Kentucky Derby 2026: Six Speed romps at Meydan

The Group 3 UAE 2000 Guineas on Friday at Meydan carried Kentucky Derby qualifying points for the first time, and Six Speed now has 20 of them after dominating the race for trainer Bhupat Seemar and jockey Mickael Barzalona.

The Not This Time colt recently was purchased by U.S.-based owners Brunetti Dugan Stables, Black Type Thoroughbreds, Steve Adkisson and Swinbank Stables. They now can dream about the first Saturday in May after his all-the-way win, where he crossed the wire five lengths clear of Devon Island.

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“We didn’t know if he would get the (one-mile) distance, but the good ones have speed and stamina,” said Seemar. “He breaks well, he sits up there on the speed, and he’s every trainer and jockey’s dream.

“The new owners are based in the U.S. and they probably bought him with an eye to Kentucky, so it’s great when someone has that much faith in us.”

The UAE 2000 Guineas offered 20-10-6-4-2 points on the Europe and Mideast spur of the road to the Kentucky Derby. Those points went to Six Speed, Devon Island, Union Security, Lino Padrino and Raajehh, respectively. The 20 points put Six Speed second in the Europe and Mideast standings. Aidan O'Brien trainee Hawk Mountain also has 20 points but leads the tiebreaker of non-restricted stakes earnings.

Six Speed's win in the UAE 2000 Guineas extends his career record to 4: 3-0-1. His only defeat came on debut in a maiden special weight at Meydan on Nov. 7. In that six-furlong sprint he finished third, beaten 8 1/2 lengths by UAE 2000 Guineas third-place finisher Union Security. He has won all three starts since, finishing ahead of Union Security in each of those three outings.