KUUMAR SHYAM (ABU DHABI)
Forever Young may seem to be the forever favourite horse to win any premier race in the world, and the Dubai World Cup show on Saturday evening at the Meydan Racecourse is going to be no different for the Japanese horse.
After disappointing last year, finishing third to Hit Show, both horses are returning for another tilt at the pride of UAE's racing scene. Yet, the main story ahead of the race was not whether the defending champion Hit Show can emulate Thunder Snow as the only World Cup champion to win twice in Dubai. It is once again Forever Young's title to lose as the top-rated horse in a field of nine for the Group 1 race.
Drawn sixth in the line-up at the start line of the 2,000-metre dirt track, Forever Young's connections are confident he can rise to the occasion for a 12th win in 15 starts. If he does that, the four-year-old bay horse will become the richest prize money winner of all time in the world, overtaking Romantic Warrior.
If Hit Show had not stolen the show last year, Forever Young would have already been there with the winning purse of $696,000 for the first place. Still his trainer Yoshito Yahagi remains quietly confident of adding the missing piece in his Triple crown, having added the Breeders' Cup Classic and the Saudi Cup, which he snared for a second time last month.
On ratings, he is head and shoulders ahead of his opposition – he has 10 pounds in hand on Magnitude and 11 over Hit Show. But Yahagi is more concerned about the prospect of the rain predicted between now and post time.
"It's a small field and it is competitive as it always is. I am particularly concerned at the moment that I don't want to see it raining heavily on Saturday, definitely not."
Owner, Susumu Fujita, has not travelled and will be watching from Japan.
Wathnan Racing, the Qatari operation behind Hit Show, is double-handed with stable companion Tumbarumba, while Magnitude makes up the three-strong contingent from America who can revel on the dirt track if conditions remain ideal in the main race.
The top contenders for a local representative on the podium are Imperial Emperor and Walk of Stars for different stables under Bhupat Seemar, the UAE's champion trainer this season. Imperial Emperor will try to upset the applecart one more time after jostling with Hit Show and Forever Young last year.
Meanwhile, world champion Calandagan remains the horse to beat as the international contingent prepares for a high-quality undercard. Rider Jeremy Lobel confirmed the Japan Cup winner has entered race mode and remains focused ahead of his assignment in the Dubai Sheema Classic.
In the absence of defending champion Rebel's Romance, Charlie Appleby is relying on Royal Power, recently successful in the Abu Dhabi Championship, and By The Book. The Godolphin trainer noted that Royal Power has improved since his return from a layoff, while By The Book returns to a more suitable mile-and-a-half trip following a stint over further ground in the Nad Al Sheba Trophy.
They face a formidable field that includes Breeders' Cup Turf winner Ethical Diamond and Hong Kong Vase victor Giavellotto.
The evening's action begins with the Gr.1 Kahayla Classic for Purebred Arabians, providing its traditional curtain-raiser to a night that showcases the best of the winter racing season in the UAE.
In the Dubai Turf, the progressive Ombudsman is widely regarded as the horse to beat, though Make Me King could be a spoilsport. A winner in four different countries, Make Me King arrives following a victory in Qatar and previously landed The President Cup in Abu Dhabi.
The sprinting division takes centre stage in the Dubai Golden Shaheen, where the American challenger Nakatomi seeks to go two places better than his third-place finish in 2024, though an inside draw in stall four will require an alert break under jockey Florent Geroux.
Nakatomi faces a stiff local test from El Nasseeb, who has dominated the sprint division at Meydan this season with three stakes victories. The five-year-old will have stablemate Khanjar for company as wards of Emirati trainer Musabbeh Al Mheiri.
Top picks:
Gr.1 Kahayla Classic – First Classs, Muraad, AA Lahab
Gr.2 Godolphin Mile – Commissioner King, Mendelssohn Bay, The Camden Colt
Gr.2 Gold Cup – Al Nayyir, Sunway, Burdett Road
Gr.2 UAE Derby – Pyromancer, Wonder Dean, Six Speed
Gr.1 Al Quoz Sprint – Lazzat, Rayevka, Marbaan
Gr.1 Golden Shaheen – Nakatomi, Tuz, El Nasseeb
Gr.1 Dubai Turf – Ombudsman, Make Me King, Tumbler
Gr.1 Sheema Classic – Calandagan, Ethical Diamond, Royal Power
Gr.1 Dubai World Cup – Forever Young, Magnitude, Imperial Emperor