Here are photos and comments for 17 of the horses from this morning. Please click the smaller photos to see a larger version.
Dubai World Cup favorite Albertus Maximus went out for a gallop under exercise rider Rob Massey, who said, "I just sit still; I don't move. I just let him find his best stride. When he gets his lead change, then usually he settles down. He's very professional and he just wants to do his job." Asked about possible distance limitations. trainer Kiaran McLaughlin said, "We gallop him over 5 furlongs and he finishes strongly and it's the same over 6, so I have no reason to doubt his ability to stay. Ever since we got him last year his work has been brilliant. He works like a superstar but now we have to see him do it against the best on racenight. There's a couple of questions with Albertus Maximus; it's only his second start on dirt and his first at 10 furlongs (2000m) but having said all that we still expect him to be hard to beat."
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Casino Drive galloped on the main track in preparation for the Dubai World Cup with trainer Kazuo Fujisawa looking on. Fujisawa said, "My horse has already made two starts this year, so he is in top form now. He has traveled abroad many times in his career so far, and the change of surroundings has not bothered him. He has not lost weight since his arrival. After he ran over 1 mile in the February Stakes, he wanted to go faster in his daily works. There seem to be some horses in the World Cup with early pace, so I hope he can track them easily enough. This is my first time in Dubai, but my horse has settled in better than I have. He is a handy horse, very smart and he is quite there. We have had a good preparation for the feature race tomorrow."
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Dubai World Cup longshot Anak Nakal went out for a gallop on the main track under jockey Joe Bravo. Tim Poole, assistant trainer to trainer Nick Zito, said the four-year-old is ready for the big night. "It's all good," he said.
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Arson Squad galloped on the main track on Friday morning in preparations for the Dubai World Cup. Jockey Edgar Prado said of his chances, "He's very easy to ride and he can race close to the lead or come from behind. So I'll let him run where he is happy in the first part of the race and then come with a late run."
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Tuesday Joy went out for a gallop on Friday morning in preparation for the Duty Free. The long, thin filly from Australia is expected to ship to Europe to prepare for the Prix de l'Arc de Triomphe next. Duncan Grimley, racing manager for owner John Singleton said, "John still believes that Strawberry Road (in the 1983 Arc) wasn't ridden to best advantage, so winning the Arc is unfinished business as far as he's concerned. It's taken him this long to get a horse good enough to put the record straight, but if Tuesday Joy shows up well on Saturday, she could be the one. There are ten Group 1 winners from ten different countries in the race but she is one of them and I think she will be competitive."
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Trainer Luca Cumani poses with his Duty free entrant Presvis and his Sheema Classic entrant Purple Moon. Previs was sent out for a gallop and Cumani said, "Presvis is a revelation and has done nothing but improve and improve and improve in his last three races. It is an enormous step from handicap class to a Group One but there was no point leaving him for Listed races."
Purple Moon galloped on the main track on Friday. Francesca Cumani, assistant and daughter of trainer Luca, said, "He has been here since December and settled in quickly. We were pleased with his first run and he is working well."
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Informed appeared to have finally calmed down by Friday, just in time for Saturday's Godolphin Mile. Exercise rider Tony Romero, who has had to call on all his skills to stay aboard the five-year-old Tiznow horse through a series of rears, lunges and jumps this week, said, "He treated me so nice today. He's started doing better, and he trained so good today, that I have a good feeling about the race."
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Indian Blessing, who goes in the Golden Shaheen against the boys on Saturday, galloped 1 3/8 miles over the main track. Jimmy Barnes, assistant to trainer Bob Baffert said, "Just wonderful. It's going pretty smoothly." Even the connections of the other American horses have remarked how well Indian Blessing seems to have taken to Dubai in general and the dirt track at Nad al Sheba in particular.
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Trainer Freddy Head with Golden Shaheen entrant Marchand D'Or who cantered on the main track today. Head said of his Golden Shaheen charge, "He trains on a sand surface all the time at home, so I am not worried about the track here. I want to see him against the Americans and I want to see him against the best and I'm sure he can prove he is a real champion."
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Golden Shaheen entrant Bamboo Ere put in no more than a routine canter on dirt course under exercise rider Kyota Morisaki for trainer Akio Adachi. Morisaki said, "He was patient until Vodka, who was ahead of us, started to quicken over the last 100m, and I loosened my reins to make him complete the last stages in effortless style. He was reluctant to get on the dirt course today, but this is a good sign, and he is switched on now."
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Lucky Quality cantered on the sand on Friday morning in preparation for the Golden Shaheen. Trainer Me Tsui said, "I'm feeling a bit better about his chances after watching his action in his gallops on this track yesterday and today. He looks to be moving freely and I hope this track will suit him but it is a little bit deeper than the dirt he's used to at home (Hong Kong). His track rider says he's OK on the surface. He travelled well and he's eating well and I'm happy to be drawn four and I think he will run well but I can't be too confident."
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Machismo, who has looked good all week, went out for a gallop under exercise rider Dana Barnes before Saturday's Golden Shaheen. Barnes said, "He's just having a ball. He loves the grass here. We just don't have grazing areas back home (Santa Anita Park). He's pulling me over to the grass whenever he leaves the stall."
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Sheema Classic entrant Doctor Dino put in a routine canter on the main track for trainer Richard Gibson. Gibson said, "His experience in these sort of events is huge, and experience does count when it comes to such big races. He loves training and the preparations have been great as well. We are in a positive mood and the horse is in good shape. He didn't let us down last year and we don't expect him to let us down on Saturday."
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Marsh Side went out for a routine gallop on Friday in preparation for the Sheema Classic. Patrick Lawley-Wakelin, racing manager for owner Robert Evans, said of the owner-breeder, "Pedigree is of the utmost importance. He is a student of pedigrees. He decides all the matings, obviously in consultation with his team. If he was lucky enough to win the race; it would be a validation of his breeding and racing program. He is one of those rare people who is a commercial breeder but is still fully prepared to keep a horse and race it." Marsh Side is Evans' first starter in Dubai.
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Sheema Classic entrant Red Rocks schooled in the paddock then galloped 7 furlongs on the main track. Jamie McCalmont, racing manager for owner J. Paul Reddam, said, "He's looking really good. "I have a very emotional attachment to him, so I always hope he comes home safely and that he runs a good race. He is the quietest, sweetest horse to be around. You could have an eight-year-old kid tack him up, and that's very unusual for a six-year-old stud horse." Trainer Mark Hennig added, "Our horse just needs to show up and run one of his better races if
he's going to be competitive."
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R A Junior went out for a gallop on the main track for trainer Brian Meehanin preparation for the UAE Derby on Saturday. He will be making his first start as a 3-year-old after finishing second in the Peter Stone Memorial Haughton Condiotions Stakes at Newmarket on October 17.
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