very well be the horse to beat. He will be in contention, at least.

Law Enforcement is going up on all-weather for the first time, but he has been superb on grass. He has been looking bright, and could go close, but a few questions remain over him. Shuruq, another horse trained by Saeed bin Suroor, was a very strong winner of the UAE Oaks run on this course in February, and finished a close second in the listed UAE 1000 Guineas.

Trainer Doug O’Neill believes that only a lack of concentration has contributed to his He’s Had Enough losing certain races, but with the Kentucky Derby coming up, all focus will be placed on this race. O’Neill hopes that his horse can pick up enough points to get him to the Derby, and needs at least a second place finish to get him in. He admits it will be a challenge, but insists it is one they are up for. The US contender is a maiden winner and was fifth last time out, but his best effort came when he narrowly missed out in the Grey Goose Breeders’ Cup Juvenile to Shanghai Bobby. The other US horse in the field, Dice Flavor, is coming up to the race in good condition according to trainer Paddy Gallagher. The winner of the El Camino Real Derby faces his toughest race to date, however, but is nonetheless a long shot having been steadily improving with each start that he has had.

Now Spun, in at 7s for the race, is successful in two of his three starts, and had an easy victory in the Meydan Classic over a mile in February. But he showed signs of inexperience in that race, and he will have to improve to challenge on Saturday. He also won his mile maiden at Wolverhampton in October in a similar race.

The race takes place at CET 15:25/ EST 10:25

Where To Bet On The 2013 UAE Derby

The best racebook to place a bet on the UAE Derby is with Bet365.com, where the best odds on the race are offered. When visiting Bet365.com, click ‘Horse Racing’ in the left sidebar and scroll down to the Antepost section of the page, where you will find all the markets for this race

About The Race

The UAE Derby forms part of the Dubai World Cup Night and is run over 1800 metres. With a purse of $2 million, it attracts a lot of betting action on an annual basis. Check out the race’s wiki page to learn more on the event.