Thunder Snow, winner of the last two editions of the Dubai World Cup with Christophe Soumillon in the irons. (Photo credit: DWC).
The $12 million Dubai World Cup (G1) at Meydan Racecourse is fast approaching and the field is in flux leading up to the world’s second richest race.
The inaugural $20 million Saudi Cup run last Saturday took over as the world’s richest race and is going to have a major impact on the Meydan fixture as several top contenders will not wheel back in four weeks looking for another big paycheck.
Among those are Maximum Security and Midnight Bisou, the top two finishers of the Saudi Cup. Both are headed back to the U.S. and will skip the Dubai World Cup this year.
Jason Servis, trainer of Maximum Security, did not completely rule out a trip to Dubai, but it seems doubtful.
“I don’t think it’s fair to ‘Max’ to wheel him back in the 28 days after the way he ran,” Servis told RacingTV. “Then he runs fifth (in the Dubai World Cup) – and I’ll be like ‘what was I thinking about?’
“Like I said, nothing has been engraved in stone yet, but I think in fairness to him, he needs ample time – and I want to be in a place where I feel good that he’s 100 per cent and can give it his all,” he added.
The colt is currently listed at +250 at Jazz Sports in early Dubai World Cup wagering.
Benbati Heading to Dubai
Benbati, who ran a good third in the Saudi Cup in his first start on dirt is headed to Dubai. Owned by Godolphin, the six-year-old is trained by Saeed bin Suroor, who has won the Dubai World Cup a record nine times including the last two with Thunder Snow.
In overseas wagering Benbati has now taken over the role as the ante-post favorite between odds of +200 and +250 while Jazz Sports still has him listed at +500 as of Tuesday morning.
Mucho Gusto looked headed for victory in the Saudi Cup but got leg weary and drifted around in the stretch, weakening to finish fourth. He will ship to Dubai and is listed at +800 in early Dubai World Cup wagering at Jazz Sports. Overseas he is sitting between +400 and +700.
The colt is trained by Bob Baffert, who has won the Dubai World Cup three times, the most recent with Arrogate in 2017.
Saudi Cup Replay
Tacitus Looks to Improve Off Saudi Cup Effort
The Bill Mott trained Tacitus was fifth in the Saudi Cup, which was his first start since running third in the Jockey Club Gold Cup (G1) at Belmont Park last September. The colt is currently listed at +1500 at Jazz Sports in early Dubai World Cup betting.
Capezzano is listed at +1500 despite his poor showing in the Saudi Cup where he finished 14th. The gelding had won the Firebreak Stakes (G3) at Meydan on Feb. 13 in his previous start. That was his first start since a disappointing 12th place finish in last year’s Dubai World Cup.
Master Fencer was the latest invitee to the race. Based in Japan, the colt was sixth in last year’s Kentucky Derby (G1) and fifth in the Belmont Stakes (G1). He won the Kintel Stakes at Tokyo on Feb. 22 in his most recent outing.
Others we may see in teh Dubai World Cup include Sir Winston, Tax, Gronkowski, Gold Dream, Quip, Military Law, Chrysoberyl and Parsimony.
Check out Jazz Sports for the latest Dubai World Cup betting odds. New players receive a 50% Welcome Cash Bonus!
