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World Cup race features world's best |
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3/29/2006 9:11:19 AM |
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 America's best have had trouble recently when paired against international competition in certain sports.
The World Baseball Classic? The U.S. cannot get out of the second round.
The U.S. hockey teams at the Olympics? You mean I missed the Olympics?
The U.S. men's basketball team? Let's not even discuss it.
Before we reach this summer's World Cup of Soccer and another likely disappointing result for the old red, white and blue, there is an event this weekend in which the American contingent does rate a strong look, as it has every year since its inception.
The $6 million Dubai World Cup, the world's richest horse race, will be run Saturday in the United Arab Emirates. This is the 11th running of the race, which will be simulcast locally at SunRay Park and Casino, where racing fans can watch and wager on the event.
Eleven horses have been entered for the 1 1/4 mile race, with the winner receiving a prize of over $3.2 million. Five American-bred horses have won the World Cup, beginning with the immortal Cigar in the first running of the race in 1995.
Silver Charm (1998), Captain Steve (2001), Pleasantly Perfect (2004) and Roses In May, who won the race last year, represent the American winners of the event. Meantime, five European-based horses have also won the race, including Dubai Millennium, owned and bred by the powerful Maktoum racing family, who essentially represent the ruling family in the United Arab Emirates.
This weekend's renewal, which will be run Saturday morning at approximately 10:20 MST, features a strong, but not dominant crew of American-based runners headlined by Brass Hat.
Ranked among the top older American thoroughbreds in this week's National Thoroughbred Racing Association poll, Brass Hat is trained by William Bradley and has won three straight races, including the Grade 1 Donn Handicap at Gulfstream Park in Florida last time out.
The son of Prized has never raced beyond 1 1/8 miles and has never carried as much weight as he will carry in the World Cup (126 lbs.) He will be ridden by Willie Martinez, who is seeking his first win in the Dubai World Cup.
The morning line favorite in the World Cup comes from winning connections, and might be the horse to beat. Electrocutionist has already won a race over the Nad Al Sheba Racecourse in Dubai, and is owned by the Maktoum family's racing stable, known as Godolphin. Electrocutionist toyed with a lesser field in a prep race over this course last time out and has only tasted defeat twice in nine career starts.
While no one questions the popularity of the race because of the extraordinarily large purse money, there are those who dispute America's involvement in the race due to the nation's proximity, deep in the Middle East.
In fact, several trainers have opted not to attend the race or send their horses overseas out of respect for the current international situation.
The Maktoum family patriarch is Maktoum bin Rashid Al Maktoum, who is the Prince of Dubai, as well as the man who created the Dubai World Cup. He is also owner of Darley Stud Farm, one of the largest thoroughbred breeding operations in the world.
The United Arab Emirates is a sovereign nation, but because of its strong Islamic culture and its ties to the Arab world due to its richness in oil reserves, some of America's top horsemen have opted to not participate in recent runnings of the Dubai World Cup, though few have ever expressed a political reasoning not to attend.
Aside from Brass Hat, who will break from Post 7 in the World Cup field, other American hopefuls include Choctaw Nation, Super Frolic, Wilko and Magna Graduate, who won the Grade 2 Clark Handicap last November at Churchill Downs.
My selection for the World Cup is likely to be a pretty decent price in the wagering, and would represent the first horse to win the race from outside Europe or the United States.
Kane Hekili, who was impressive in winning the prestigious February Stakes at Tokyo Racecourse in Japan last month, is coming up to the race in sharp form for trainer Katsuhiko Sumii. The 4-year-old colt has won six of his last seven starts, is unbeaten at this distance and will be ridden by one of the world's top riders, Japan's favorite son Yutaka Take.
Listed as the third choice in the morning line at odds of 5-1, Kane Hekili should relish the fast track at Nad al Sheba Racecourse will not facing the strongest cast of rivals in this race's tremendous history.
The Dubai World Cup is the highlight of a six-race, $21 million program featuring throughbred racing's international elite.
In addition to the World Cup, American racing fans will also be able to wager on the $5 million Dubai Duty Free, which is run at a distance of 1 1/8 miles on the turf, as well as the Dubai Golden Shaheen, one of the world's top sprint races, worth a purse of $2 million, featuring Thor's Echo, winner of last year's WinStar Derby at Sunland Park.
Steve Bortstein is a radio talk show host and professional handicapper. Bortstein hosts "First Sports" weekday mornings at 7 and "The Fast Track" weekend mornings at 8 on FOX Sports New Mexico, AM1340. Bortstein is also the paddock show host during the live racing season at SunRay Park and Casino.
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