Dubai

Class came to the fore in the G2 Dubai Gold Cup as Tower Of London (Ire) (Galileo {Ire}) ran out an authoritative winner for Aidan O'Brien and Ryan Moore. A brother to St Leger hero Capri (Ire), Tower Of London came into the Group 2 contest at Meydan off the back of a cheeky victory in the G3 Longines Red Sea Turf H. in Saudi Arabia. Tower Of London built on that victory to post a career best at odds of 2-1, storming home from the rear to run out...

DUBAI, UNITED ARAB EMIRATES -- In the form of Do Deuce (Jpn) (Heart's Cry {Jpn}) and Liberty Island (Jpn) (Duramente {Jpn}), Japan is liable to field the favourites for the distance turf races at Saturday's Dubai World Cup meeting and those two gallopers, as well as several of their compatriots, did fast work over the Meydan course Wednesday morning. Do Deuce would likely have been at the top of the markets for last year's G1 Dubai Turf, but was withdrawn in the days leading up to the race, helping pave...

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...

Jun Park and Delia Nash's Sibelius (Not This Time) breezed a half-mile in an easy :49 flat at Palm Meadows the morning of Mar. 5 as he builds up to a defense of his title in the G1 Dubai Golden Shaheen at Meydan Racecourse Mar. 30. Trainer Jeremiah O'Dwyer was in the irons for the move aboard the 6-year-old, who--like last year--enters the Golden Shaheen after winning the GIII Mr. Prospector S. at Gulfstream Dec. 23 and the Feb. 10 Pelican S. at Tampa Bay Downs. "He went very well...

An already stiff Japanese challenge for the Dubai World Cup programme at Meydan on March 30 was further fortified on Wednesday when it was announced that the Mikio Matsunaga-trained duo of Matenro Sky (Jpn) (Maurice {Jpn}), upset winner of the G2 Nakayama Kinen, and the three-year-old colt Ballon d'Or (Jpn) (New Year's Day) have accepted invitations to the G1 Dubai Turf and G2 UAE Derby, respectively. Netkeiba was first to report the news. The five-year-old Matenro Sky broke through at the stakes level in the Listed Rigel S. going a...

LRE Racing LLC and JEH Racing Stable's four-time Grade I winner Casa Creed (Jimmy Creed) has recovered from the fever that forced him to miss last weekend's G2 1351 Turf Sprint in Saudi Arabia and is now being prepared for an appearance in the G1 Al Quoz Sprint on the Dubai World Cup undercard Mar. 30, co-owner Lee Einsidler confirmed Thursday. "You know, it's funny, if the Saudi race had been in Florida, we wouldn't have had to miss it," Einsidler said of last weekend's contest, in which Casa Creed...

Just before the gate load in Saturday's G1 Saudi Cup at the King Abdulaziz Racecourse, if you were an American race fan scouring the circling field looking for the customary light blue and neon green standard carried by Joe Peacock Jr.'s homebred MGSW Senor Buscador (Mineshaft), then you might have been left wondering. The banner wasn't there. That's because jockey Junior Alvarado was sporting royal blue and white aboard the eventual winner. Despite reporting by several Middle Eastern news outlets--namely Arab News and the Saudi Gazette--which either listed Peacock secondarily...

"Some people looked at me like I'd lost my marbles," admits Jamie Osborne. The trainer is back in rainy Lambourn following a couple of glorious days under the Middle Eastern sun. The potential moment of madness to which he refers came last October when he bid 160,000gns for the then-seven-year-old Emaraaty Ana (GB) (Shamardal).  The gelding already had 32 runs under his belt and an impressive track record for Kevin Ryan, which included victory in the G2 Gimcrack S., backed up later by his win at five in the G1...

Kabirkhan (California Chrome) continued a most improbable fairy-tale run at the Dubai Racing Carnival, as he raced prominently following a bit of a sluggish dispatch and powered home late to easily take out Friday's US$1-million G1 Al Maktoum Challenge at Meydan. The chestnut with a big white blaze--eerily reminiscent of his G1 Dubai World Cup-winning sire--was returning just a fortnight after annexing a 2000-metre handicap, and for all intents and purposes forced the hand of trainer Doug Watson. After racing for next to no prize-money while winning eight of nine...

by Alan Carasso & Heather Anderson Trainer Chad Summers knows the nooks and crannies of Meydan, having saddled Mind Your Biscuits (Posse) to victories in the G1 Dubai Golden Shaheen in 2017 and again in 2018. With Dubai World Cup just a couple of months down the road, the horseman is back in the Emirates for Friday's newly upgraded G1 Al Maktoum Challenge-R2 and is in with a big chance in the form of RRR Racing's Clapton (Brethren). The Florida-bred 5-year-old was acquired privately by these connections last summer and...

Juddmonte's Laurel River (Into Mischief), last seen running out a 3 3/4-length winner of the GII Pat O'Brien S. in August 2022 for Bob Baffert, has been entered for the G3 Al Shindagha Sprint (1200m) and the G3 Firebreak S. (1600m) on 'Fashion Friday' at Meydan Racecourse Jan. 26. "Everything seems to be fine, we've gotten nothing but good reports from over there," said Garrett O'Rourke, general manager of Juddmonte USA, who confirmed that the 6-year-old stallion will take part in the shorter of the two races Friday evening. An...

A pair of graded stakes races will signal that the Gulfstream Park Championship season is officially underway on Saturday. First, the GIII Sugar Swirl S. for older females going six furlongs on the main track includes veteran mare Bluefield (Field Commission), who won by a neck against state-breds in a Tampa black-type race Dec. 9. "She went up to Tampa and it was nice to get a stakes win on her resume at this age," said trainer Saffie Joseph Jr. "She came to us late but she just keeps getting...