American Longshots in Dubai

Sakhee (Bahri), California Chrome (Lucky Pulpit), Street Cry (Ire) (Machiavellian), The Factor (War Front), Silver Charm (Silver Buck) and Main Sequence (Aldebaran) were all phenomenal racehorses when they competed. They were also imposing favorites on Dubai World Cup night who failed to cross the wire first. While it is true that Street Cry (Ire), Silver Charm and California Chrome carried the banner of American racing to victories a year separated from said failures, a case can be made for looking at those shipping from the United States who may offer more value.

In the Classic look no farther than 'the other Baffert,' Hoppertunity (Any Given Saturday), who is owned by Mike Pegram, Karl Watson and Paul Weitman and returns to the UAE a year after a solid third to California Chrome in the G1 $10 million Dubai World Cup. A bona fide grinder, his reliability and anticipated market value make him an attractive insurance policy along with his lightly raced wunderkind stablemate Arrogate (Unbridled's Song). The winner of last fall's GI Jockey Club Gold Cup loves the 10-furlong distance of the Dubai World Cup, appreciates deeper surfaces like that of Meydan Racecourse and is in top form for the Pegram/Baffert team that annexed the 2001 Dubai World Cup with Captain Steve (Fly So Free). Arguably the most impressive statistic in Hoppertunity's 25-race, nine-win career is that he has raced in 13 Grade I events and never finished worse than fourth.

“He is doing better than he ever has, believe it or not,” Baffert said. “I expect him to run a big race. He loves it here and he's a big strong, older horse who carries his flesh really well. He needs the full mile and a quarter and a little luck up front, but he's always right there. He's like Pac-Man eating away at them at the end.

“Mike Smith one day told me that one day Hoppertunity was going to one day win one of these big ones and I told him that he came an inch within winning a $10 million race last year [in the World Cup],” Baffert quipped. “If California Chrome's saddle would have slipped another inch, I think he would have got all the money once he started bucking and getting in the way of [runner-up Mubtaahij (Ire) (Dubawi {Ire})].”

Stallwalkin Dude (City Place) has flourished since arriving in Dubai for trainer and co-owner David Jacobson. Looked after by son and assistant Howard Jacobson, the son of City Place is getting very little buzz in comparison to fellow Americans Mind Your Biscuits (Posse) and St. Joe Bay (Saint Anddan) in the G2 $2 million Dubai Golden Shaheen for dirt sprinters going six furlongs. It is worth noting that between the three Americans, multiple graded stakes-winning Stallwalkin Dude has held his own against arguably tougher competition more often over the last year, including two Grade I placings. The 7-year-old appears to be in career-best form and such is giving his connections confidence.

“We really like how he's doing,” Howard Jacobson said. “He's just a classy, tough old horse who tries hard every time. I really like how he's training and we haven't really changed any of his routine here. We've kept him comfortable and he is doing as well as you can ask for.”

It is difficult to put the words longshot and Bill Mott together, but such is the case with Wachtel Stable, George Kerr and Gary Barber's Long On Value (Value Plus), who enters a salty renewal of the G1 $1 million Al Quoz Sprint over a straight grassy six furlongs with a positive form trajectory. The multiple graded stakes winner had a perfect prep when a driving late-on-the-scene third in the Gulfstream Park Turf Sprint Jan. 28 at Gulfstream Park and must be respected if his Hall of Fame conditioner deemed him worthy of the trip.

“His last race was very encouraging,” said assistant trainer Riley Mott. “It was five furlongs and the increase to six furlongs for this race will certainly suit him. He ran a great number on the Sheets and we think he fits. He's in with an outside shot, but we really like him. We're very happy with how he traveled, as well.”

The G2 $2 million UAE Derby is often one of the more complex races on the card and 2017 is no different with a full field of young horses from across the globe. Perhaps the most global of all is Brazilian Group I winner and southern hemisphere 3-year-old Vettori Kin (Brz) (Vettori {Ire}), who was acquired in the fall by trainer Kenny McPeek for Haras Old Friends LTDA and is trained in Florida at Payson Park. A leggy, well-balanced type who has moved well over the Meydan dirt course this week, Vettori Kin (Brz) is a Group 1 winner on the grass, Group 3 winner on dirt and faced older horses in one of the toughest races in South America last out Dec. 17, the G1 Carlos Pellegrini, finishing respectably in mid-pack.

“It's a Southern Hemisphere 3-year-old against younger horses, so he carries more weight, but that doesn't bother me,” McPeek said. “He did win a [Group 1] on the grass, but I think he likes the dirt better than the turf. He's just a really nice animal who races for a nice group of people. I purchased him because I really liked what I had seen him do and what he looked like as an individual. I've also had some great luck with acquiring horses from down there and tend to keep my finger on the pulse of South American racing, especially in Brazil and Argentina. I've had some pretty good horses like Hard Buck (Brz) (Spend a Buck) and Einstein (Brz) (Spend a Buck) I've got from there, and my hope is that he could be like them. I think he'll be very competitive in this race.”