Neil Morrice shares his race-by-race preview for the 2023 Dubai World Cup meeting being run at Meydan Racecourse on Saturday 25 March 2023.
Race 2 GODOLPHIN MILE (Group 2)
No2 BATHRAT LEON 5/2
Trainer: Y Yahagi – Jockey: Ryusei Sakai
Last year’s winner BATHRAT LEON doesn’t enjoy the luxury of the rail this time, but after gamely landing a Group 3 in Riyadh, looks the one to be with. He’s among 13 Japanese horses that after running in Saudi have enjoyed a month in the Dubai sunshine. He looks forward in his coat, and has impressed on the training track.
ISOLATE got going too late when second to Sound Money on Super Saturday, to make it two near misses from as many starts at the track. Runners from his stall (2) or the fence have won four of the last seven runnings of this contest.
However, his barnmate PRINCE EIJI needs to overcome an outer post, as does DISCOVERY ISLAND, which leaves ROYAL MEWS as more of a threat to the main pick. From his favourable gate, the Bhupat Seemar-trained chestnut could easily get to the front.
Prediction: 1st BATHRAT LEON, 2nd Isolate, 3rd Royal Mews, 4th Discovery Island
Race 3 DUBAI GOLD CUP (Group 2)
No2 BROOME 25/2
Trainer: Aidan O’Brien – Jockey: Ryan Moore
BROOME has been racing as if he might enjoy a longer trip, while the seven-year-old has Moore back in the irons for the first time since he ran at Saratoga last summer. The selection has met with mixed fortunes in other forays overseas but was a shade unlucky not to finish a lot closer to Rebel’s Romance when slowly away in the Breeders’ Cup Turf in Kentucky. His breaking issues might not impair his prospects quite as much at two miles.
SISKANY comes here off a snug win in the Nad Al Sheba Trophy and now stretches out a further quarter mile for Godolphin. Charlie Appleby rates his chance, pointing to the fact that in what should be a strongly run heat he can use his turn of foot more effectively.
SUBJECTIVIST looked a budding Cup star with his Royal Ascot triumph in 2021, but after an enforced absence didn’t show enough in a Group 3 in Riyadh to suggest he can revisit former glories. Italian Derby winner ARDAKAN is closely matched with Siskany, is a consistent operator and has strong claims to take away a cheque of some kind. Appleby’s other contender GLOBAL STORM isn’t out of it either.
Prediction: 1st BROOME, 2nd Siskany, 3rd Ardakan, 4th Global Storm
Race 4 AL QUOZ SPRINT (Group 1)
No1 AL SUHAIL 7/2
Trainer: Charlie Appleby – Jockey: William Buick
While he is no Blue Point, AL SUHAIL has grasped the mettle with clear-cut triumphs in his two starts at the Carnival and looks a strong contender. He converted by four lengths on each occasion, and while having nothing to fear from SAN DONATO needs to show he’s as effective dropping back to the sprint distance. Charlie Appleby says the gelding is getting stronger with age, and while slightly concerned by his low draw, hopes his charge will get a nice tow into the contest.
Favourite in the Hollywoodbets market is AL DASIM, an impressive scorer on Super Saturday who was stretching his winning sequence to five. However, this is easily the toughest assignment the Newmarket-based colt has faced, and he may well fall short.
LADIES CHURCH finished best of all when short-headed in the Blue Point and is going to relish the step up to six furlongs. Johnny Murtagh’s filly should be in the thick of the action at the finish. Hong Kong raider SIGHT SUCCESS represents John Size and Ryan Moore and brings top credentials to the table on a first start out of the old colony.
Prediction: 1st AL SUHAIL, 2nd Ladies Church, 3rd Sight Success, 4th Al Dasim
Race 5 UAE DERBY (Group 2)
No3 CAIRO 9/4
Trainer: Aidan O’Brien – Jockey: Ryan Moore
CAIRO has American blood on the sire’s side of his pedigree and has shown a penchant for Polytrack, easing to success on his reappearance in a Listed race at Dundalk. Winner of a Group 3 at Leopardstown on his final of four juvenile outings, he’s looked the business in his light exercise on the track, and if he takes as well to the dirt can enhance his trainer’s good record in this contest.
Bob Baffert adds blinkers to Frankie Dettori’s mount WORCESTER who is yet to win a race, but was placed in a Grade 3 at Santa Anita last time. His outer draw is of some concern, and a couple of roughies that can spice up the exotics are ES-UNICO and DERMA SOTOGAKE.
The former has been largely ignored in the betting market, but jockey Joao Moreira thinks he can do better than when fourth in the Saudi Derby. Before that the War Secretary colt ran second in the UAE 2000 Guineas Trial on this track. Just in from of him at Riyadh was Derma Sotogake, who rates the pick of the Japanese contingent in this and can also get involved.
Prediction: 1st CAIRO, 2nd Es-Unico, 3rd Derma Sotogake, 4th Worcester
Race 6 DUBAI GOLDEN SHAHEEN (Group 1)
No3 HOPKINS 10/1
Trainer: Bob Baffert – Jockey: Frankie Dettori
The redoubtable combination of Baffert and Dettori can prove the key to this sizzling sprint with HOPKINS, whose best performances have happened over 1200 metres, and who has a good draw with blinkers added. The Quality Road entire has looked right at home on the training track, and is poised for an earning run in which the Americans should do well.
His countryman SIBELIUS brings similarly solid credentials to the table and is the winner of two races – the Mr Prospector and Pelican – that have served runners well in past Golden Shaheens. The five-year-old also has the addition of Ryan Moore.
GUNITE is a third US challenger that is entitled to be competitive given a pleasing prep in Saudi. The Gun Runner colt had won on six occasions and been placed on his five other career starts before that, meaning he is very likely to get into the shake-up.
LEMON POP is an upwardly mobile Japanese sprinter and greatly respected with five successes from his last six starts, while the proven form here of C Z ROCKET and last year’s winner SWITZERLAND elevates that pair into a complex equation.
Prediction: 1st HOPKINS, 2nd Gunite, 3rd Sibelius, 4th Lemon Pop, 5th Switzerland
Race 7 DUBAI TURF (Group 1)
No7 LORD NORTH 6/1
Trainer: John Gosden – Jockey: Frankie Dettori
LORD NORTH can make history by becoming the first horse to win a World Cup night race on three occasions. The seven-year-old was an impressive scorer in 2021 and shared the spoils with Panthalassa in a thrilling climax to the 2022 running. Not without his training issues, he warmed up for this with a wide-margin success in the Winter Derby at Lingfield, and from a favourable draw three off the rail needs respecting.
DO DEUCE failed to cut the mustard in last season’s Prix de l’Arc de Triomphe and has a terrible draw. Though he won well enough on his reappearance he may struggle. His compatriot SERIFOS needs to show that she’s ready following a long absence, but both of the Appleby contenders NATIONS PRIDE and MASTER OF THE SEAS bring good Carnival form to the table, though the former will need a strong gallop if he’s to prevail over this distance.
JUNKO is an interesting challenger out of Andre Fabre’s Chantilly stable and unlucky not to have added to his unbeaten (in three) juvenile record. It was only by a head that he succumbed to Anmaat in the Prix Dollar at Longchamp, while he impressively converted in a conditions race at Chantilly in his warm-up for this.
REAL WORLD hasn’t managed to add to his Zabeel Mile triumph of 2022, but Saeed Bin Suroor’s charge twice chased home Baaeed last year, and needed his comeback running when making no show here on Super Saturday.
Prediction: 1st LORD NORTH, 2nd Junko, 3rd Master Of The Seas, 4th Nations Pride
Race 8 LONGINES DUBAI SHEEMA CLASSIC
No3 REBEL’S ROMANCE 7/1 (Nap)
Trainer: Charlie Appleby – Jockey: William Buick
All the talk on the training track this week has been about Japan’s 2022 Horse Of The Year EQUINOX. Last year’s Tenno Sho and Arima Kinen winner has dominated the ante-post market and had all the value taken out of him, leaving the impressive REBEL’S ROMANCE as a logical alternative and one of my bets of the night.
Appleby is fulsome in his praise of the globetrotting five-year-old whose ventures last year took him from England to Germany and then to Kentucky, where he completed a nap hand of victories in the Breeders’ Cup Turf at Keeneland. Former champion jockey Kieren Fallon has partnered him in most of his work, including a trip to the turf track here after a minor hiccup forced the gelding to miss his race on Super Saturday. Needless to say, Rebel’s romance excelled in that work, and will go to post with all guns blazing.
John Gosden’s MOSTAHDAF absolutely annihilated his foes in a Group 3 at Riyadh to stake a major claim for this contest, but a bigger threat to the selection could be last year’s winner SHAHRYAR, who showed on that occasion that he operates effectively coming back off a break.
Prediction: 1st REBEL’S ROMANCE, 2nd Equinox, 3rd Shahryar, 4th Mostahdaf
Race 9 DUBAI WORLD CUP (Sponsored by Emirates Airline)
No4 COUNTRY GRAMMER 9/4
Trainer: Bob Baffert – Jockey: Frankie Dettori
Although his claims to go back-to-back in this outstanding contest have been compromised by having just one horse outside him, COUNTRY GRAMMER is a fighter who possesses the wherewithal to overcome that adversity under a jockey who is hell-bent on making his last ride in the race a winning one. Bob Baffert’s six-year-old has a score to settle with PANTHALASSA who held him by three-quarters of a length in the Saudi Cup, but he had earlier run out a convincing winner of the San Antonio at Santa Anita and is in very good order.
His claims are indeed strengthened in that Panthalassa and ALGIERS are drawn either side of him, a situation that to a large extent has opened up the race. Panthalassa will do well to obtain a clear early lead from the 15 gate, while the upwardly mobile Algiers may have to settle for a stalking ride and hope not to lose too much ground at the start.
COUNTRY GRAMMER is perhaps the best equipped of the trio to work his way into contention, and it was interesting to hear Dettori explain that his mount has a never say die attitude, and is capable of clawing his way to victory with his impressive will to win.
And the race can’t be left without mention of the deep Japanese challenge below Panthalassa from which T O KEYNES and USHBA TESORO are the pick. T O Keynes is a Grade 1 winner, while Ushba Tesoro goes to post in the form of his life.
Prediction: 1st COUNTRY GRAMMER, 2nd Panthalassa, 3rd T O Keynes, 4th Ushba Tesoro
