Dubai World Cup 2008

This Satuarday March 29, 2008, is the 13th running of the world riches horse race - Dubai World cup. Horse of the year Curlin will be the the odd on favorite in a 13 horse field. The 4 year old colt will start in post 12 and he will have to overcome the outside post to win the 2000M race.
Here's a quick look at the pp of each horse and its jockey.

1. Sway Yed, Olivier Peslier
2. Well Armed, Aaron Gryder
3. Happy Boy, Kerrin McEvoy
4. Kocab, Stephane Pasquier
5. Great Hunter, Garrett Gomez
6. Premium Tap, Sebastian Madrid
7. Vermilion, Yutaka Take
8. Jalil, Lanfranco Dettori
9. Asiatic Boy, John Murtagh
10. Lucky Find, Kevin Shea
11. Gloria De Campeao, Christophe Lemaire
12. Curlin, Robby Albarado
13. A. P. Arrow, Ramon Dominguez

Steve Asmussen brought Curlin to Dubai 6 weeks ago to fully acclimate to the weather and the Nad Al Sheba racetrack. Curlin easily won the Feb. 28 Jaguar Cup in his final prep race while coming from behind and racing wide in the strech. There will be no value in picking the winner of this race as I believe Curlin will win it easily.

One of the horse that will be getting alot of public interest is Jalil, Godolphin's main hope with regular jockey Lanfranco Dettori to ride. Jalil is a improving 4 year old and won the round one of the Al Maktoum Challenge earlier this month. The $9.7 million Storm Cat colt is 3 for 3 this winter at Dubai and he is peaking at the right time. If anyone can upset Curln, it will be Jalil.

Vermilion ran 4th in last year edition of the World cup and is coming into this racing in top form. The 6 year old horse won the February Stakes(G1) at Tokyo Racecourse on Feb 24 for his fourth consective win. I was very impress with Vermilion victory in the Japan Dirt cup(G1) last November, his strong closing kick should prvoide an exciting finish.

Asiatic Boy is the wild card of this race. It became the first horse to win the UAE Triple Crown last year when it destroyed the UAE Derby field by 9 1/2 lenght over runner-up Jack Junior. Asiatic Boy won a sprint race in January but only finish 3rd in the Burj Nahaar(G3) on March 6 as his final prep race. Mike de Kock, Asiatic Boy's trainer was aslo suprised by the horse's poor performance but reported the horse is in good heath. If Asiatic Boy can run back to his last year's form, he will be very dangerous.

Last year's runner-up Premium Tap will return for another crack of the top prize. I love Premium Tap in the 2006 Breeder Cup Classic, which he ran 3rd as the 27-1 long shot behind Invasor and Bernardini. Premium Tap will be the forgotten horse in this year's race. He failed to impress and finished forth in his last race, the Custodian of the Two Holy Mosques Cup, a race that he won in 2007. The six year old Pleasant Tap horse is more suited to the 10 furlong than the 12 furlong the Custodian of the Two Holy Mosques Cup. I will absolutly use him at the bottom of the trifecta.

Another American horse Well Armed, is ready for a strong showing base on his recent form and training. The 5 year old Tiznow horse finished second in the 1 1/16-mile San Pasqual Handicap (G2) and then won the San Antonio Handicap (G2) on Feb 9 at Santa Antia. Well Armed is expected to go to the lead when the gate open and will try to steal the race by slowing down the pace. I don't expect Well Armed to hold off Curlin in the strech but he may last for a minor award.

Good luck everyone and I am looking forward to cash my winning tickets.