Dubai World Cup 2011

Review:
Some cracking racing out in Dubai with a number of winners from Britain as well as South Africa and Singapore with Victoire Pisa taking the big one back to Japan advertising the truly Global nature of this meeting. There does appear to be a slight problem with the track though as yet again there were many hard luck stories and it would be fair to say that to my eye a little (or a lot) of luck in running is even more important here than at any of the other major tracks in the World.
With two winners in the shape of J J The Jet Plane and Rocket Man at the early prices I finish the meeting 1.5 points down (level stakes); could have been very different with River Jetez getting beaten less than a length at 6-1.

The opener for the World Cup meet in Dubai is the Dubai Kahayla Classic and I will be leaving it well alone being a race for Arabs.

The first bet of the day is in the Al Quoz Sprint and anyone who knows me won’t be surprised to learn I shall be backing J J The Jet Plane. The Hong Kong Sprint winner looks as good as ever and winning nicely earlier this month and is a proven performer at this level.

In the Godolphin Mile the Barry Hills trained Red Jazz is a nice horse but has a habit of finding one too good and Skysurfers has an obvious chance. One that did catch the eye recently was the other Godolphin runner Rileyskeepingfaith. The five-year-old has been running well throughout the carnival and really impressed when upped to a mile for the first time earlier this month.

Ahmed Ajtebi is on record as saying Xin Xu Lin might be Godolphins best hope of a winner at the World Cup meeting and I give him a big chance in the UAE Derby. He is new to the surface but from what I can glean from the South American form, Brazilian Guineas and Derby winner, and if he goes on the Tapeta, he could take all the beating.

Last year the Dubai Golden Shaheen Stakes came down to a battle between Rocket Man and Kinsale King, the later winning by half a length and it looks likely these two will battle out the finish again this year. The draw could have been kinder to Rocket Man but I will be going with the Singapore flyer again.

The Dubai Duty Free is a tricky heat with a number of horses in with strong claims. You can't knock Mendip who has been running well at the Carnival in winning both his starts but that has been on the Tapeta; Previs and Wigmore Hall are closely matched on their race of 3rd March. The one I like the look of is the Mike De Kock trained River Jetez. She won nicely here in February and she might just be good enough to take this.

Rewilding will go off favourite for the Dubai Sheema Classic but Breeders Cup Turf winner Dangerous Midge has a chance to my eye. All is well according to the Meehan camp with the trainer reportedly stating 'He's an inexperienced horse and there is still improvement there. He has great enthusiasm and is in great form at home, but being out on the track gives him a buzz.' I will be investing a couple of quid on the five-year-old.

Twice Over has not been done many favours by the draw for the Dubai World Cup looking at last years result with the first four home drawn in single figures. Cape Blanco has got the four stall which must be seen as a plus but it has to been taken on trust that he will take to the Tapeta surface. My money will be on Gio Ponti. Fourth in the race last year a lack of a prep run is a light worry but the six-year-old is as tough as old boots and won't go down without a fight.
Be lucky