The fields and post positions for the evening's four non-Group 1 races–including the Dubai Kahayla Classic for the Purebred Arabians–were announced Monday, while stalls for the five elite-level contests were allotted during a ceremony Wednesday evening emceed by Rishi Persad and Laura King at the Armani Hotel at the iconic Burj Khalifa in Central Dubai.

Ushba Tesoro (Jpn) (Orfevre {Jpn}) will look to join Thunder Snow (Ire) (Helmet {Aus}) as the only two-time winners of the World Cup, and his trainer Noboru Takagi was first to the stage, where he selected barrier five. The 7-year-old had gate eight a year ago and was off to an awkward start before steaming home to peg back Algiers (Ire) (Shamardal) close to home. The commonly owned Wilson Tesoro (Jpn) (Kitasan Black {Jpn}), second to Ushba Tesoro in the G1 Tokyo Daishoten over the World Cup distance in December, drew 11.

Senor Buscador (Mineshaft) ran down Ushba Tesoro in the final jump of the G1 Saudi Cup in Riyadh five weeks ago, and the two square off for the third time at the weekend. The likeable 6-year-old was represented on stage by trainer Todd Fincher and co-owner Joe Peacock Jnr looked on as Senor Buscador was assigned barrier 10.

Last year's G2 UAE Derby winner Derma Sotogake (Jpn) (Mind Your Biscuits) was at a fitness disadvantage when a sound fifth in Riyadh first-up for better than four months and figures to have come on for that reappearance. He will begin from stall eight.

Kazakh-owned Kabirkhan (California Chrome) will look to complete a fairy-tale season while trying to emulate his World Cup-winning stallion Saturday evening. Purchased for the bargain price of $12,000 as a Keeneland September yearling, the chestnut will break from post position two for jockey Pat Dobbs and trainer Doug Watson.

Trainer Bob Baffert and Frankie Dettori teamed to take out the 2022 World Cup with Country Grammer (Tonalist) and will look for history to repeat itself with Newgate (Into Mischief) from the six hole. He exits a victory in the GI Santa Anita H. Mar. 2.

Juddmonte Farms' Laurel River (Into Mischief) ran up the score in the G3 Burj Nahaar over 1600 metres on Super Saturday Mar. 2, but sensing that it could be a paceless renewal of the World Cup, connections have rolled the dice. He will have to be on his best behaviour, as any misstep from the widest stall in 12 could prove his undoing.

In the other Group 1 tests:

• Auguste Rodin (Ire) (Deep Impact {Jpn}) has drawn seven and Japanese Triple Tiara winner Liberty Island (Jpn) (Duramente {Jpn}) nine for the G1 Longines Dubai Sheema Classic, where 10 Group 1 winners from eight nations vie for a $6-million pot.

• Lord North (Ire) (Dubawi {Ire}) will go for a fourth straight $5-million G1 Dubai Turf from gate 11, with Japan's Do Deuce (Jpn) (Heart's Cry {Jpn}) in five, Luxembourg (Ire) (Camelot {GB}) drawn three and stablemate Nashwa (GB) (Frankel {GB}) out in 16.

• Defending champion Sibelius (Not This Time) has gate six for the G1 Dubai Golden Shaheen where he faces G3 Riyadh Dirt Sprint hero Remake (Jpn) (Lani), Bold Journey (Hard Spun), a late-on-the-scene third in the same race, and the capable locals Mouheeb (Flatter) and Tuz (Oxbow).

• Hong Kong's California Spangle (Ire) (Starspangledbanner {Aus}) will start from gate five in the G1 Al Quoz Sprint against the smart 3-year-old filly Frost At Dawn (Frosted), the veteran Emaraaty Ana (GB) (Shamardal) and defending champion Danyah (Ire) (Invincible Spirit {Ire}.

The full field for the 2024 Dubai World Cup:

1 (7) Clapton (Brethren)

2 (1) Crupi (Curlin)

3 (9) Defunded (Dialed In)

4 (8) Derma Sotogake (Jpn) (Mind Your Biscuits)

5 (3) Dura Erede (Jpn) (Duramente {Jpn})

6 (2) Kabirkhan (California Chrome)

7 (12) Laurel River (Into Mischief)

8 (4) Military Law (GB) (Dubawi {Ire})

9 (6) Newgate (Into Mischief)

10 (10) Senor Buscador (Mineshaft)

11 (5) Ushba Tesoro (Jpn) (Orfevre {Jpn})

12 (11) Wilson Tesoro (Jpn) (Kitasan Black {Jpn})

It's all set!

The final post position for the 28th running of the #DubaiWorldCup!#DWC24 pic.twitter.com/gYdTv4BGu9

— Dubai Racing Club (@RacingDubai) March 27, 2024

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Trained by Mick Appleby, Annaf was last seen securing a lucrative payday for his connections when landing the $2-million G2 1351 Turf Sprint in Saudi Arabia, bursting clear in the closing stages to win by three quarters of a length. The five-year-old had another big pot in his sights in the shape of the $1.5-million Al Quoz Sprint at Meydan on Saturday, March 30, but those plans have now had to be shelved as he prepares to return to his trainer's Oakham base.

Appleby said, “He got taken ill on the flight over, but it is not life threatening or anything and he's hopefully going to be fine, it's just prevented him from running. It's a shame but it's a risk you take when they are flying a fair bit. He came home after Saudi and was heading back out so maybe it was just a bit too much for him.

“He should be fine and the vets out in Dubai in the hospital are happy with him–he should be fine to come back home when the other one [Roberto Escobarr] does. We'll probably get him ready for Ascot now, that will probably be the main aim.”

A run at Royal Ascot could also be on the cards for Annaf's stablemate, Big Evs (Ire), who won four of his six starts as a two-year-old in 2023, culminating with another high-profile international success for his stable when landing the GI Breeders' Cup Juvenile Turf Sprint at Santa Anita in November.

“He's great and has wintered really well,” Appleby said of the son of Blue Point (Ire). “He's not far off being ready to run, we just need to decide where we are going to run. The obvious race would have been the Commonwealth Cup, but that is six furlongs and we don't really want to try him over six first time back, so we're not really sure where we will start back. The weather is not helping and it's raining again here now.

“I think in the early season we will definitely be sticking to five furlongs. We're obviously going to have to try him at six at some point and the way he won at Goodwood on that heavy ground, you would say he would stay the six.”

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The main event has attracted a field of 15 that is led by its defending champion Ushba Tesoro (Jpn) (Orfevre {Jpn}), one of 24 runners set to ship in from Japan for the meeting. Looking to become the first 7-year-old World Cup winner since Gloria de Campeao (Brz) back in 2010 and just the third overall, the recent G1 Saudi Cup runner-up is joined by three compatriots, including last year's G2 UAE Derby hero Derma Sotogake (Jpn) (Mind Your Biscuits). The American challenge numbers five and is topped by Saudi Cup upsetter Senor Buscador (Mineshaft) and GI Santa Anita H. hero Newgate (Into Mischief) for four-time World Cup winner Bob Baffert, while the exciting Kabirkhan (California Chrome) has been the talking horse of the Dubai International Racing Carnival and the G1 Al Maktoum Challenge victor will have his supporters to become a first World Cup winner for perennial leading trainer Doug Watson. Laurel River (Into Mischief) won the G3 Burj Nahaar over a mile on Super Saturday Mar. 2, but opts for the World Cup over the Godolphin Mile for trainer Bhupat Seemar.

The $6-million G1 Longines Dubai Sheema Classic, won in imperious fashion by Equinox (Jpn) (Kitasan Black {Jpn}) last March, was the second highest-rated race in the world in 2023, and if the field assembled for this renewal is any indication, it could go one better. A likely field of 12 has been revealed, fully 10 of which have succeeded at Group 1 level, and features a mouth-watering clash between G1 Betfred Derby, G1 Irish Derby and GI Breeders' Cup Turf hero Auguste Rodin (Ire) (Deep Impact {Jpn}) and Japanese Triple Tiara winner Liberty Island (Jpn) (Duramente {Jpn}). Japan is also represented by 2022 Sheema Classic victor Shahryar (Jpn) (Deep Impact {Jpn}), while Emily Upjohn (GB) (Sea The Stars {Ire}) is set to make her first appearance beyond the borders of the UK and is one of four on the evening for John and Thady Gosden. Godolphin sends out Rebel's Romance (Ire) (Dubawi {Ire}), impressive in taking out the Listed HH The Amir Trophy in Qatar last month.

Lord North (Ire) (Dubawi {Ire}) also represents the Clarehaven operation as he goes in search of an unprecedented fourth victory in a row in the G1 Dubai Turf, where he squares off with G1 Arima Kinen hero Do Deuce (Jpn) (Heart's Cry {Jpn}), the would-be 2023 favourite who was scratched leading up to the race. Also in the field is Lord North's hard-knocking stable companion Nashwa (GB) (Frankel {GB}); Godolphin's progressive G1 Jebel Hatta winner Measured Time (GB) (Frankel {GB}); treble elite-level scorer Luxembourg (Ire) (Camelot {GB}) for Aidan O'Brien; and Hong Kong's Voyage Bubble (Aus) (Deep Field {Aus}), victorious in this year's G1 Stewards Cup at Sha Tin.

Godolphin's Siskany (GB) (Dubawi {Ire}) will look to avenge a tough defeat in the G2 Dubai Gold Cup, where he'll surely face a stiff challenge from recent G3 Longines Red Sea Turf H. winner Tower of London (Ire) (Galileo {Ire}) and runner-up Enemy (GB) (Muhaarar {GB}); G2 British Champions Long Distance Cup conqueror Trawlerman (Ire) (Golden Horn {GB}); and G2 Yorkshire Cup winner Giavellotto (Ire) (Mastercraftsman {GB}).

Danyah (Ire) (Invincible Spirit {Ire}) proved a somewhat unlikely winner of the 2023 G1 Al Quoz Sprint for local trainer Musabbeh Al Mheiri and will have to dig deep if he is to defend against the Jamie Osborne-trained veteran Emaraaty Ana (GB) (Shamardal), a recent winner in Qatar; the nails-tough US raider Casa Creed (Jimmy Creed); Annaf (Ire) (Muhaarar {GB}), so game up the rail to scoop the G2 1351 Turf Sprint Feb. 24; Hong Kong's G1 Queen's Silver Jubilee Cup winner California Spangle (Ire) (Starspangledbanner {Aus}); and the 3-year-old fillies Star of Mystery (GB) (Kodiac {GB}) and Frost At Dawn (Frosted).

America's Sibelius (Not This Time) will have Ryan Moore back in the saddle as he defends his title in the G1 Dubai Golden Shaheen against the likes of G3 Riyadh Dirt Sprint winner Remake (Jpn) (Lani) and the locally trained Tuz (Oxbow), while Isolate (Mark Valeski) is certain to face a strong challenge from Saudi Cup close third-placegetter Saudi Crown (Always Dreaming), who drops back in trip for the G2 Godolphin Mile.

The G2 UAE Derby features a budding star in the form of the Yoshito Yahagi-conditioned Forever Young (Jpn), a son of 2016 Dubai Turf hero Real Steel (Jpn), whose undefeated run includes a razor-thin victory in the 1600-metre G3 Saudi Derby Feb. 24. G3 UAE 2000 Guineas winner Mendelssohn Bay (Mendelssohn) and Listed Al Bastakiya S. scorer Killer Collect (Collected) front the local challenge, while Ballydoyle is set to be represented by G3 Tyros S. winner Henry Adams (Ire) (No Nay Never). The Derby offers 100 points on the Road to the Kentucky Derby.

Click here for the full fields.

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The 5-year-old, victorious in the G1 Longines Hong Kong Sprint in December, was found to be lame in his right fore the morning after the Centenary Sprint, but turned in a smooth runner-up effort in a Feb. 20 trial over the dirt track and should be a warm item Sunday. James McDonald, who was in the saddle last year, looks for another hit-and-run Group 1 in Hong Kong.

California Spangle (Ire) (Starspangledbanner {Aus}) made the running and Lucky Sweynesse did the chasing in last year's Queen's Silver Jubilee, but the pacesetter couldn't quite see it out and settled for a sound second. The 6-year-old was very good in carrying 135 pounds to victory in the G2 Sha Tin Trophy over a mile on seasonal debut back in October, but those weight-bearing efforts can exact a toll, as he is winless in his last four, including a fourth in the G1 Stewards' Cup over the metric mile Jan. 21. A trip to the desert for the G1 Al Quoz Sprint could be in the offing with a return to something approaching his best form.

“He's entered for Dubai and we'll decide whether we will go depending on how he performs on Sunday,” said Cruz. “We hope for a good result.”

Zac Purton opted for California Spangle over Lucky Sweynesse last year and gets a leg up on Beauty Joy (Aus) (Starspangledbanner {Aus}) from Tony Cruz Sunday afternoon. After besting Beauty Joy (Aus) (Sebring {Aus}) in November's G2 Jockey Club Mile, Beauty Eternal was an even sixth behind Golden Sixty (Aus) (Medaglia d'Oro) in the G1 Longines Hong Kong Mile and exits a solid second to the Dubai-bound Voyage Bubble (Aus) (Deep Field {Aus}) in the Stewards' Cup.

Cruz is a three-time winner of the Queen's Silver Jubilee, most notably with the legendary Silent Witness (Aus) back in 2005.

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“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 was beaten a neck in 2022 and a head in 2023. “He had a fever for one day and we were on the cusp, but we didn't want to put that stress on him of shipping halfway around the world if he wasn't 100%. We didn't want him to get off the plane in Saudi Arabia not feeling good. He's been training great, he'd been training up to the [Saudi] race great, but we had the fortunate alternative of going to Dubai, so we said let's just wait.”

Casa Creed was a close fifth behind A Case of You (Ire) (Hot Streak {Ire}) in the 2022 Al Quoz.

Casa Creed, co-owned by New York radio personality Mike Francesa, returned to the worktab at Payson Park Feb. 23, breezing an easy half-mile in :50.20 for trainer Bill Mott.

“The plan was never to go to Saudi Arabia and then to Dubai,” Einsidler continued. “The plan was to go to Saudi and come home like we did last year, so we'll just go straight to Dubai instead. We're very excited. I've never been, so there's a good chance that my son Jeffrey, who is totally into it with me, is going to come with me.”

A two-time winner of the GI Jaipur S. over six furlongs and the two-time defending champion of the GI Fourstardave H. going a mile, the 8-year-old Casa Creed holds a special place in Einsidler's heart.

“He's meant so much to us in our lives. You think about a horse like Casa Creed every day,” he said. “He's just been so special to us. From the time we got him, he told us all that he loves to be a racehorse and for me, racing is the ultimate escape from the daily trials and tribulations of life. He's been a great separation from things you deal with in your life.”

Casa Creed has provided Einsidler, the CEO of the Casamigos brand of tequila, a measure of peace and joy after tragically losing his son Aaron in August 2020.

“Casa Creed brought us and continues to bring us so much joy and so much pleasure and excitement,” he said. “We're just thrilled to have him as part of our life. To be running at eight years of age and competing at the highest level, it's a dream come true for a horse owner, it's so rare. We've been truly blessed.”

Tentative plans call for Casa Creed to pass this year's Jaipur, as it has been shortened to 5 1/2 furlongs during the Belmont at Saratoga meeting and he is a candidate for the $350,000 GIII Poker S. on the Belmont S. undercard the same afternoon, June 8. The long-term goal would be the Fourstardave, where Casa Creed was third in 2020 and 2021 before winning the prestigious race the last two seasons.

“That would be just ridiculous,” Einsidler exclaimed. “Just to be in the race five times is incredible, to win it for a third time would be an amazing accomplishment.”

Luis Saez has ridden Casa Creed in his last 11 starts and has a return call for the 1200-meter Al Quoz.

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At this time last year, Sheikh Abdullah Almalek Alsabah's Al Dasim (Ire) (Harry Angel {Ire}) was about a month away from making an early-season debut; twelve months on from that somewhat disappointing fifth when favoured in a five-furlong maiden at Leicester, the chestnut colt will be one of the choices to give Boughey a victory at one of the world's greatest and richest race meetings in Saturday's $1.5-million G1 Al Quoz Sprint at Meydan.

“It's great. I've been pretty outspoken about the fact that this is what we want to be doing,” Boughey said. “The UK is very much our base, but if we want to be running horses, we'll span the world when we can. I've got a super team of guys who take the horses wherever they go. The horse makes the job very easy, but to have runners around the world, you have to have enormous trust in your staff for doing the job that you asked them to do. And I have that so I'm hugely grateful for that.”

Boughey Steps In

Boughey is at least equally thankful that he was given the chance to take over the training of Al Dasim, bred by Skymarc Farm and a £50,000 purchase by Sheikh Abdullah from the draft of Tony O'Reilly's Hollyhill Stud at the 2021 Goffs UK Premier & Silver Yearlings Sale.

The chestnut, whose third calendar birthday doesn't come until Apr. 11, was runner-up in a Salisbury novice event in two starts for Clive Cox and graduated a couple of runs later in a Windsor maiden after being transferred to Kevin Philippart de Foy. He was turned over to Boughey after finishing unplaced in the Listed Prix de la Vallee d'Auge at Deauville last August.

“I'd trained for Sheikh Abdullah before and we were lucky enough to be the recipient of a handful of horses and he was one of them,” said the conditioner, who has about 10 horses for Sheikh Abdullah. “[Sheikh Abdullah]'s got a string of horses out in Saudi Arabia at the moment, obviously not far away from his local Kuwait.”

Runner-up in a nursery handicap at Haydock in his first appearance for Boughey last September, Al Dasim took a pair of starts back-to-back over the Wolverhampton all-weather, including a November novice with a whopping 144 pounds on his back, and the stage was set to broaden his horizons.

“It's been a plan for [Sheikh Abdullah] for a long time to try and have some horses in Dubai,” Boughey said. “When he came to me, for me, I thought he was a fast-ground horse. He'd been tried on slower ground before and I was pretty keen that if he did show enough ability, that we'd take him to Dubai. So it was later on in the year, but he needed to prove to me that he was good enough to be a horse who was going to be competitive. I wasn't going to take him unless he was. And he's very good. He won under a double penalty at Wolverhampton. I just wanted to go and see him carry a big weight and try and win well and he did exactly that. Just before that race, [Dubai] was the plan, and then obviously it came to fruition when he won.”

Hitting The Road

Dubai is not for every horse, but Al Dasim has actually come on for his time in the Emirates, Boughey suggests.

“Yeah, he's done very well,” he said. “Ryan King, my sort of head man out there, he's been in charge of him and he's been riding him every day. He's a horse who was a little bit fractious when we first got him, and he seems to be relaxing each week. I thought at the time that we had him in a good mental state and that he'd be able to handle training on the track. And actually, I think, having seen him train out there, I think he's almost thrived for it. He's actually done a lot of work on the dirt, and I'm not saying he's going to run on the dirt immediately, but it would be no surprise if he did end up in Dubai next year. Then we might try him on the dirt as well as the turf.”

For now, it's been the lush Meydan grass where Al Dasim has made a name for himself. Taking full advantage of the opportunity to face his peers early during the Dubai World Cup Carnival, he ran strong times in winning conditions events in January and February over the straight six furlongs, which came as little surprise to his connections.

“On just official ratings alone, he looked liked he was clear of certainly the colts out there in the sprint division,” said Boughey. “So as long as we could have him in good condition as well, then I thought he'd be a horse who'd be very hard to beat out there, having seen the pool of horses he was going to run against. But I didn't really ever…you know, obviously the programme is Super Saturday and the Al Quoz was obviously there. But he's certainly had to go and prove his merit to be in the race and he certainly did that.”

A Super Saturday Star

It is one thing to go and beat up on your peers, it's an entirely different ball of wax stepping a 3-year-old up to tackle older rivals as early as March. But Al Dasim did just that last time in the G3 Nad Al Sheba Turf Sprint. Drawn low on the oft-disadvantageous far side, he nevertheless raced prominently, took over from pacesetting Miqyaas (Ire) (Oasis Dream {GB})–previously winner of the G2 Blue Point Sprint S. over the minimum trip–and went on to score by 2 1/4 lengths beneath Mickael Barzalona.

“I think the speed that they go in the older races is very different,” said Boughey. “The tempo of race is different to what he's ever encountered before. And as a horse whose traveled very well against his own age and I did hope that he would step up, and it was nice to see him do it. But he was taking on some 6-, 7-,8-year-old sprinters who are hardened, good performers. Obviously it will be a massive step up again on World Cup night, but I've got no reason to suggest that he's out of place and he goes there in great shape.”

Boughey is taking it race-by-race with Al Dasim, but has a plan in mind for the near to mid-term, with the G1 Commonwealth Cup back against 3-year-olds at Royal Ascot in June the likeliest target.

“He'll probably get an entry in the [G1] King's Stand [S.] as well, being open to 3-year-olds, whereas the [G1] Platinum Jubilee S. isn't,” the trainer said. “Ascot I think is almost tailor-made for him, you know? It's a faster track on the flat track than at Meydan. I think that stiff finish will suit him well and you can ride him for a turn of foot. He's entered in the [G1 2000] Guineas at Newmarket, but at this stage I'd be very surprised if he's stepping up to the mile. He's showing a lot of pace from the get-go, he's an old-school winner over the minimum trip of five furlongs and being by Harry Angel, I don't see any reason to stretch him at this stage.”

George Boughey is clearly excited about the challenge that awaits around a quarter past five local time Saturday.

“I'm looking forward to it and it's a pretty special place, Meydan. I'm looking forward to seeing it full of people,” he said.

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The 6-year-old is one of 13 in the field for the $12-million centerpiece of the meeting, including no fewer than eight runners from Japan topped by Panthalassa (Jpn) (Lord Kanaloa {Jpn}), who registered a half-length defeat of Country Grammer in the G1 Saudi Cup last month. Emblem Road (Quality Road), who upset Country Grammer in the 2022 Saudi Cup, is set to make the trip over from Riyadh.

In terms of numbers, the U.S. supplies five of the 13 likely starters the G1 Dubai Golden Shaheen, whose defending American-bred champion Switzerland (Speightstown) is also engaged. Gunite (Gun Runner) gave an excellent account of himself when making his seasonal debut in the G3 Riyadh Dirt Sprint, finishing runner-up to champion Elite Power (Curlin), while the in-form Sibelius (Not This Time) ships in for Midlantic-based conditioner Jerry O'Dwyer and will be ridden by Ryan Moore. Hopkins (Quality Road), a latest winner of the GIII Palos Verdes S., also represents the Bob Baffert barn, while C Z Rocket (City Zip) was a late addition to the field. Super Ocho (Chi) (Dubai Sky) is one of two World Cup night entries for trainer Amador Sanchez, who also sends out Gulfstream allowance winner Super Corinto (Arg) (Super Saver) in the G2 Godolphin Mile.

The G2 UAE Derby is the first race on the Road to the Kentucky Derby that offers the winner 100 points, and three American-based sophomores are in the mix. Two of those wintered in Dubai for Doug O'Neill, namely Tall Boy (Lookin At Lucky), fourth to Practical Move (Practical Joke) in last year's GII Los Alamitos Futurity, who handed Charles Fipke's Shirl's Bee (Bee Jersey) a one-length loss in the G3 UAE 2000 Guineas over a mile Feb. 10. Ah Jeez, a son of 2018 UAE Derby romper Mendelssohn, earned his way into the field with a 2 1/4-length allowance victory going seven furlongs at Meydan Feb. 24. Worcester (Empire Maker) is a third World Cup night runner for Baffert and most recently rounded out the trifecta in the Feb. 4 GIII Robert B. Lewis S.

Extravagant Kid (Kiss the Kid) won the 2021 G1 Al Quoz Sprint for Brendan Walsh and the conditioner is represented in this year's running by 'TDN Rising Star' Cazadero (Street Sense).

The last of the North American-based entries is Fipke's Grade I-winning 'TDN Rising Star' Shirl's Speight (Speightstown), who runs in the G1 Dubai Turf after finishing ninth behind Golden Shaheen entrant Lemon Pop (Lemon Drop Kid) in the G1 February S. on the dirt at Tokyo Feb. 19.

COUNTRY GRAMMER's regular pilot Umberto gave the keys to Antonio Fresu and watched on for his pre World Cup breeze at Meydan this morning .Moved like a Stealth fighter- low flyin' ,quiet and fast . pic.twitter.com/mVO99XsKyv

— John Nicholls (@JohnNico49) March 13, 2023

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“If we get an invitation from Dubai, we'll go to Dubai. I would love to see him run in a straight 1200m race because, in the past, he's run very well in straight 1000m races here, but there's no straight 1200m races here,” Ng said of the 7-year-old, who took his career earnings to beyond HK$18 million with his ninth career win. “If he doesn't [go to Japan], we'll go through the motions again, going for the Group 2 and the Group 1 races here because he wasn't invited to Japan.”

In the Devon H. given an uncomplicated run from barrier one under Jerry Chau, Duke Wai claimed leader Nervous Witness (Aus) (Star Witness {Aus}) in the last 100m before fending off Courier Wonder (NZ) (Sacred Falls {NZ}) to win by half a length.

“He got the inside draw this time. Jerry knows him well. He just had to wake him up in the early stages and let him travel. Around the bend until the 300m, he was travelling quite strongly, and he finished off very well. After the race, Jerry told me Courier Wonder was never going to get past him,” Ng said.

In the Al Quoz Sprint, the veteran turf sprinter might clash with fellow Hong Kong speedsters Sky Field (Aus) (Deep Field {Aus}) and Sight Success (Aus) (Magnus {Aus}).

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Malter and his IHR partners eagerly accepted an invitation to Royal Ascot for the 2018 G1 King's Stand S. over a straight and undulating five-furlong trip. Bucchero acquitted himself exceptionally well against some of the best European short-trackers in recent memory like Blue Point (Ire) (Shamardal), Battaash (Ire) (Dark Angel {Ire}) and Mabs Cross (GB) (Dutch Art {GB}), just missing fourth while beaten under five lengths.

The flames had been fanned and this weekend at Meydan Racecourse, a half a world away, Get Smokin (Get Stormy) faces a diverse bunch in the G1 Al Quoz Sprint on the G1 Dubai World Cup undercard.

“I think once you're exposed to international racing and the enthusiasm and passion that the rest of the world has toward all of the racing, it makes you want to put your horse on that stage,” Malter said last week from his home in Southern California. “You have to have the right horse. And when we went with Bucchero, we were 50-1, but the horse ran as competitively on the world stage as you possibly could have hoped. And we feel the same way about Get Smokin.”

Malter and partners BlackRidge Stables LLC, T-N-T Equine Holdings LLC and Saratoga Seven Racing Partners acquired Get Smokin in a private transaction late last year.

“We've been working with [bloodstock agent] Phil Hager for about three years now, and he came to us with the horse,” Malter said when asked how they came to own the 5-year-old. “He had picked the horse out as a yearling [$11,000 Fasig-Tipton Kentucky in 2018] and had stayed quite involved with his progress both through his friendship with [trainer] Tom Bush and with the [previous owners the] Sullivans.

He continued, “They were starting to disperse a little bit of some of their holdings, and they had kind of leaned on Phil to hopefully find a really good spot for the horse to end up in. And so he came to us with the possibility of purchasing the horse. We were able to put together a really, really good team of Ironhorse partners plus some outside partners who were super game and have been really great to own the horse with. There's some very obvious similarities to another horse that we campaigned internationally, a chestnut with four white socks, but the thing that really, really caught our eye about the horse is, you just don't see a horse that's more game than this horse. If you look at his past performances, it's littered with the top turf horses in the country the last two years.”

Get Smokin posted a front-running defeat of the classy Decorated Invader (Declaration of War) in the 2020 GIII Hill Prince S. going Belmont's one-turn mile and made the majority of the running in that year's GI Hollywood Derby over a stamina-stretching nine panels, only to be swarmed late to finish a close fourth to divisional leaders Domestic Spending (GB) (Kingman {GB}), Smooth Like Strait (Midnight Lute) and Gufo (Declaration of War). A four-race campaign in 2021 included a 3/4-length success in the GIII Tampa Bay S. from just off the pace and he also annexed a graded-stakes quality renewal of the Seek Again S. in May. He was sidelined off a fifth in the GIII Poker S. and resumed with a very useful runner-up effort in defense of his title in the Tampa Bay S. Feb. 5, going a good gallop before just running out of fitness late in his first run for his new owners.

“I think any time you give a horse some time off, you don't know exactly how tight they'll be when they come back. So we were thrilled,” Malter said. “[Trainer] Mark [Casse] said he was extremely happy with the way he was training. So we were excited about the way of coming into it. And he put in exactly the effort we had hoped off a break like that.”

Grade 2-winning $1.5m Al Quoz Sprint (G1) hopeful GET SMOKIN stretched his legs for the first time @RacingDubai on Friday morning as he prepares for #DubaiWorldCup day. @markecasse @casseracingdc @racingwithihr

Full video: https://t.co/GMp0Y0ptXC pic.twitter.com/eMVnk0J2rV

— Michael Adolphson (@AdolphsonRacing) March 18, 2022

Malter is well aware that the task ahead in the Al Quoz will not be an easy one, as Get Smokin is set to face a distance and configuration he is generally unaccustomed to. The competition in the race, contested over a straight six furlongs, figures extremely strong, including last-out G3 Nad Al Sheba Turf Sprint romper Man of Promise (Into Mischief), European Group 1 winners Emaraaty Ana (GB) (Shamardal) and A Case of You (Ire) (Hot Streak {Ire}) and GI Jaipur S. hero and recent G3 1351 Turf Sprint runner-up Casa Creed (Jimmy Creed) among what is expected to be a full field. Flavien Prat has accepted the mount in the race won last year by fellow Yankee Extravagant Kid (Kiss the Kid).

“In talking to people who have experience with Dubai and some of the past success, and some of the Americans going over, the cutback milers have fared quite well,” Malter said. “The near miss by Long on Value (Value Plus) comes to mind. It is one of those situations where you don't know that he can't do it, and you don't know that he can do it. And we tend to lean to the side that we don't know that he can't do it. So he's the type of horse that gives you a ton out of the gate going through turns, and immediately pretty much rates himself. And he gives you a kick toward the end.

He added, “It's really going to be a lot up to how he decides to handle early, faster fractions, because he's never really been exposed to them. And what we obviously hope is that we've put one of the best riders in America on him, who's run this type of race before. And we'll leave it to him and the horse to see how they're feeling when the gates open. But we do feel like, with the speed he has, he should be able to position himself quite handy. And you hope that a horse that is normally used to going a much longer distance should have plenty left for the last two furlongs.”

Win, lose or draw Saturday, the allure of traveling horses has led Malter, Ironhorse and his partners to the sprawling Meydan Racecourse. And he is relishing the opportunity.

“When you get a chance to have the world bring their horses to a single race and put your head in there and let your horse be seen on that stage, it really does become about the horse,” he offered. “And giving the horse the chance. This is a unique opportunity to give your horse a chance to show what he's got against the top horses in the world and really make a mark. And we would definitely not go unless we thought this horse was going to be very competitive.”

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Man Of Promise raced prominently on the stands' side rail as the field broke into three groups up the Meydan straight. William Buick was still sitting quietly aboard the bay as many of the other riders had gotten busy on their mounts approaching the 400, and Man Of Promise cruised to the lead with relative ease passing the 300. It was at the furlong marker, however, that he hit another gear, sprinting clear to win by 4 3/4 lengths from last year's G1 Prix de l'Abbaye winner A Case Of You (Ire) (Hot Streak {Ire}), who made a good seasonal debut while closing quickly to finish 2 1/2 lengths ahead of Alkaraama (War Front). Last year's G1 Sprint Cup winner Emaraaty Ana (GB) (Shamardal) beat just one home after racing prominently early.

Man Of Promise, at $170,000, was the least expensive of 24 yearlings purchased by Godolphin during its 2018 Keeneland September buying spree. He is still lightly raced, having run just eight times thus far, but has found a new lease on life since being gelded and making Meydan his home last winter. His local debut was a three-length win in the Listed Dubai Sprint last February, after which he was eighth in both this race and the G1 Al Quoz Sprint, and he has gone to the next level this season.

Pedigree Notes

Man Of Promise was conceived when American supersire Into Mischief was standing for $45,000 in 2016-he is up to $250,000 this year. Man Of Promise is the fifth foal out of the winning Involved (Speightstown), who has a 2-year-old filly from the first crop of Into Mischief's half-brother Mendelssohn, and has this year produced a colt foal by Into Mischief's son Audible after being barren last year. Involved is a great-granddaughter of the GI Santa Barbara H. winner The Very One (One For All), herself a half-sister to French Classic winner Soviet Star.

Saturday, Meydan, Middle East
NAD AL SHEBA TURF SPRINT (SPONSORED BY EMIRATES SKYCARGO)-G3, $250,000, Meydan, 3-5, NH3yo/up & SH3yo/up, 1200mT, 1:08.14, gd.
1–MAN OF PROMISE, 126, g, 5, by Into Mischief
1st Dam: Involved, by Speightstown
2nd Dam: Winner's Ticket, by Jolie's Halo
3rd Dam: Ticket to Paradise, by Alydar
1ST GROUP WIN. ($170,000 yrl '18 KEESEP) O-Godolphin;
B-Betz, Magers, CoCo Equine, Kidder, Lamantial & Davidson
(KY); T-Charlie Appleby; J-William Buick. $150,000. Lifetime
Record: 8-4-1-1, $409,417. Werk Nick Rating: A+++ *Triple
   Plus*. Click for the eNicks report & 5-cross pedigree.
2–A Case of You (Ire), 126, c, 4, Hot Streak (Ire)–Karjera (Ire), by
Key of Luck. (€3,000 yrl '19 GOFOCT) O-Gary Devlin;
B-Limestone & Tara Studs (IRE); T-Adrian McGuinness.
$50,000.
3–Alkaraama, 126, h, 6, War Front–Agreeable Miss, by
Speightstown. ($600,000 wnl '16 KEENOV) O-Shadwell; B-Frank
Hutchinson (KY); T-Musabbeh Al Mheiri. $25,000.
Margins: 4 3/4, 2HF, HD. Also Ran: Jadwal (GB), Motafaawit (Ire), Parsifal (NZ), Acklam Express (Ire), Lord of the Lodge (Ire), Story of Light (Ire), Line of Departure (Ire), Mutaraffa (Ire), Jash (Ire), Final Song (Ire), Summerghand (Ire), Emaraaty Ana (GB), Dahawi (GB). Scratched: Royal Crusade (GB), Zamaani (Ire), Taneen, Live in the Moment (Ire).
Click for the Racing Post result. Click for the free Equineline.com catalogue-style pedigree. VIDEO.

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