As expected, Godolphin's new recruit Discreet Cat ran out the facile winner of a mile conditions race on the Nad Al Sheba dirt Thursday night to secure his berth in the UAE Derby (UAE-II) in just over two weeks time.A good performance in that classic, over nine furlongs on the same dirt surface, could see him take his chance in the May 6 Kentucky Derby (gr. I). The 3-year-old son of Forestry, a good winner for Stanley Hough on his sole previous outing, was never extended to win on Thursday, albeit a weak race, but he posted a fair time given the ease of his victory.
Trainer Saeed Bin Suroor was delighted: "He is a very nice colt and has been improving all the time in his work. We were very hopeful of a big run and he has done it very well. That will have done his confidence the power of good and next step is the UAE Derby. How he gets on there will determine whether he goes to Kentucky or not." Godolphin racing manager Simon Crisford added: "We are really pleased and that is a very nice introduction. Hopefully he will come back for the UAE Derby as long as he is okay in the morning. He is a really nice colt who had been training well and we were hopeful he would win well. It is a relief when they actually do it though."