American Horses Look to Shine on Dubai World Cup Night

Dubai World Cup:

–Game On Dude – He’s got Karma on his side!  Game On Dude is ridden by the wildly popular female jockey Chantal Sutherland, and his trainer Bob Baffert has suffered a heart attack while in Dubai.  The common theme seems to be “win one for Bob and Chantal,” and Game On Dude has a decent chance to do just that.  His front-running style gives him a big advantage , as the Meydan Racecourse tapeta surface has shown a bias of favoring speed horses in the past.  Look for Game on Dude to grab the lead early, and hopefully never look back.  I am not predicting a win here, but hitting the board is a very realistic goal.

–Royal Delta – Royal Delta looks to become the first female to ever win the Dubai World Cup.  However, this is one tall order.  Her first race of 2012 was less than flattering, as she was beaten several lengths by Awesome Maria.  Trainer Bill Mott was not worried about that though, saying she usually follows a good race up with a flat one.  She’ll need to run the best race of her life to win this one.  She is one classy filly, but probably is up against a little too much in this spot.

UAE Derby:

–Lucky Chappy (IRE) – Lucky Chappy prepped for this race in the El Camino Real Derby at Golden Gate, and was defeated by Daddy Nose Best.  Since then Daddy Nose Best came back to win the Sunland Derby, so that flatters Lucky Chappy somewhat.  He’s proven that he can compete with some of the best competition, but he’s never proven that he can win against them.  I think he’ll enjoy the tapeta surface, but an on the board finish is probably the best he can do.

Al Quoz Sprint:

–Regally Ready – After her huge effort in winning the Breeders Cup Filly and Mare Turf Sprint, Regally Ready has regressed a little bit.  She was third in the Daytona Stakes at Santa Anita, then thirteenth in her prep race at Meydan.  Hopefully she comes back firing in this spot, but I don’t like her chances.

Dubai Golden Shaheen:

–The Factor – As far as sprinters go, there are none better right now than The Factor.  He’s been flawless in 2012, and has shown six furlongs is his speciality.  There is no question this is a need the lead type horse, so look for him to be flying right from the start.  The tapeta surface is my only question mark with him.  If he likes it, I think he wins this race wire to wire.

–Giant Ryan – Giant Ryan came into last years Breeders Cup Sprint with a six race winning streak,  but was never a factor in that race finishing eighth.  Now he shows up in Dubai without a race since.  In my opinion this is way to tall a task to ask of  him and would consider him a long shot.