Calvin Crain

Sheikh Hamdan Bin Mohammed Al Maktoum's Labwah (Charlatan) will face some considerable obstacles when she enters the gate for Saturday's $1-million G2 UAE Derby at Meydan Racecourse. Not only will she attempt to become just the second of her sex to beat the boys in the Road to the Kentucky Derby points race (Khawlah, 2011), she will also have to see off an always-deep challenge from Japan, whose runners have taken out the last four runnings. While the filly's Lexington-area breeder Calvin Crain wasn't prepared to make any bold predictions,...

He really does seem to have some kind of Midas touch right now. And a lot of people, hitting a formula that has paid off with such remarkable consistency, would be tempted to raise the stakes. But it's not just the fact that Tommy Wente is perfectly well acquainted with the other kind of luck, so routine in this business, that will stop him getting carried away. Because even if he believed that his model might be adapted to a higher level of the market, he would miss the sheer...