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 Animal Kingdom's trainer H. Graham Motion poses in front of the Dubai World Cup trophies.
More Dubai World Cup workout photos |
The world's richest race meeting and the world's richest horse race, the $10 million Dubai World Cup, will be conducted at Meydan Racecourse in Dubai on Saturday. On Wednesday evening the post positions were drawn for the Dubai World Cup (G1), which features some of the best older horses in the world going 2000 meters (about 1 1/4 miles) on the main Tapeta synthetic track. Post positions for the big race and the undercard races are available below. An online racecard is available from Dubai Racing Club where you can click on each horse's name to get a form summary. AmWest Entertainment has free past performances here. A Form Guide which has past performances for the entire card is also available from Emirates Racing Authority.
Top local hope Hunter's Light is the 7-2 morning line favorite out of post 4, who comes to the World Cup off wins in rounds 2 and 3 of the Maktoum Challenge. Regular rider Silvestre De Sousa will be aboard the Godolphin runner for trainer Saeed bin Suroor. Second on the morning line is two-time Breeders' Cup Ladies' Classic winner Royal Delta out of the 8 hole at 4-1. In her lone prep for the World Cup she romped in the Sabin Stakes (G3) at Gulfstream Park. Mike Smith gets the return call for trainer Bill Mott and owner Benjamin Leon. 5-1 third choice Animal Kingdom drew post 12. The 2011 Kentucky Derby winner comes here off two straight runner-up finishes, in the Breeders' Cup Mile (G1) and the Gulfstream Park Turf Handicap (G1). Joel Rosario will be in the irons for trainer Graham Motion and owners Arrowfield Stud and Team Valor.
Bill Mott, trainer of Royal Delta said, "I just decided to take one outside of 7, last year we were 7. The filly did well coming into the race last year but we didn't have the easiest of trips, so we decided to come back right then and there. She is bigger and stronger this year." Graham Motion, trainer of Animal Kingdom said, "To tell the truth I was glad 1, 2 and 3 were already taken, I talked to (injured regular rider) Ramon Dominguez and he said that we wouldn't want to see him caught on the inside. Hopefully Joel Rosario will have him in a good spot. Our tactics won't change and he's capable of coming from off of it if he has to. After all we won the Derby from post 16."
 Simon Crisford, racing manager for Godolphin, Sheikh Mohammed bin Rashid Al Maktoum of Dubai, and Barry Irwin of Team Valor at the post position draw. |
The undercard features the two richest turf races in the world, the 2410 meter (about 1 1/2 mile) Sheema Classic (G1) and the 1800 meter (about 1 1/8 mile) Duty Free (G1), worth $5 million each. In the Sheema Classic, Japanese Horse of the Year, Filly Triple Crown winner, and Japan Cup winner Gentildonna takes on 2011 Melbourne Cup winner Dunaden and 2012 Coronation Cup winner St Nicholas Abbey. In the Duty Free, Breeders' Cup Turf winner Little Mike will face New Zealand hero Ocean Park and France's Giofra. Top dirt/synthetic sprinters go 1200 meters (6 furlongs) in the $2 million Dubai Golden Shaheen (G1), with U.S. champion sprinter Trinniberg taking on top locals Krypton Factor and Mental. The $1 million Al Quoz Sprint (G1) features turf sprinters going 1000 meters (5 furlongs) on the straightaway.
Along with the four Group 1 events, there are 2 Group 2 events and a Group 3 race carded. The $2 million UAE Derby (G2) features northern hemisphere 3-year-olds and southern hemisphere 4-year-olds going 1900 meters (1 3/16 miles) on the main Tapeta, worth 100 points to the winner under the Road to the Kentucky Derby. Doug O'Neill sends out He's Had Enough to try to earn a trip to Louisville, against UAE Oaks winner Shuruq. The night starts off with the $500,000 Dubai Kahayla Classic (G1) for purebred Arabians, followed by the $1 million Godolphin Mile (G2) at 1600 meters (1 mile) on Tapeta and the $1 million Dubai Gold Cup (G3) at 3200 meters (2 miles) on turf.
| Post Time | Race Name | ||
| 9:10 a.m. ET | Godolphin Mile | ||
| 9:45 a.m. ET | Dubai Gold Cup (T) | ||
| 10:25 a.m. ET | UAE Derby | ||
| 11:05 a.m. ET | Al Quoz Sprint (T) | ||
| 11:45 a.m. ET | Dubai Golden Shaheen | ||
| 12:40 p.m. ET | Dubai Duty Free (T) | ||
| 1:20 p.m. ET | Dubai Sheema Classic (T) | ||
| 2:05 p.m. ET | Dubai World Cup |
Since betting is illegal in the UAE, the international wagering hub is located in South Africa and their rules apply. Win, exacta, trifecta, superfecta, daily double (Sheema Classic and World Cup), and rolling Pick 3 wagering are the same as the American versions, however, there is no show pool but bets to place pay to third place, like a show bet normally would. Since Dubai won't do odds, the morning line odds shown below are from DRF's past performance file.
The races will be shown live in the U.S. on TVG in the U.S. and HPI-TV in Canada, as well as at racetracks and simulcast sites. Equibase past performances from AmWest Entertainment.
Below are the entries and post positions for the Dubai World Cup. All entrants carry 57 kg (126 lb) except Royal Delta who gets 55 kg (121 lb).
| Post | Horse | Trainer | Jockey | Odds | |
| 1 | Treasure Beach | M. de Kock | C. Soumillon | 20-1 | |
| 2 | Red Cadeaux | E. Dunlop | G. Mosse | 30-1 | |
| 3 | Dullahan | D. Romans | G. Stevens | 6-1 | |
| 4 | Hunter's Light | S. bin Suroor | S. De Sousa | 7-2 | |
| 5 | Capponi | M. Al Zarooni | A. Ajtebi | 20-1 | |
| 6 | Side Glance | A. Balding | J. Spencer | 30-1 | |
| 7 | Planteur | M. Botti | R. Moore | 30-1 | |
| 8 | Royal Delta | W. Mott | M. Smith | 4-1 | |
| 9 | Meandre | A. Fabre | M. Guyon | 30-1 | |
| 10 | Monterosso | M. Al Zarooni | M. Barzalona | 20-1 | |
| 11 | African Story | S. bin Suroor | K. Fallon | 10-1 | |
| 12 | Animal Kingdom | G. Motion | J. Rosario | 5-1 | |
| 13 | Kassiano | S. bin Suroor | W. Buick | 12-1 | |
Entries and post positions for the entire card plus a form guide with past performances | |||||
Left: The Emirates Airline flight attendants pose with the Dubai World Cup trophy.
Right: Trainer Saeed bin Suroor with the door "trophies" for African Story and Hunter's Light. A bowl containing the horse's names were placed in the barrel, mixed up, then randomly drawn out by the horse's connections 1 at a time. When a horse's name was announced, the connections placed their door "trophy" on the post they wanted.
All the Dubai World Cup trophies were on display at the draw.
Dubai World Cup Links:
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