Hopes have always been high for Doug O’Neill trainee and Dubai World Cup sponsored by Gr.1-bound Pavel, but the Reddam Racing-owned son of Creative Cause has consistently given his conditioner every indication that he can live up to them. A good-looking, well-balanced and athletic gray colt, Pavel has continuously caught the eye physically, but it is within the Grade 3 winner’s work and constitution that his two-time Kentucky Derby-conquering and five-time Breeders’ Cup-winning trainer has seen prodigious potential.
“He really has a lot of class,” O’Neill said. “He covers a lot of ground and has a tremendous amount of stamina. On top of that, he has a lot of speed, so he can place himself. Those three –class, stride and stamina – really separate him from the average horse of his caliber.”
Lightly raced and heavily challenged so far in his seven-race career, the Brereton C. Jones and WinStar Farm-bred 4-year-old did not begin his career until July 1st of last year, winning a Santa Anita maiden special weight so impressively over 1300m that his trainer shipped him across America to Saratoga to take on the Kentucky Derby (G1) and Preakness (G1) winners four weeks later in the 1800m Jim Dandy (G2). He wound up finishing a head behind the former, Always Dreaming, and the same margin to the good of the latter, Cloud Computing.
One start later, he outclassed all in the 1700m Gr.3 Smarty Jones Stakes at Parx in a measured romp before finishing a game third in the prestigious 2000m Jockey Club Gold Cup (G1) behind Diversify and Keen Ice – amazingly just his fourth start. After a 10th in the Breeders’ Cup Classic (G1), he was fourth in a pair of Santa Anita starts that were arguably better efforts than they appear on paper – especially last out in the San Pasqual (G2) over 1700m.
“I’m really excited about him,” O’Neill continued. “He’s in a consistent place right now and he’s very fit and ready. In (the San Pasqual), it was very unfortunate with all the traffic trouble he had. I’m very, very happy with how he’s doing right now. He’s acting like he’s going to run the best race of his life and he would need to in order to win the Dubai World Cup.
“He’s a proven shipper who eats well and you need a horse who takes his track with him like he does,” he continued. “He checks all the boxes and has the characteristics you look for when shipping to Dubai and could be very successful. Horses of that quality, sometimes it’s just a matter of staying happy and healthy during the trip.”
O’Neill has shipped across the globe with success before. In 2007, he won the Gr.2 Godolphin Mile with Spring At Last, also donning J. Paul Reddam’s purple and white colors, and in 2003 the 49-year-old won the Gr.1 Japan Cup Dirt, now the Gr.1 Champions Cup , with Fleetstreet Dancer.
“Pavel has displayed that if he has a clean trip and is somewhere near the action, he’s going to be a force,” O’Neill concluded. “Sometimes it even takes a great horse a little time to figure it out. He has it in him.”
Reddam was second in the 2006 Dubai World Cup with Craig Dollase-trained Wilko.
The local picture for the Dubai World Cup will naturally become a lot clearer after Super Saturday’s course and distance prep, the Group 1 $400,000 Al Maktoum Challenge Round 3. Godolphin’s 2017 UAE Derby (G2) and last-out Al Maktoum Challenge Round 2 (G2) winner Thunder Snow will be take on the likes of 2017 Godolphin Mile (G2) winner Second Summer, improving Round 2 runner-up North America, G1 winner Special Fighter, gritty globetrotting mare Furia Cruzada and highly promising Godolphin banner-mate Boynton.
On Tuesday in France, Godolphin’s top-rated hope for the $10-million international showcase, the flashy Talismanic, aced his prep in eye-catching style. The emblazoned bay took the 1900m Listed Prix Darshaan over the Chantilly all-weather, beating Longines Dubai Sheema Classic (G1)-bound stablemate Cloth of Stars decisively under jockey Maxime Guyon. Talsimanic’s regular rider Mickael Barzalona was aboard the latter.
A win on March 31st would be a first for iconic French trainer Andre Fabre in the race – one of the few races of this magnitude he has yet to win. The closest Fabre has come was a game third with Loup Sauvage in 1998, who had the misfortune of running into titans Silver Charm and Swain, losing by 2½ lengths.
In America, all eyes will be on the prestigious Santa Anita Handicap (G1), where both Mubtaahij and Hoppertunity are expected to spar for trainer Bob Baffert. The three-time Dubai World Cup-winning trainer already has Dubai World Cup favourite West Coast ready to ship, but could have as many as three in the race if each of those run well and bounce out just the same.
Current Dubai World Cup Possibles (not necessarily invitees): West Coast, Forever Unbridled, Talismanic, Thunder Snow, Mubtaahij, Pavel, Diversify, Awardee, Hoppertunity, North America, Second Summer, Furia Cruzada, Special Fighter
Unedited Press Release: Dubai Racing Club