Four horses have used Gulfstream's GI Donn H. as a springboard to subsequent success in the G1 Dubai World Cup, and six of the eight entrants for Saturday's renewal are engaged for the world's richest horse race in seven weeks' time, where they may face the likes of 2014 Horse of the Year California Chrome (Lucky Pulpit) and Frosted (Tapit), impressive in winning Thursday's G2 Al Maktoum Challenge-R2 at Meydan.
Trainer Dale Romans sent out Roses in May (Devil His Due) to a runner-up effort to future Horse of the Year Saint Liam (Saint Ballado) in the 2005 Donn before the Ramsey runner stormed home a much-the-best winner at Nad al Sheba and the conditioner relies on 5-2 morning-line favorite Keen Ice this time around. The son of 2008 World Cup hero Curlin, the 121-pound highweight will be making his seventh consecutive appearance in Grade I company, a streak that includes his 16-1 upset of 2015 HOTY American Pharoah (Pioneerof the Nile) in the GI Travers S. at Saratoga last summer. He has since rolled a pair of fours, first when no menace to the Zayat runner in the GI Breeders' Cup Classic at Keeneland Oct. 31 and again in the GI Clark H. Nov. 27, when he flashed home, but too late. Romans is expecting a big season from the 4-year-old. Javier Castellano remains signed on Saturday afternoon.
“I feel like this is his year. I think he could be as good a handicap horse as there is in the country,” Romans said, adding that it's off to the desert almost no matter Saturday's result. “We'll pretty much go to Dubai either way,” the conditioner confirmed. “For his first time out, we're not going to fault him if he doesn't run his best. The way he's training, I'm expecting some big races out of him.”
Todd Pletcher has trained the Donn winner four times overall and three times in the last six years and he accounts for three of the Donn's eight runners. The least-experienced of the trio on dirt could be the one with the greatest amount of upside. Mshawish (Medaglia d'Oro), who was under consideration for a dirt start in Dubai last year, but ultimately finished third in the G1 Dubai Turf, can enter the World Cup night discussion with another positive performance. Victorious in the GI Gulfstream Park Turf H. on this program 12 months back, the dark bay looked every bit a winner in the GI Cigar Mile H. in his dirt bow last November before finishing a close fourth to 'TDN Rising Star' Tonalist (Tapit), but got over the surface hump last time with a neck defeat of the gritty Valid (Medaglia d'Oro)–who is not nominated to Dubai–in the GIII Hal's Hope S. Jan. 9.
“It would be a big win for him in terms of a potential stud career in terms that he's already a Grade I stakes winner on turf and a graded-stakes winner on dirt,” said Pletcher. “A Grade I would mean a lot to his potential stud career.”
Three-time Donn winner John Velazquez replaces Castellano aboard Mshawish, who will be joined by stable companions Madefromlucky (Lookin at Lucky) and Itsaknockout (Lemon Drop Kid).
Mexikoma (Birdstone) enters this return to Grade I competition in career-best form, having posted a 107 Beyer Speed Figure for his 1 1/2-length victory in the Sunshine Millions Classic over this track and distance Jan. 16. Closing Bell (Tiznow) is this race's true X-factor. The WinStar colorbearer is a stakes winner and Grade I placed on the grass, though he is bred for the dirt, as he broke his maiden on the surface at Belmont last May while half-sister Mani Bhavan (Storm Boot) was a winner of the GI Spinaway S. Trainer Bill Mott sent out Cigar to win the incident-marred 1996 Donn before annexing the inaugural World Cup. The improving Financial Modeling (Street Sense) completes the field and looms part of the early pace with Valid. He'll need to improve on a career-top in the Dec. 19 Queens County S. at Aqueduct to have any say in the finish.
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