Mubtaahij Breezes Three Furlongs

Sheikh Mohammed bin Khalifa Al Maktoum’s G2 UAE Derby hero Mubtaahij (Ire) (Dubawi {Ire}) breezed an easy three furlongs in :37.40 at Churchill Downs Thursday with jockey Christophe Soumillon aboard.The bay was clocked his first eighth in :13.20 and completed a half-mile gallop-out in :52.40. 

“It was a very easy work just to stretch his legs,” trainer Mike de Kock said. “It just gets them breathing a little bit deeper, gets the blood oxygenated, lets them stretch and get the circulation going into the muscles. I just told [Christophe] to let him stretch his legs out over the last 400 and just enjoy himself.” 

This was the first work at Churchill Downs for Mubtaahij, who had been training at Arlington Park since his arrival in the U.S. De Kock has been quite pleased with his charge since his arrival in Louisville. 

“He goes out there to work and he doesn’t flinch, he doesn’t balk, he doesn’t sweat up, he doesn’t behave like an idiot,” de Kock said. “He’s doing everything right.”