Kentucky Derby International Scouting Report: Six Speed

Dubai-based Six Speed was purchased privately by an American ownership group before he jumped on the Euro/Mideast Road. He repaid their investment by qualifying for the Kentucky Derby (G1) as the UAE 2000 Guineas (G3) winner and the UAE Derby (G2) runner-up. But Six Speed must defy the stats against UAE Derby alumni on the first Saturday in May.

According to the Kentucky Derby media guide, 20 horses have arrived via the UAE route, and 19 have failed to crack the superfecta at Churchill Downs. The lone exception is Japan’s Forever Young, the near-miss third in the 2024 Kentucky Derby, who was already stamping himself as an historical outlier.

Six Speed’s trainer, Bhupat Seemar, experienced that stat himself in his first attempt at the Run for the Roses in 2022. His speedy colt Summer Is Tomorrow, likewise the runner-up in his UAE Derby, set a ferocious pace and ultimately faded to last. His main contribution was teeing it up for the 80-1 Rich Strike to come from the clouds. 

While Six Speed shares superficial similarities with Summer Is Tomorrow, he has a stronger profile overall. Both were Kentucky-breds sourced at European two-year-olds in training sales, with similarly aggressive running styles. But Six Speed appears to have greater talent, a deeper pedigree, and potentially more favorable race dynamics. 

The rub is if Six Speed can stay the trip, a question that’s been at the top of Seemar’s mind every time he stepped up in distance at Meydan.

“He's brilliant – he's got tons of speed,” Seemar told the Dubai Racing Club in advance of the UAE Derby. “I hope he stays, but you can only find that out once you're in the race. If he does stay, he's a very, very serious horse.”

Six Speed didn’t quite see it out in the about 1 3/16-mile UAE Derby, where Japan’s Wonder Dean overhauled him late. He’ll need to learn from that experience and harness his energy more effectively to hang around at the finish in the Kentucky Derby. 

Kentucky-bred from a deep Phipps family

Six Speed has the pedigree to inspire hopes, although it’s not conclusive. He’s by the red-hot and versatile sire Not This Time, whose champion son Epicenter was runner-up as the favorite in that wild 2022 Derby. Not This Time’s latest star over the classic distance on dirt, Magnitude, just wired the Dubai World Cup (G1) to upset Forever Young.

Six Speed’s female line is likewise rippling with quality, but incapable of being typecast. He’s not the first Derby runner bred by KatieRich Farms, which also produced Instilled Regard, the fourth-placer as an 85-1 shot in 2018. Instilled Regard went on to become a Grade 1 winner on turf.

Like Instilled Regard, Six Speed is out of a mare who was herself a Phipps Stable blueblood. KatieRich bought Six Speed’s dam, stakes-placed Browse, for $350,000 as a broodmare at the 2021 Keeneland November Breeding Stock Sale. Her foal of that year, Pipit (by Quality Road), is a stakes-winning sprinter.

Browse, by the outstanding Medaglia d’Oro, is a half-sister to Grade 1-winning millionaire Imagining. Their dam, Grade 2 vixen Daydreaming, is a full sister (by A.P. Indy) to 2010 Vosburgh (G1) winner Girolamo, a one-turn specialist despite his pedigree.

Daydreaming’s sisters are noteworthy as Derby producers. She is a full sister to Supercharger, the dam of 2010 Derby hero Super Saver, and another sister, She’s a Winner, is responsible for 2006 Haskell (G1) victor Bluegrass Cat, runner-up in the Derby, Belmont (G1), and Travers (G1).

Scouted by the eagle-eyed O’Toole

Six Speed sold for just $50,000 as a yearling at Keeneland September. But the buyer was a giant clue that there was more here than met the eye. He was discovered by Margaret (“Mags”) O’Toole, well known for her scouting out of young prospects on both the Flat and the jumps. She clearly rated him as a worthwhile “pinhook” for resale as a juvenile.

Exported to Ireland, the colt learned the ropes at Eddie O’Leary’s Lynn Lodge Stud, whose graduates logically tend to be turf performers. But Lynn Lodge did develop a high-caliber dirt operator in Gronkowski, second to Justify in the 2018 Belmont and the near-misser to Thunder Snow in the 2019 Dubai World Cup.

Six Speed was offered at the Tattersalls Craven Breeze Up Sale, where Seemar purchased him for about $304,680. He was bought for the Blue Blood Racing Syndicate of Kamlesh Mahtani and Dhruv Sani, Seemar’s friends from his college days. 

Three-time champion UAE trainer

Recently crowned the champion trainer for the 2025-26 UAE season – this third title in just five years of operating his own stable – Seemar remains the only local trainer (i.e., not affiliated with Godolphin) to take the Dubai World Cup. That landmark victory came with Laurel River (2024), who was completing a big-race double after stablemate Tuz landed the Dubai Golden Shaheen (G1).

But Seemar has plenty of experience on the U.S. scene. He interned at Taylor Made Farm in Kentucky, the birthplace of leading 2026 contenders Renegade and Commandment, and served as an assistant to Hall of Famer Bob Baffert, who’s tied for the all-time record with six Kentucky Derby wins.

Seemar then assisted his uncle Satish, a longtime fixture in Dubai, before taking over the helm. He was an instant success, winning the trainers’ championship in his first season (2021-22) that also featured a World Cup night victory, courtesy of Switzerland in the Golden Shaheen. 

The name says it all

Six Speed’s first public appearance at Meydan came in an Oct. 29 trial. Although it was a low-key practice session, he easily strode forward and breezed home much the best. 

As a result, Six Speed was the international market favorite for his first real start on Nov. 7, the opening night of the Dubai Carnival. But he got off to a slow and awkward start that compromised his trip. After hustling from the outside post to clear the field, he tired in the stretch yet kept trying and held third.

Seemar later said that “his homework was so good” going into his debut that “he did disappoint us a little bit,” but noted that the troubled break was a factor. 

Remedial gate work was prescribed, and Six Speed benefited from the extra schooling. He promptly made amends in a conditions race over the same 1200-meter (about six-furlong) trip. Again drawn on the outside, he broke running, forced the pace, outdueled the early leader, and gradually edged away.

“I’m not sure how far will he go,” Seemar said in the postrace interview. “He does have a lot of speed – that’s why he’s called Six Speed.

“He’s a bit of a fidgety horse, so you don’t want to overcook him.”

Six Speed looked even stronger going up a furlong in the UAE 2000 Guineas Trial, sponsored by Churchill Downs. Interestingly, the yard’s go-to rider, Tadhg O’Shea, went with stablemate Lino Padrino, who was proven at the distance and ranked as the favorite. 

With no Godolphin runner involved, William Buick was available for the spare ride on Six Speed, and he worked out the winning trip. He broke well, took up a handy tracking position on the inside, and showed professionalism to sneak through a tight spot on the rail. 

Argentine-bred Legalaized was making a bold run at the same time wider out, and Six Speed found plenty to outkick him. Although a 12-pound weight concession assisted him, Six Speed still turned in a very promising performance. He drew three lengths clear of Legalaized, a listed stakes winner, with a gap back to the rest, including slow-starting Lino Padrino in fourth.

Buick was complimentary of his professional attitude, describing Six Speed as “very likable” if “not the biggest” colt.

“He does have a lot of speed, a lot of natural speed,” Buick noted, recapping that he was “quick into stride” and “in his comfort zone the whole way.” As soon as the seam appeared, “he was straight in and gone,” and “very strong at the line.”

Americans swoop ahead of the UAE 2000 Guineas

The next class and distance test would come in the UAE 2000 Guineas itself, a new addition to the Euro/Mideast Road to the Kentucky Derby. Six Speed would sport new silks in the metric mile affair, for U.S. interests had taken note of his Guineas Trial victory.

A partnership including Brunetti Dugan Stables, Jake Ballis’s Black Type Thoroughbreds, Steve Adkisson, and Swinbank Stables struck a deal to acquire the colt. Most of those names have been seen in various ownership permutations before. 

Ballis and Reagan Swinbank were part of a quartet of co-owners involved in Join in the Dance (seventh in the 2009 Kentucky Derby). Black Type, Swinbank, and Adkisson were among the partners in Grade 1-winning millionaire Sacred Wish, while Swinbank is involved (with others) in reigning Breeders’ Cup Juvenile Turf Sprint (G1) victress Cy Fair. 

Six Speed needed a new rider again for the Guineas. Buick was required for Godolphin’s favored Devon Island, and O’Shea stuck with Lino Padrino. Mickael Barzalona picked up the mount and masterminded his most impressive win so far. 

Up with the strong pace, Six Speed beat off his early rival and kept motoring by five lengths. Devon Island was no match when along for second, and Lino Padrino wilted to fourth.

“We didn’t know if he was going to get that distance,” Seemar said afterward. “Good horses have speed, and then they can have stamina, so I guess he’s probably one of them.

“He’s got so much natural speed,” Seemar continued. “He just proves us wrong….he’s just so easy, a tractable horse, he breaks well, he sits up there on the speed, and then he kicks on. He’s every jockey’s dream and every trainer’s dream, to be honest.”

Tempo takes toll in UAE Derby

Six Speed kept Barzalona aboard for the UAE Derby. O’Shea kept faith with another highly-regarded stablemate, Salloom, who had a star-crossed Carnival. Salloom’s misfortune continued in the UAE Derby, as his blindfold wasn’t released in time when the gate opened, and his race was over.

If Salloom had been able to deploy his tactical speed, how might that have affected Six Speed’s chances? I’d suspect that Six Speed was going to be faster early in any event, although Salloom might have had the stamina to track him and still be involved late. 

Six Speed dished out taxing splits, with a series of 200-meter sectionals in :10.84, :11.53, :11.52, and :11.61. He couldn’t maintain that for long, but still clocked his next two furlongs in :12.12 and :12.56 before beginning to tire.

By that point, most of the field was strung out behind him, except for Wonder Dean, who gained when Six Speed decelerated. The final 600 meters were a long, exhausting slog for Six Speed, elapsing in :12.96, :13.36, and :14.45. He was on fumes, unable to withstand Wonder Dean.

“We knew there was a chance he might not stay because he has so much speed,” Barzalona said, “but I let him roll on the way he likes. At the end, he was very tired, and it was his heart that kept him in it.”

“He just didn't stay,” Seemar summed up. “He doesn't help himself. He's got so much speed, but he needs to learn to relax.”

The final time of the UAE Derby was an uninspiring 1:59.19, although Magnitude’s time in the about 1 1/4-mile World Cup was also a slow 2:04.38.

Kentucky Derby chances

Off that evidence, Six Speed is liable to flame out at Churchill, much as Summer Is Tomorrow did. On the other hand, a direct comparison suggests that Six Speed is better. 

Summer Is Tomorrow took three tries to break his maiden, and he also lost his first two condition races before breaking through. He did not compete in the UAE Guineas or even stretch out beyond about seven furlongs until the UAE Derby. When tiring late in second, Summer Is Tomorrow did not run away from the rest of the UAE Derby field. He had just 1 1/4 lengths to spare over third; in contrast, Six Speed was six lengths clear of Godolphin’s well-fancied Japanese colt, Pyromancer.

Even if Six Speed is in principle superior to Summer Is Tomorrow, that’s not a ringing endorsement for the Derby. Seemar has other talented sophomores, as we saw with O’Shea’s riding choices, and Salloom in particular brings up the tantalizing counterfactual. If Salloom hadn’t been bedeviled by his gate issues, might he have been the one capable of flying the UAE flag to best effect?

Six Speed has a stiff task of trying to ration out his speed at this stage of his career. It’s tough to see how he manages that on the class hike here, in America’s iconic race, when he couldn’t do it on his home track at Meydan. And Wonder Dean’s not the only strong finisher on the scene. 

Moreover, Six Speed has to navigate a challenging travel protocol. Unlike Wonder Dean, who jetted in early from Dubai, Six Speed had to ship to Newmarket for a stint in quarantine before he could complete his trek to Louisville. Ironically, he found himself there during the same week as his Craven sale a year ago. 

Seemar, speaking to Racing971.ae, commented on the abrupt weather change from Dubai to cold, damp England, and on the problematic shipping arrangements:

“We have to do it the hard way this time, coming from the UAE and going through the UK. They need to make a little better system, I think, to be able to compete because when you’re going into one of the biggest races in the world against the best horses. They already have a home-court advantage, while we have to go around the world with 14 days in the UK and then to America. Unfortunately, it goes against good horses, so hopefully that will be looked into, and something can be done to streamline it a bit better.”