Meydan

Responding generously to jockey Christophe Lemaire's urging, Stay Foolish (Jpn) (Stay Gold {Jpn}) outfinished the formerly unbeaten Godolphin-owned Manobo (Ire) (Sea The Stars {Ire}) to seize the $1-million G2 Dubai Gold Cup. Rating kindly for Lemaire behind a pedestrian pace, Stay Foolish finished strongly to wear down Manobo from his inside. Winning by a half-length, Stay Foolish covered the Gold Cup's 3200 meters in 3:19.64 on Meydan's good turf course. Manobo, who had won his previous five races with relative ease including the G3 Nad Al Sheba Trophy here on...

DUBAI, UNITED ARAB EMIRATES -- In a Thursday morning presser at Meydan Racecourse, Hall of Fame trainer Todd Pletcher suggested that a good deal of the allure of running in a race like the G1 Dubai World Cup is that it brings together a smorgasbord of horses from a variety of jurisdictions with patriotic pride at play. "I think part of it is the international competition aspect of it," he offered. "I said this when Coal Front (Stay Thirsty) won the [G2 Godolphin] Mile [in 2019], it almost takes on...

DUBAI, UNITED ARAB EMIRATES -- With the exception of host Sheikh Mohammed, who has won the G1 Dubai World Cup no fewer than nine times, and the late Sheikh Hamdan (two), no other owner has managed to post more than one victory in the event, now worth $12 million. That could all change in the space of a little more than two minutes Saturday afternoon when Kenny Troutt's WinStar Farm sends out a pair of runners consisting of different partnerships. On a rating of 124, 'TDN Rising Star' Life Is...

DUBAI, UAE--The interesting thing about talking to trainers from different parts of the world is that one man's gallop is another man's breeze, or indeed another woman's canter. Even within the specialised sector of the breeze-up sales, a Donny breezer may set a different pace to a Guineas breezer, often deliberately so, and for the inaugural Dubai Breeze-up Sale the focus is more on letting the 2-year-olds stretch out and show their moves over the two furlongs rather than rousting them along at a searing pace. Not one for the...

DUBAI, UNITED ARAB EMIRATES -- In the spring of 2018, Bucchero (Kantharos) took the Ironhorse Racing Stable on the ride of a lifetime. Having burst onto the scene with an upset victory in Keeneland's GII Woodford S. the previous fall, the popular Indiana-bred finished fourth, beaten just one length, in the GI Breeders' Cup Turf Sprint. Behind him that afternoon were the likes of Lady Aurelia (Scat Daddy) and Marsha (Ire), both world-class turf sprinters, and it got IHR managing partner Harlan Malter's wheel's spinning. If Bucchero could mix it...

The Mar. 26 Dubai World Cup night, which features $30.5 million in purses spread across nine races, is expected to attract a full house of fans for the 26th edition. Since the COVID-19 pandemic began, race meetings have been conducted with restrictions placed on the number of people allowed to attend, but for the first time since 2019, there are no restrictions at a Meydan race day. Meydan Racecourse can hold up to 80,000 spectators. Sheikh Rashid bin Dalmook Al Maktoum, the Chairman of Dubai Racing Club, said, "We are...

Group 1 winner A Case Of You (Ire) (Hot Streak {Ire}) will remain in Dubai and target the G1 Al Quoz Sprint on Mar. 26. He was a distant second to Godolphin's Man Of Promise (Into Mischief) in the six-furlong G3 Nad Al Sheba Turf Sprint at Meydan on Mar. 5. Gary Devlin's 4-year-old colt captured the G1 Prix de l'Abbaye de Longchamp on Oct. 3 and was a good fifth in the GI Breeders' Cup Turf Sprint at Del Mar on Nov. 6. He made his 4-year-old bow a...

The McMurray Family's Happy Romance (Ire) (Dandy Man {Ire}), who ran third in the 1400-metre G3 1351 Turf Sprint in Riyadh on Feb. 26, is pointing to the 1200-metre G1 Al Quoz Sprint on Mar. 26, according to trainer Richard Hannon. A winner of the G3 Hackwood S. last July, the bay filly ran fourth in the G1 Betfair Sprint Cup S. on Sept. 4 and tired to 11th in the G1 QIPCO British Champions Sprint S. on Oct. 16. Hannon said, "Happy Romance ran a blinder in Riyadh. She...

Prince Faisal's globetrotting multiple Group 1 winner Mishriff (Ire) (Make Believe {GB}) has recovered in good order from a last-placed finish in the $20-million G1 Saudi Cup near the end of February, but will not defend his G1 Dubai Sheema Classic title on Mar. 26. The John and Thady Gosden trainee will instead wait until the G1 Coral-Eclipse S. in July. Also, a winner of the G1 Juddmonte International S. at York in August, the 5-year-old entire was fourth in the G1 QIPCO Champion S. on Oct. 16. Ted Voute,...

Never afraid to explore different avenues, Goffs brings an international flair to this year's breeze-up circuit with the launch of a 2-year-old sale in Dubai. Hosted by the Dubai Racing Club (DRC) in association with the sales company at Meydan racecourse during Dubai World Cup week on March 23, the Goffs Dubai Breeze-Up Sale represents an audacious move that involves the shipment of 69 horses to Dubai from Europe. This is done with the aspiration that exposure of the European breeze-up product to an international audience will be rewarded with...

In his previous 14 starts, the 5-year-old Eastern World (Ire) (Dubawi (Ire)), best known as the little brother of dual Dubai World Cup winner Thunder Snow (Ire) (Helmet (Aus)), had never raced under seven furlongs and had done his best work over a mile. In the Super Saturday finale, the Ahmad bin Harmish-trained gelding rewarded his astute trainer and promising jockey Ray Dawson when taking the six-furlong G3 Mahab Al Shimaal. Showing plenty of tactical speed, Eastern World and Dawson tracked the French-trained pacesetter Manjeer (Ire) (Footstepsinthesand {GB}). When angled out for...

Godolphin homebred Desert Wisdom (GB) (Dubawi {Ire}) was plucked out of the Racing In Dubai Horses-In-Training Sale in September by Hassan Saleh Al Hammadi for AED70,000, having been gelded after being beaten double-digit margins in a pair of starts for trainer Charlie Appleby in Britain earlier in the season, and the 4-year-old continued his class ascent on Saturday with a win in the G3 Burj Nahaar, the local stepping stone to the G2 Godolphin Mile in three weeks' time. The chestnut won his local debut at Jebel Ali on Dec....