Dubai World Cup

It is arguably the wrong time of the year and the wrong part of the world, but today´s Meydan card is undeniably one of the best ever and the meeting can certainly be compared to Longchamp on Arc day, the Breeders Cup or Hong Kong´s big meeting. Brilliant organisation and more than 27 million US$ in prize-money - the most ever paid for a single raceday and more than is on offer in Germany for the entire year - have had the desired effect and the result is an exceptionally strong international card with highly competitive events.

The only German runner is Zazou (Waldemar Hickst/ Olivier Peslier) in the World Cup itself, over 10 furlongs on tapeta at 19.40 CET. The horse does not know who pay the bills, so the fact that he has been sold to an unsavoury character makes no difference to his chances, and the traIner seems confident of good performance. We can certainly see him running into the money, although we don´t really believe he is good enough to win. There is no betting in Dubai, so bets are settled at the British bookmakers´ industry prices, which means that So You Think (Aidan and Joseph O´Brien) is certain to start at a very short price. He can win, but represents no value at all. We can easily imagine another Japanese success and think that Eishin Flash (H Fujiwara/ Christophe Lemaire) might have the best chance of the 3 Japanese runners. It would be nice if Breeders Cup runner-up Game On Dude were to win, as his trainer Bob Baffert suffered a heart attack earlier in the week, while his joc key Chantal Sutherland is the first woman ever to ride in the race, but we feel the outside draw has scuppered his chances.

If a woman jockey is to win today, it is more likely to be Hayley Turner on Michael Bell´s Margot Did in the Al Quoz Sprint over 5 furlongs at 17.00, but again the draw is against her. We prefer here Sole Power (Eddie Lynam/ Johnny Murtagh) - also from an outside draw - while Rocket Man (Patrick Shaw/ Felix Coetzee) can repeat his 2011 victory in the Golden Shaheen over 6 furlongs at 17.35. Frankie Dettori considers that African Story in the Godolphin Mile at 15.10 is the best Godolphin chance of the day, but at the likely odds we much prefer Delegator, moving up in distance in the Duty Free at 18.25. Frankie has another winning chance on Opinion Poll in the Gold Cup over 2 miles at 15.45, although logically we see no reason why he should this time defeat his stable companion Fox Hunt (Silvestre de Sousa). It is good to see Kerrin McEvoy back and he can take the UAE Derby on the Australian -trained Helmet at 16.25. A win for Richard Hills, who retires after riding in the fi rst 4 races, would also be highly popular, but we cannot see this happening.

Betting forecast:
1. Race: Nieshan - Seraphin du Paon - Timadit Al Mels
2. Race: African Story - Western Aristocrat - Sandagiyr
3. Race: Opinion Poll - Fox Hunt - Mikhail Glinka
4. Race: Wrote - Mickdaam - Daddy Long Legs
5. Race: Sole Power - Nocturnal Affair - Joy And Fun
6. Race: Rocket Man - Sepoy - The Factor
7. Race: Ambitious Dragon - Mutahadee - Dark Shadow
8. Race: Cirrus des Aigles - St Nicholas Abbey - Beaten Up
9. Race: So You Think - Smart Falcon - Zazou