California Chrome drawn widest of nine runners in Dubai World Cup
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Version 0 of 1. California Chrome, last year’s Kentucky Derby and Preakness Stakes winner, will have all eight of his opponents on his inside when he sets off as favourite for the $10m Dubai World Cup here on Saturday. Art Sherman’s four-year-old colt will start from stall nine, while Lea, another significant American-trained contender for the first World Cup at Meydan to be staged on dirt, has a middle berth in stall five and Epiphaneia, the Japan Cup winner, is also wide in stall eight. California Chrome was voted America’s horse of the year in 2014 despite his narrow failure to complete the Triple Crown when he was beaten in the final leg, the Belmont Stakes, in June. His Classic season concluded with a close third behind Bayern and Toast Of New York in the Breeders’ Cup Classic at Santa Anita and his humble origins – he was bred by his owners from the unfashionable sire Lucky Pulpit – have made him the most popular horse in America. “I have to switch off my mobile phone,” said Steve Coburn, one of those owners, here on Wednesday, “because of the all the calls from the Chromies”. Coburn’s colt is very popular with the organisers of the Dubai World Cup, too. Since last year’s renewal of the race, the synthetic Tapeta track at Meydan racecourse has been replaced with dirt in an attempt to attract more American-trained runners to an event that attempts to be truly global. The arrival of the most recent Kentucky Derby winner, as well as Lea, whose trainer, Bill Mott, saddled Cigar to win the first Dubai World Cup in 1996, will be seen here as justification for the decision to move on to dirt. A wide draw is often perceived as a negative on dirt, a surface on which a good early position can be vital, but Sherman remains enthusiastic about the 7-4 favourite’s chance. “I love it,” the trainer said. “Nine is a perfect position for our horse. I’ve got all the speed horses to the inside of me and he loves to run from the outside. The surface is not a concern, good horses can run on anything, even Tarmac and Victor [Espinoza, California Chrome’s jockey] knows him really well. I’m just really glad to be here. He’s a rock star all around the world.” Mott’s outstanding champion Cigar was the centre of attention 19 years ago when the Dubai World Cup made its debut on the international calendar. For the 20th running of the race, he is happy to leave the limelight to California Chrome, but Mott is confident, too, that the new track will ensure Lea runs up to his best form. “Looking at this surface this morning, my first reaction was that it looks like Churchill Downs,” Mott said. “I heard it was sand but it looks like there is a fair amount of loam or clay in it to tighten it and hold it together. It should be a really good, fair surface. “If Lea shows up and runs his best race, he will be a factor. He’s a good challenger for the top pick. California Chrome had more of an accomplished season last year and we only ran twice so he is better recognised, but now we’ve got to make up for lost time. The draw is good, but a good break from the gate is always important, whatever the distance of the race.” Saeed bin Suroor’s African Story, a surprise winner of the final World Cup on a synthetic surface last year, will start from stall three, while the leading Japanese dirt specialist Hokko Tarumae is drawn in stall two. Hokko Tarumae was 16th and last behind African Story 12 months ago but should be much more suited to the new dirt circuit. The Grey Gatsby, the winner of the French Derby and Irish Champion Stakes winner, drew stall six of 10 for his four-year-old debut in the $6m Dubai Turf over nine furlongs on Saturday night, while Ryan Moore will also be in an outside berth when he rides Harp Star, another Japanese-trained runner, from stall nine in the $6m Dubai Sheema Classic. The New One, who finished fifth of eight behind Faugheen in the Champion Hurdle at Cheltenham, will miss the remainder of the jumps season after a bone scan revealed a problem with his back. “He’s not too bad but we’ve stopped him for the season now,” Nigel Twiston-Davies, The New One’s trainer, said. “He’s got a kissing spine [a condition in which sections of the spinal chord rub together too closely] but he’ll be OK in time. He won’t need an operation but we will give him a break.” |