West Coast, Forever Unbridled And Talismanic Head To Dubai
Nominations for the Dubai World Cup include American champions
West Coast and
Forever Unbridled, as well as Breeders’ Cup Turf (Gr.1) winner
Talismanic, Japan’s Champions Cup (Gr.1) winner Gold Dream and the previous two winners of the Jockey Club Gold Cup (Gr.1), Diversify and Hoppertunity. Other G1-winning nominees of note include Thunder Snow, Apollo Kentucky and Seeking the Soul, while top-class G2-winning athletes Gunnevera, Second Summer and Good Samaritan add significant depth.
The Dubai Sheema Classic over 2410m on turf is topped by champion Cracksman, the world’s top-rated 3-year-old of 2017, as well as Japan Cup (Gr.1) winner Cheval Grand and G1 winner Cloth of Stars, while the $6,000,000. Dubai Turf over 1800m attracted the world’s top-rated horse in training, Australian superstar Winx, a daughter of Dubai World Cup winner Street Cry, as well as champion World Approval and last year’s winner Vivlos.
The card’s two sprints showcase some of the fastest horses on the planet. The $2,000,000 Gr.1 Dubai Golden Shaheen over 1200m on dirt is topped by defending champion Mind Your Biscuits, Breeders’ Cup Sprint (Gr.1) winner Roy H and Centenary Sprint Cup (Gr.1) winner D B Pin, while the $1,000,000 Al Quoz Sprint sponsored by Azizi Developments (Gr.1) over 1200m on turf features defending champion The Right Man, British Champions Sprint (Gr.1) winner Librisa Breeze and UAE’s top-rated horse, Ertijaal.
A pair of Group 2 events, each worth $1,000,000, respectively boast strong global intrigue. The Dubai Gold Cup, a 3200m turf marathon, attracted three-time G1 winner and two-time defending champion Vazirabad, as well as Big Orange and Torcedor, while the Godolphin Mile, over a 1600m on the dirt, includes Cigar Mile (Gr.1) winner Sharp Azteca, as well as Kafuji Take and Accelerate.
The $2,000,000 UAE Derby (Gr.2)) sees such rising stars as Breeders’ Cup Juvenile Turf (Gr.1) winner Mendelssohn, Japanese stakes winner Don Fortis and G2 winner Untamed Domain, a son of Dubai World Cup winner Animal Kingdom. At 1900m on dirt, the UAE Derby offers its winner 100 Road to the Kentucky Derby points, which can lead to a start in that American classic.
Dubai Racing Club received 1,412 nominations for 739 horses from 20 countries.
Credit: Dubai Racing Club