The race is scheduled to go off at 1 p.m. and an worldwide field of 12 is scheduled to break from the gate, with California Chrome breaking from the 11-hole.
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The $1 million Godolphin Mile has seven runners trained in the UAE including Godolphin’s Marking. By Any Given Saturday, Hoppertunity has won four stakes, notably the Grade 1 Clark Handicap at Churchill Downs in November 2014, and the Grade 2 San Antonio Stakes at Santa Anita on February 6 in his last start before the trip to Dubai.
CHROME (h, 5, Lucky Pulpit-Love The Chase, by Not For Love) became the richest North American-based Thoroughbred in history with a dominant score in the $10 million G1 Dubai World Cup Saturday. In 1990, Mori was the first Japanese trainer to saddle a Kentucky Derby starter, and he’ll attempt to duplicate that feat with a win by either of his charges. “I’ve been very close twice before, 2nd (with Chrome in 2015) and 3rd (on Choctaw Nation in 2005), so third time is the charm”.
California Chrome, second in last year’s World Cup, has been training at Meydan Racecourse for two months. He’s a great horse.
“We wanted to be outside the leader, so that he’d be out of the kickback, but it didn’t work out that way”, said Fownes as he watched sand running out of Gun Pit’s nostrils while he was hosed down post-race.
But Espinoza kicked on in the closing furlongs to leave a packed bunch trailing in California Chrome’s wake and win the $10million prize fund for veteran trainer Art Sherman. He’d trained a lot of good horses before Chrome, but nothing like this.
The American challenger was beaten by rank outsider Prince Bishop a year ago, yet despite being posted wide throughout after breaking from his wide draw – and his saddle slipping – he ran out a dazzling victor under the Meydan floodlights.
“I have been in the game for 55 years and seen a lot of things, but California Chrome is bigger and better than any of them”, Sherman said.
Garnering the excitement of the onlookers on Wednesday morning, 2014 Horse of the Year California Chrome arrived at the main track at 7am and stood like a statue under exercise rider Dihigy Gladney before stepping out for his 2800m gallop. “All I can say is I think Hillary will have a slightly more significant impact on the world than Keen Ice”. He went over him with a fine-toothed comb and said it was unbelievable, considering how much he’d run, how clean he was and how well he x-rayed.
“He’s a pretty versatile horse and I don’t think there’s any point in making a complete plan”. Now that we are figuring him out, he’s unreal.
KENTUCKY’S Taylor brothers have always been known for their hustle, and their savvy determination now has them in the front row at the $10 million Dubai World Cup with two future stallions for their Taylor Made Farm competing in the world’s richest race.
Another top-rated American horse, Postponed, starts as favorite in the Dubai Sheema Classic, and Godolphin’s Tryster is the preferred choice in the Dubai Turf.
Keen Ice, who has drawn the inside alley, prefers to ride in the pack and will hope to shrug off a seventh-placed finish in a lead-up race at Meydan in early March.
“Our horse is pace sensitive”. “I thought, “uh-oh”. Down the stretch it got worse and worse, and I thought, where’s the wire?”
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“He’s the most straightforward ride you could get”, said Hitchcott. “I haven’t put a lead pad on a horse in I can’t tell you when”. Last year, he was taken to England. Even if you’re not competing in the style stakes, keep in mind that casualwear is a no-no, and shorts, jeans, and flip-flops aren’t allowed in the Meydan Grandstand at all.
