The moans were audible from the hometown crowd as Discreet Cat drew the rail on Wednesday night for the $6-million Emirates Airline Dubai World Cup (UAE-G1) and his long-awaited showdown with Horse of the Year Invasor (Arg) at Nad al Sheba racecourse.

Invasor, meanwhile, will start from the far outside in the short group of seven for the world’s richest Thoroughbred race on Saturday night in front of thousands of partisan fans and a worldwide television audience.

“It’s not what we wanted, but we will work with it,” Godolphin trainer Saeed bin Suroor said. “The same thing happened last year with Electrocutionist, and he was able to overcome it and be successful.

“If [stable jockey] Frankie [Dettori] can put Discreet Cat in the right position and the horse is able to settle, the post should not make a big difference.”

Kiaran McLaughlin, who will saddle Invasor in search of the horse’s sixth consecutive victory since his only career loss in last year’s United Arab Emirates Derby (UAE-G2), was content with the outside position.

“We should be outside any early trouble and able to begin in the clear and see what develops in front of us,” said McLaughlin, who returns to Dubai with the World Cup favorite after living there for ten years and working for the Maktoum family.

“The post position was not a big concern for us, although neither we nor Godolphin wanted the inside. Unfortunately, Discreet Cat got it, but he’s talented enough to overcome any traffic and issues that may occur early in the race.”

Despite the overwhelming feeling that the 11&'8260;4-mile event is a two-horse show, trainer John Kimmel expressed an abundance of confidence in Grade 1 winner Premium Tap, who drew post five.

The five-year-old Pleasant Tap horse, who was purchased by Saudi Arabian King Abdullah bin Al Aziz and sons, enters off a 23&'8260;4-length victory in the 11&'8260;2-mile Custodian of the Two Holy Mosques Cup (also known as the King’s Cup), that nations most prestigious race, on February 16.

“I’m real happy with his progress, training program, and fitness,” said Kimmel, who will condition the horse for a summer/fall campaign in the United States. “You’re not going to get any excuses from my side of the court.

“There certainly are three horses that stand out, but when you have a field this small anything can happen.”

The probable field was reduced by one on Monday when multiple Argentine Group 1 winner Storm Mayor was unable to make the trip due to documentation problems.

The field also includes Japanese stakes winner Vermilion (post two), Hong Kong multiple Group 1 winner Bullish Luck (post three), multiple Group 3 winner Kandidate (post four), and 2006 Argentine Horse of the Year and champion three-year-old Forty Licks, who finished fourth in the King’s Cup in Saudi Arabia.

“We have a lot of respect for Discreet Cat, Premium Tap, and all the other horses in the field,” McLaughlin said. “But our horse is doing great. He’s prepared well, and we expect a strong performance on Saturday. We expect to win.”

The post positions for the other five Thoroughbred races and the one purebred Arabian race on the $21.25-million card were drawn on Tuesday.