Dubai World Cup
Bill Mott said he believes Lea can follow the path of Cigar, the inaugural winner of the Dubai World Cup in 1996.
Cigar used a win in the Grade 1 Donn Handicap as a springboard to victory in Dubai and Lea arrives with a 2014 win and second place last month in that race.
Mott said he thought about the Dubai World Cup a little bit after Lea “won the Hal’s Hope and then after he ran second in the Donn it was on my mind. After looking around and trying to compare him with the rest of the horses in the US, I thought we were sitting in a pretty good position.
“Top five in the country, if you can be rated that well, I think you deserve a chance in the World Cup. Hopefully the best is yet to come.”
Kahayla Classic
For the first time the Kahayla Classic has drawn a horse trained in the US by an American trainer.
Valiant Boy makes the long trip and according to her trainer Elizabeth Merryman has to overcome a wide draw to keep his hopes alive in the race.
“He was great. He was a little sharp but that was good – that seems to be when he’s at his best, when he is full of himself,” Merryman said of the seven-year-old grey Arabian.
“I just hope he doesn’t get into trouble coming from the one hole (drawn widest in stall 15). We’ll have to see how it unfolds.”
Godolphin Mile
A winner on the Dubai World Cup night will be the icing on the cake for the new UAE champion trainer Musabah Al Muhairi.
The Emirati is confident Tamarkuz can extend his winning streak to four in the Godolphin Mile. The five-year-old chestnut son of Speightstown is drawn in stall one from which he has won twice and came out of two in-between to complete the hat-trick over the course and distance.
“He’s got to have a good chance, the manner he has won his last two starts,” Al Muhairi said.
Dubai Sheema Classic
Teddy Grimthorpe, racing manager of owner Khalid Abdullah, is “pleased” with Dubai Sheema Classic hope Flintshire’s progress since his close second to Dolniya in his latest start this month.
“I hadn’t seen him since he ran in Chantilly and he certainly has trimmed down a bit more and seems very relaxed,” said Grimthorpe.
“He has travelled really well out here and everything has been very straightforward with him, which has been one of the prerequisites of having a successful campaign anywhere.
“We have to say we are very pleased. Coming into his race at Chantilly, he was certainly a bit short of work, I don’t know exactly, but just looking at him he seemed above his normal racing weight I would say.”
Dubai Turf
The Grey Gatsby, the French Derby and Irish Champion Stakes winner is returning to “mint condition” ahead of the US$6 million (Dh22m) Dubai Turf.
The Mastercraftsman colt was considered for the Dubai Sheema Classic over 2400 metres but after posting his best performances over 2000m, the connections decided to run him in the 1900m race.
“I discussed it with Ryan [Moore, who rides The Grey Gatsby] and he thought it was better going shorter to get better pace through the race,” said Kevin Ryan, the trainer.
“He felt the Sheema Classic could be a stop-start race and that would not suit my horse. I’m happy with where we are.”
apassela@thenational.ae
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