A field of 10, dominated by American horses, is likely for the $10 million Dubai World Cup on March 31 at Meydan Racecourse. The Dubai Racing Club on Wednesday released likely fields for the nine races on the World Cup card. Final entries will be drawn and post positions assigned for six of the races on Monday, with the World Cup plus the two $6 million turf races – the Dubai Turf and the Sheema Classic – drawn next Wednesday. Among the intended starters on the card are 15 American horses that were en route to Dubai on Wednesday, a group that includes the World Cup favorite West Coast, a 4-year-old owned by Gary and Mary West, trained by Bob Baffert, and to be ridden by Javier Castellano. Baffert has trained three World Cup winners, including Arrogate last year, but Castellano, a four-time Eclipse Award winner as champion jockey, never has won the race. West Coast showed his high quality winning the Travers Stakes and the Pennsylvania Derby last year, but has yet to beat older horses, though his third in the Breeders’ Cup Classic and second in the Pegasus World Cup point him out as the horse to beat in Dubai. The other Americans in the race are Forever Unbridled, Gunnevera, Mubtaahij, and Pavel. Also listed as likely runners are Breeders’ Cup Turf hero Talismanic, who will be making his dirt debut; North America and Thunder Snow, the one-two finishers in Round 3 of the Al Maktoum Challenge earlier this month; the Japanese horse Awardee; and locally based Furia Cruzada. The Dubai Turf at about 1 1/8 miles is the stronger of the two major grass races and has among its likely entrants the race’s last two winners, Vivlos (2017) and Real Steel (2016). Both horses are Japan-based, as are three more of the 15 likely entrants – Crocosmia, Deirdre, and Neorealism. Aidan O’Brien and Coolmore run world traveler Lancaster Bomber, while Godolphin has four Dubai-based likely runners. The Sheema Classic over about 1 ½ miles will likely include 2017 Prix de l’Arc de Triomphe runner-up Cloth of Stars, a France-based Godolphin colorbearer trained, like Talismanic, by Andre Fabre. Rey d’Oro, Mozu Katchan, and Satono Crown are a formidable Japan-based contingent, while Hawkbill is a capable Dubai-based presence. Three American horses head the likely entrants for the $2 million Golden Shaheen. Roy H has won three races in a row, including the Breeders’ Cup Sprint, Mind Your Biscuits was a three-length winner of the 2017 Shaheen, and X Y Jet was beaten a neck in the 2016 edition. The $1 million Al Quoz Sprint, a straight-course turf race over about six furlongs, looks like an excellent race, with Blue Point and Jungle Cat likely at the top of the betting market. Four Americans have shipped for the Al Quoz, including the Peter Miller-trained trio of Conquest Tsunami, Richard’s Boy, and Stormy Liberal. Holding Gold runs in the Al Quoz Sprint and will be trainer Mark Casse’s first Dubai starter. Also running his first horse in Dubai is trainer Chad Brown, who has Economic Model as one of 13 likely entrants in the Group 2, $1 million Godolphin Mile. There’s also one American, Reride, in the $2 million UAE Derby, which includes two known Kentucky Derby aspirants, the Aidan O’Brien-trained Mendelssohn and the Charlie Appleby-trained Gold Town. The Group 2, $1 million Gold Cup over about two miles drew a large and deep prospective field headed by Vazirabad and Big Orange. The prospective field includes one American horse, the Mike Maker-trained Run Time. Rounding out the program is the $1 million Kahayla Classic for Arabians.