Godolphin Mile

DUBAI, UNITED ARAB EMIRATES -- The 28th running of the $12-million G1 Dubai World Cup is set for Saturday at sprawling Meydan Racecourse and has attracted an internationally flavored field of 12, a third of which are based in various parts of the U.S. Senor Buscador (Mineshaft) will attempt to make history as the first to sweep the 'Desert Double,' having caused a surprise when just touching off the re-opposing World Cup champion Ushba Tesoro (Jpn) (Orfevre {Jpn}) 600 miles to the west of here in the G1 Saudi Cup...

Five returning champions and one previous champion highlight the prospective fields for the Dubai World Cup meeting to be held at sprawling Meydan Racecourse in Dubai Saturday, Mar. 30. The connections of 106 horses from no fewer than 12 racing jurisdictions have accepted invitations to the eight Thoroughbred races on a $30.5-million program that begins with the $1-million Dubai Kahayla Classic for the Purebred Arabians and concludes with the $12-million G1 Dubai World Cup. The main event has attracted a field of 15 that is led by its defending champion...

Juddmonte Farms' recent G3 Burj Nahaar romper Laurel River (Into Mischief) will bypass the Mar. 30 G2 Godolphin Mile and will instead stretch out to 10 furlongs for the first time in the G1 Dubai World Cup, Garett O'Rourke, the manager of Juddmonte's American operation, told the TDN Thursday morning. "It's worth a try. There's $12 million reasons to do it," he said. The homebred winner of the seven-furlong GII Pat O'Brien S. when under the care of Bob Baffert in 2022, Laurel River was favored in many circles for...

Juddmonte Farms' Laurel River (h, 6, Into Mischief--Calm Water, by Empire Maker), favored for the 2022 GI Breeders' Cup Dirt Mile before being ruled out on the eve of the race, flashed some of the form that saw him win the 2022 GII Pat O'Brien S. with a towering, front-running victory in Saturday's G3 Burj Nahaar at Meydan Racecourse, the course-and-distance prep for the G2 Godolphin Mile Mar. 30. The result represented a complete turnaround from his local debut Jan. 26 when he was an early factor in the G3...

Trainer Brad Cox confirmed that FMQ Stables' Saudi Crown (Always Dreaming), a brave third in the G1 Saudi Cup after setting bruising fractions up front, has shipped to Dubai and has settled in at Meydan Raceourse. The $45,000 Keeneland January short-yearling turned $240,000 OBS April breezer holds an entry for the G1 Dubai World Cup, where he would face a rematch with the two horses that finished ahead of him last weekend--Senor Buscador (Mineshaft) and Ushba Tesoro (Jpn) (Orfevre {Jpn}). But Cox aid that the tentatively target is the Mar....

Joel Rosario has picked up the ride on RRR Racing's Isolate (Mark Valeski) for Saturday's $20-million G1 Saudi Cup at King Abdulaziz Racecourse, his agent Ron Anderson confirmed in a text message Monday. The 6-year-old Isolate made the first 12 starts of his career in the U.S. for Reeves Thoroughbred Racing, winning two from his first five for trainer Kathy Ritvo before joining the barn of Tom Amoss. The Florida-bred posted four victories from seven outings for that barn, winning the Work All Week S. at Hawthorne and the Tale...

Making just his third start in Dubai and stretching out to a mile for the first time in over two years, RRR Racing's Isolate (Mark Valeski) never gave his 13 rivals a chance in Saturday's G2 Godolphin Mile Sponsored by One Zaabeel as he put on a powerful front-running display to carry visiting jockey Tyler Gaffalione to an easy 5 1/2-length victory. Not the fastest away from the stalls in the mile chute, the $70,000 Keeneland November weanling speared through from between horses to take up the running linking up...

DUBAI, UNITED ARAB EMIRATES -- Answer: The G1 Dubai Golden Shaheen. Question: What is the only race in the history of the Dubai World Cup that has never been won by the host? That statement feels like an enormous anomaly, given all the success down the years at old Nad Al Sheba Racecourse and here at Meydan Racecourse, but true it is all the same. It is a record that Harry Sweeney, the president of the Japanese arm of Sheikh Mohammed's global operation, hopes will change this weekend when American-bred...

Jet Set Racing Stable's Chilean Group 1 winner Super Corinto (Arg) (Super Saver), originally among a bulky field entered for the G2 Godolphin Mile at Meydan Mar. 25, will instead run in the $12-million G1 Dubai World Cup, it was announced Friday. Trained by Amador Sanchez, the Southern Hemisphere 4-year-old colt began his career at Monterrico Racetrack in Peru, winning three of his four starts, before finishing second to O'Connor (Chi) (Boboman) in the G1 Longines Gran Premio Latinoamericano at Hipodromo Chile last Apr. 2. A 1 1/4-length winner of...

Evergreen 8-year-old Secret Ambition (GB) (Exceed and Excel {Aus}) was hustled from the barriers by Tadhg O'Shea in Saturday's G2 Godolphin Mile and never looked back, lengthening in the lane to post a sparkling six length score over the Doug Watson-trained Golden Goal (Ire) (Dark Angel {Ire}), with American shipper Avant Garde (Tonalist) grabbing third. The first horse bought by Libyan owner Nasir Askar when plucked out of the 2016 Racing In Dubai Sale for AED150,000 (£29,612/€34,537) having formerly raced for Sheikh Hamdan bin Mohammed, Secret Ambition plied his trade...

Saturday's $12-million G1 Dubai World Cup may lack the star power of past renewals, but with 14 runners signed on from six countries for the race's 25th renewal it is nonetheless a fascinating event that has the potential to crown a new headliner, the most obvious being Godolphin's American shipper Mystic Guide (Ghostzapper). Trained by Michael Stidham, Mystic Guide broke his maiden by five lengths at second asking last March, and despite the American Triple Crown being re-arranged by the Covid-19 pandemic connections took a patient approach. Mystic Guide picked...

Expected fields have been released for Meydan's $26.5-million Dubai World Cup card on Mar. 27, with 14 Group 1 winners set to line up on the night. The featured $12-million G1 Dubai World Cup is as ever an international affair. Godolphin brings three runners trained in three different countries, headed by homebred Mystic Guide (Ghostzapper), winner last time of the GIII Razorback H. at Oaklawn Park on Feb. 27 for trainer Mike Stidham. Saeed bin Suroor sends out Gifts Of Gold (Ire) (Invincible Spirit {Ire}), who won the Red Sea...