It mightn’t be the anniversary organisers hoped for, but, in something of a show of defiance, the Dubai World Cup goes ahead despite the possibility of incoming Iranian missile fire. In various capacities, Laura King has attended numerous editions.
This’ll be my 20th Dubai World Cup, but it’s my ninth I’ll never get over: that shock defeat for Kentucky Derby winner California Chrome at the hands of Prince Bishop.
Sure, ‘The Bishop’ had good form around Meydan, but he wasn’t anywhere good enough to beat America’s idol, was he?
Turned out he was, and kudos to William Buick for a ‘never say die’ ride during which he just kept on kicking.
I’ve a happy memory of 2016, when Chrome finally got the win, despite Victor Espinoza’s saddle slipping.
The horse had prepped in Dubai and was based here for several months, meaning those of us who lived here got to see him each week.
He was a real star and rolled back the years for his veteran trainer Art Sherman.
As a lover of American racing, most of my favourite Dubai World Cup winners have come from over there.
Animal Kingdom was versatile, winning on tapeta for expat Brit Graham Motion, while Curlin was just brilliant.
Then there was Arrogate, superlative in overcoming an extremely slow start, then beating Gun Runner to boot.
Another horse it would be hard not to love is Thunder Snow, the only dual winner of the race.
Saeed bin Suroor’s star had a lot of charisma and was something of a freak in being a Group 1 winner on two surfaces and a son of the unheralded Australian sire Helmet.
His second win, by a nostril over the Phoenix Thoroughbreds-owned Gronkowski, was definitely good for the race.
I wasn’t here for Cigar’s win in inaugural Dubai World Cup in 1996, but I often wonder how much longer it would’ve taken to have the meeting established without him.
He came over from America as a big star and proved horses can and do thrive in the desert.
Racing here owes Bill Mott a big thank you, but I’m sorry that he’s not here with his current star Sovereignty.
My second-favourite race on the card is the Golden Shaheen, run over 1200m on dirt, which usually attracts a ‘proper’ US sprinter.
Over the years the race has been won by some smaller American-based trainers, including Carl O’Callaghan with Kinsale King, Chad Summers (twice) with Mind Your Biscuits and Jerry O’Dwyer with Sibelius – all of them were fairytale wins for their connections.
It’s the turf races, though, that arguably produce the real greats.
Lord North probably never got much credit for winning three Dubai Turfs, but Equinox got plenty for his spellbinding win in the 2023 Sheema Classic.
He never came off the bridle, and it was astonishing to watch.
The Al Quoz Sprint can often produce a shock, such as A Case Of You for Ado McGuinness in 2022, or Danyah for Shadwell and local trainer Musabbeh Al Mheiri in 2023.
That’s a lot of fun and, again, gives an opportunity for smaller stables to grab a big pot.
I’ve six ingredients for what I consider to be the ‘perfect Dubai World Cup night:
1 – a local/Godolphin winner, because the crowd love it
2 – a Japanese winner as they always have quality
3 – an American winner as they usually have chatty connections
4 – a European winner as we’re a global sport
5 – a shock, for a bit of fun
6 – everyone to come home safely
For obvious reasons, this year’s Dubai World Cup will be a little out of the ordinary.
It’ll feel intimate, perhaps quiet.
But if we get some – or all – of the above ingredients, it’ll be entertaining.
After all, we’ve two of the world’s superstars – our Global Rankings #3 horse Forever Young and #4-ranked Calandagan – racing inside the same hour.
As for the winner, we all thought Forever Young couldn’t be beaten last year yet Hit Show did it.
Hit Show is back, but Forever Young comes fresher this time.
Revenge is nigh.
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