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00:00So, as we take a look at the field for this year's UAE Derby, remember last year, Forever Young won this race before heading over and showing great success in the Kentucky Derby when finishing third.
00:12So, moving through this field, Alexa, we can start down on the inside. We have Edmire Daytona, who's coming off a fourth place finish last time out.
00:20There are four horses out of the field of nine that come in from Japan, and the two to the inside both do.
00:26What do you think about Edmire Daytona? And I guess we can even talk about the two down on the inside.
00:30Actually, one, two, and three are all part of the four that come from Japan.
00:34Yeah, they are. And the one and two just are coming out of the same race, actually, where the two beat the one by one placing in that last race, Dawn, in the mood.
00:49So, you know, the Japanese contingent gets stronger and stronger every year.
00:53I also want to comment about the pace projector, because I'm looking at it on the screen right now, because there's so many foreign horses and we don't always have all the data for all the different races around the country, which is why it looks a little bit more incomplete this week than most weeks.
01:07So that's why you're seeing that. But, yeah, the Japanese contingent is getting stronger and stronger.
01:12I think, like you said, we know now this race can definitely produce a Kentucky Derby winner because even though Forever Young didn't win it, he was a winning horse in that race.
01:23So you can't totally sleep on the Japanese contingent here. I don't know, out of the three or four in here from there, who's your favorite?
01:31Dragon was interesting. So these horses ran third, fourth and fifth, all coming out of the same race last time out. It was on February the 23rd. It was the Hyacinth over at Tokyo.
01:43I actually thought Dragon, out of those three, I preferred likely race with a little bit more upside. The horse we're looking at at 11 to 1 right now.
01:51So the 1, 2, 3 all exit the same race. They were third, fourth and fifth last time they faced each other.
01:57We'll move now to the horse who will likely be the favorite in here. That's Flood Zone for trainer Brad Cox.
02:02And he's had such an interesting career, Alexa, just so far, because it's amazing where the places you can go in horse racing.
02:09He was a Florida bred, facing Florida breds a couple of starts back. Then he's in the Gotham in New York at Aqueduct.
02:15And just a couple of starts later, he's running for a million dollars on one of the biggest racing cards of the year in the Dubai World Cup night.
02:22So, and he's going to be favored just three races later after facing Florida breds at Gulfstream Park. Pretty crazy how quickly it's happened for him.
02:30It's good. I mean, when you see a horse who's got the talent, you send them where they can make the money, right?
02:35So, it's great. And he is the one to beat. I think the question for him could be the distance. I think this is the first time going longer than a mile, I believe.
02:43So, but he definitely looks to be tough in here.
02:47Now, the number five Galactic Star is a horse that you and I will both have in our top four selections as maybe a possible horse that could upset Flood Zone if Flood Zone were to get beat.
02:57What's nice about Galactic Star, Alexa, he's lightly raced with just the three races. Two of them have come here at Maydawn.
03:04So, he's a local winner who beat a field of 14 others in his last start.
03:08Yeah, I have the same things to say about him. I mean, he's got that home field advantage, lightly raced, so that's always upside when you know you probably haven't seen the best yet.
03:18They're still learning. They're still improving. So, at 12 to 1 or plus 100, he's on my ticket.
03:24The next one up, Heart of Honor, he's never run a bad race. In his five races, he's never been worse than second with two wins and three runner-up efforts.
03:34So, I feel like he's another one of those horses who you probably want to play in exactas and trifectas and those types of wagers.
03:40What do you think about Heart of Honor?
03:42Yeah, he's a solid contender. I have him in fourth place in my selections. He's just logical. I think he can sit a good trip off the pace.
03:50When you look at the number seven Rafid's form, he won his last start, but that was in a much softer group.
03:58When he faced this type of company, two starts back and three starts back, he was a bit overmatched by Galactic Star and Heart of Honor.
04:05I had a tough time making a case for him.
04:07Yeah, I think the long odds are justified on him. They've got him at plus 4100, so I'm passing.
04:12Shin Forever, the number eight, he feels like a player. He was the runner-up in the Saudi Derby most recently.
04:19While he only has one win, he has finished second in a couple big races, so I think he at least is a top three, top four type horse in your Alexa.
04:27Yeah, most of his runs have been on the turf, so he kind of made that shift and is doing really well.
04:34So yeah, I think he's got a really big chance. He's the son of complexity. He's a really, really hot new sire.
04:40We round out the field with Queen Azteca, the number nine in here. Talk to us a little bit about the filly who won the UAE Oaks.
04:49I mean, always rooting for the girl to take down the boys, right?
04:52I don't know. It's going to be a tough place for her, going against these guys, but I think you can include her underneath.
04:59She's stretching out. She was really impressive last time, so as a fan, I'll definitely be rooting.