Lord North (GB)

DUBAI, UNITED ARAB EMIRATES -- My, oh my, how times have changed. When the G1 Dubai World Cup was introduced at Nad Al Sheba Racecourse back in 1996, its $4 million in prize-money equaled that on offer for that year's GI Breeders' Cup Classic and an American clean sweep of the top three placings--won by the legendary Cigar after an unforgettable final-furlong battle with compatriot Soul of the Matter--really and truly put the race on the map. The locally owned Halling, one of four in the race for a trainer...

   At the beginning of 2022, it would have taken an almighty leap of the imagination to envisage Sir Michael Stoute having one of the best years of his career but within the space of just over a month from mid-May it has become a reality. Quite what Desert Crown (GB) (Nathaniel {Ire}) can go on to achieve is anybody's guess and the non-believers are rightly in a minority where the Derby hero is concerned, but in Bay Bridge (GB) (New Bay {GB}) Newmarket's longstanding doyen has another to take...