dubai world cup | Horse Racing Free Tips

Saudi Cup Winner Mishriff Headed For Dubai; Returns To Turf In Sheema Classic

After his thrilling upset victory over Charlatan in the $20 million Saudi Cup on the dirt, Mishriff will return to the turf for the Dubai Sheema Classic on the Dubai World Cup undercard on Mar. 27, reports the Racing Post. The $4 million race is contested over 1 1/2 miles on the turf at Meydan Racecourse.

Trained by John Gosden, the 4-year-old son of Make Believe won the G1 Prix du Jockey Club and G2 Prix Guillaume d'Ornano on turf last summer.

Trainer John Gosden told the Racing Post: “This morning we've accepted an invitation for Mishriff to run in the Dubai Sheema Classic. He's a versatile horse and we've always wanted to try him over this trip of a mile and a half. This will then give him plenty of time for a break before tackling Royal Ascot in June and the Eclipse S. at Sandown the following month.”

Read more at the Racing Post (behind paywall).

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Salute The Soldier Appears ‘A Genuine Dubai World Cup Prospect’

Three weeks before the UAE's biggest day of horseracing, the Dubai World Cup card, this weekend's Super Saturday is a 'dress rehearsal' with all seven races mirroring the conditions of one of those on the big day, officially highlighted by the Group 1 Al Maktoum Challenge R3 on dirt along with the Group 1 Jebel Hatta, the turf highlight.

Over the same 2000m (1 1/4 miles) on dirt as the $12 million Dubai World Cup, the Group 1 Al Maktoum Challenge R3 has on three occasions been won by a subsequent Dubai World Cup winner with Dubai Millennium (2000), Street Cry (2002) and Electrocutionist (2006) all completing the double at Nad Al Sheba for Godolphin and Saeed bin Suroor.

Frankie Dettori rode all three to win this, though did not partner Street Cry in the World Cup, and is aboard dirt debutant Dubai Mirage for the same connections this year. Competing at his first Meydan carnival, the 4-year-old gelding has finished second on both local starts, in turf handicaps over 1600m (one mile) and 1800m (nine furlongs).

Being a gelded son of Dubawi, he certainly looks worth trying on the dirt surface and did lose his maiden tag on his sole all-weather appearance in Britain.

Saeed bin Suroor said: “Dubai Mirage has run well on the turf so far this season, finishing second on both occasions, and we wanted to give him a chance on the dirt. This will be a very tough race, but he has been going nicely at home.”

For Fawzi Nass and Adrie de Vries, Salute The Soldier was a Super Saturday winner last year in the 1600m (one mile) Group 3 Burj Nahaar. A 6-year-old Sepoy gelding, he bounced back to winning ways in the 1900m (1 3/16 miles) Group 2 Al Maktoum Challenge R2 just over three weeks ago.

De Vries said: “That was a new trip last time and he stayed well, suggesting the extra 200m (furlong) will not be an issue. He seems in great form and it is exciting to, hopefully, be involved with a genuine Dubai World Cup prospect.”

Second on that occasion to De Vries' mount was Thegreatcollection, also runner-up in the 1600m (one mile) Group 2 Al Maktoum Challenge R1 when Salute The Soldier was third. To be ridden by Pat Dobbs, the 7-year-old Saint Anddan gelding is trained by Doug Watson for Zaur Sekrekov.

The trainer said: “He stayed the 1900m (1 3/16 miles) well last time and, on that evidence, 2000m (1 1/4 miles) is not going to be a problem. He has been in great form all season.

“Hopefully they go quick and he can close on them in the straight. We are really looking forward to seeing how he goes.”

Thegreatcollection's most recent victory, in the middle of December, was in the Listed Dubai Creek Mile, chased home by Secret Ambition with Salute The Soldier back in fourth.

Trained by Satish Seemar for Nasir Askar, Secret Ambition was then runner-up when attempting to defend his crown in the Group 3 Jebel Al Mile. Most recently, he won the 1600m (one mile) Group 3 Firebreak Stakes, at the carnival, a month ago.

With regular pilot Tadhg O'Shea suspended, Richard Mullen resumes the partnership victorious in the 2019 Jebel Ali Mile. Seemar also saddles Quip, Saltarin Dubai, victorious in the Listed Jebel Ali Stakes on his most recent start a month ago under Mullen, and Roman Rosso.

Salem bin Ghadayer is seeking a third consecutive victory in the race and fourth in five years. He saddles Firnas, Tailor's Row and Hypothetical, runner-up behind Secret Ambition in the Firebreak Stakes before recording a second 1600m dirt Meydan handicap success a fortnight ago.

Bin Ghadayer said: “All three are in good form and have been running well, but this is, obviously, a tough race. We hope they all run well and can give a good account of themselves.”

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Flashback: Silver Charm Narrowly Denies Swain In Third Dubai World Cup

The Dubai World Cup meeting celebrates its historic 25th anniversary on March 27, with six Group 1 races and three Group 2s, including one of the world's premier races, the $12 million Dubai World Cup, sponsored by Emirates Airline.

Over the next three weeks, the Dubai Racing Club will pay tribute to each of the previous Dubai World Cup winners. Today, we rewind to 1998, when Silver Charm won the Dubai World Cup title for Bob Baffert. It was the first of many successful outings in the UAE for the American trainer.

For those outside of the USA any chance of seeing a winner of any of America's Triple Crown races used to be limited to the television screen. However, all of that changed in 1996 when the Dubai World Cup created a truly viable option for owners and trainers of America's best to consider international raids.

Cigar was the leader and he paved the way for another history making event in 1998 when Silver Charm, winner of the Kentucky Derby and Preakness Stakes, made his way to Dubai.

Silver Charm's trainer Bob Baffert, who had never left the USA, was able to make the trip to the United Arab Emirates through a hastily arranged passport, to prepare his grey champion for the event.

Just when it was thought that nothing could better the inaugural victory of Cigar and then Singspiel came the epic battle of Silver Charm and Swain, and their jockeys Gary Stevens and Mick Kinane, where it appeared that honor was more valuable than the world's richest prize.

Such was the excitement of that contest that few remember who finished third. For the record books it was the French raider Loup Sauvage, who turned in a personal best.

Silver Charm returned to America with his best performances being a narrow second to Awesome Again (with Swain just behind him in third) in the Breeders' Cup Classic before a win in the Grade 2 Clark Handicap. He returned the following year to win the Grade 2 San Pasqual Handicap, was third in the Donn and Santa Anita Handicaps before returning to defend his Dubai World Cup crown.

He couldn't repeat his heroics of 12 months previously and was beaten a long way from home when only sixth behind Almutawakel. He was retired after his next start when unplaced in the Stephen Foster Handicap at Churchill Downs. Silver Charm was one of the narrowest winners of the Dubai World Cup, however that was his usual method of success, never actually winning his races by big margins, but in winning the Dubai World Cup he defeated a champion in Swain and must be rated as one of the race's very best winners.

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Mike Stidham Talks Mystic Guide, Godolphin, Arlington On Writers’ Room

With over 2,000 wins and dozens of graded stakes scores on his resume, Mike Stidham has well established himself as a top trainer in this business. But as of yet, his stable hasn't quite found its breakout star–one that can take him to Breeders' Cup glory and maybe even an Eclipse Award or two. That may have changed with the arrival of Mystic Guide (Ghostzapper) in Stidham's barn two years ago, as the Godolphin blueblood has steadily developed into a budding star, fresh off a jaw-dropping victory in the GIII Razorback H. and headed for an engagement in the G1 Dubai World Cup. Wednesday morning, Stidham joined the TDN Writers' Room presented by Keeneland as the Green Group Guest of the Week to discuss his plans for Mystic Guide, how the Godolphin racing and breeding operation works, the demise of his beloved Arlington Park and more.

“As you can see from his past performances, we took our time with him. We spaced his races,” Stidham said of Mystic Guide's steady progression. “There were a lot of temptations because it had been moved to September to still try to make the Derby. He just always seemed like he was a step or two behind some of the top 3-year-olds last year. So we gave him the time and felt like he had really moved forward late in the year. At that point, again there was temptation to try him in the Breeders' Cup, but we decided to do the right thing and get him ready for his 4-year-old year. We never turned him out, we just lightened up on his training and I felt really confident from a maturity standpoint, mentally and physically, he had gone the right way. So the [Razorback] performance was not surprising.”

Asked about the surging Godolphin racing operation in America and how it operates across several trainers, Stidham commented, “When you look at the stallion power of these horses–Tapit, Hard Spun, Curlin–then you look down and you see mares like Panty Raid, Music Note, it's only a matter of time until they start to do what they're doing. Interestingly enough, the trainers never see the 2-year-olds until they walk into their barn. I know that Jimmy [Bell] makes trips down to Ocala where they're in training, mostly with Eddie Woods, Niall Brennan, David Scanlon, but we don't know anything about what we're getting until we get a list sent to our email. Until they walk into our barn, we've never seen them before. I think they try to somewhat fit horses to the programs that we're running and obviously they've done a great job, because it's working really well.”

Stidham has been a mainstay at Arlington Park in the summer for several years and has won multiple training titles there. But the news is not good for the Chicago-area plant, as it appears Churchill Downs will abandon racing there after 2021. He didn't mince words when asked his feelings about those developments.

“I'm very, very disappointed in the way Churchill has handled Arlington. I think it's total disrespectful to the Illinois horsemen,” he said. “For me, Arlington was like a national park would be for the public, where you cherish it, and for anybody to go in and tear it down and make it into a residential area because it's better for the stockholders shows no respect for the tradition of Arlington or the horsemen who fought for so many years to try to get gaming there to bolster Illinois racing. For them to walk along with the horsemen for all those years acting like they wanted gaming, then finally get it and then just flat turn it down because they got involved with a casino 15 miles away and didn't want the competition, it's just horrible and sad. It's a very sad day in racing to lose Arlington Park.”

Elsewhere in the show, the writers talked to TDN European editor Emma Berry about the Gordon Elliott story, reacted to a big weekend of 3-year-old racing and, in the West Point Thoroughbreds news segment, broke down the implications of the Irad Ortiz, Jr.-Paco Lopez fight. Click here to watch the podcast; click here for the audio-only version.

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