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AS one season ends, another kicks into life. The 20th edition of the world’s richest day of horse racing sees the $10million Dubai World Cup bring their season to a close on Saturday and another begins as British race-goers await the Grand National at Aintree on April 11 having just witnessed a record-breaking Cheltenham Festival.
The traditional warm-up to the World Cup, Super Saturday, held at the Meydan Racecourse a couple of weeks ago, saw African Story confirm his status as one of the pre-race favourites with a victory that suggests he is becoming accustomed to dirt-racing.
The winner of the Group 1 Al Maktoum Challenge R3 has provided the winner of the World Cup on three previous occasions (Dubai Millennium (2000), Street Cry (2002) and Electrocutionist (2006)) and was the highlight of a winning treble for Godolphin trainer, Saeed bin Suroor.
Jockey James Doyle was in charge of all Bin Suroor’s winning mounts on a successful evening.
Bin Suroor has an incredible record in the Dubai World Cup having claimed six previous titles and would become the first to defend the crown having won last year with African Story although last year it was Silvestre de Sousa in the saddle.
The British-born chestnut gelding was foaled in March 2007 and arrived in Dubai in 2012 having been previously trained in France under Andre Fabre.
The Meydan course, first used in 2010 when it replaced Nad al Sheba, will be using dirt for the first time after replacing the all-weather Tapeta surface due to the high cost of maintenance and its unpopularity with US-based horses.
The 2,000m flat race is the last of nine races (eight thoroughbred and one pure Arabian) that boast a total purse of $30m on the richest night of racing that will also include the Godolphin Mile (previously won in record time by African Story in 2012) and the Dubai Gold Cup.
Sheikh Hamdan Al Maktoum, whose criticism of the previous surface led to it being changed, has stirred debate again in advance of the race by claiming that the new dirt at Meydan is different to that used in the US, particularly at Churchill Downs, home of the Kentucky Derby that uses sandy loam and natural soil (with a clay base) which is highly ranked by the Horseplayers Association of America.
This is particularly pertinent as the two hot favourites for the World Cup are flying in from the US, hoping to become the latest American winner of this race. Since the first in 1996 was won by Cigar, horses foaled and trained across the Atlantic have dominated, winning nine times.
California Chrome will be hoping to shine in Dubai having landed the Kentucky Derby and Preakness Stakes last year and arrives as favourite. Compatriot Lea follows close behind in the ratings and is something of a dark-horse having been rested for the whole of 2014 having contracted a virus although returned in style to win at Gulfstream Park in a Grade 3 race. Victory for Lea would bring a certain poetry as trainer Bill Mott won the first ever Dubai World Cup with the mighty Cigar.
Both of their chances will be boosted by the late withdrawal of Ron the Greek (now racing under the name ‘Wattani’), a multiple Grade 1 winner in the US that is now based in Saudi Arabia, with the spare place in the line-up having been offered to another US-based horse, Long River, also owned by Sheikh Hamdan.
Other notable winners competing for the $10m prize are the Australian Grade 1 winner, Side Glance, Japan’s dirt champion, Hokko Tarumae and UAE Group 1 winner, Prince Bishop, who finished a narrow second behind African Story in the warm-up race, finishing strongly after perhaps having been held back too long.
In total there will be eight Grade 1 or Group winners competing from five countries while the whole race card welcomes 31 past winners from 12 countries.
Kylie Minogue will bring the curtain down on this special day, performing a range of hits from her entire career. The wife is already ‘nagging’ me for a new outfit!
