CHELTENHAM, England - When he finishes his races, Un De Sceaux wins.

A specialist in two-mile steeplechases in the last 17 months, Un De Sceaux will be be an odds-on favorite to win for the 15th time in his 17th start in Wednesday’s $500,500 Queen Mother Champion Chase at Cheltenham Racecourse.

In chases, the 8-year-old Un De Sceaux has won five of seven starts. He fell in his chasing debut in November 2014 in Ireland and again as the 1-4 favorite in the Grade 1 Paddy Power Chase at Leopardstown Racecourse in Ireland in December.

The gang’s all there, the eight U.S.-based horsed slated for races on the March 26 Dubai World Cup program departed – five from Florida, three from California – for the Middle East on Sunday. The journey is long, especially from California, but the riches at trip’s terminus vast, the horses racing for purses ranging from the $1 million in the Al Quoz Sprint to $10 million in the World Cup itself.

CHELTENHAM, England – Annie Power holds a dubious role in the recent history of the National Hunt Festival at Cheltenham Racecourse.

In 2015, Annie Power was comfortably leading the Grade 1 Mares’ Hurdle at Cheltenham as the 1-2 favorite when she fell at the 10th and final hurdle. A win, which seemed certain in early stretch, would have been the fourth that day for trainer Willie Mullins.

All across the globe, horsemen are ramping up preparations for the Dubai World Cup card on March 26 at Meydan Racecourse.

Irish jockey Joseph O’Brien will retire from riding to focus on a training career in 2016, it was reported Monday.

O’Brien, the son of famed trainer Aidan O’Brien, was easing out of his role as a prominent jockey for Ballydoyle last year, and though he is just 23, its remarkable O’Brien was able to ride Thoroughbreds for this long. O’Brien has long been unusually tall for a flat-racing jockey, and his size has forced him to work hard to make riding weight the last several years.

Polar River was nowhere near as impressive Thursday in the UAE Oaks as she had been in her three previous starts this winter, but she kept her unbeaten record alive with a three-quarter-length win over South American import Vale Dori in just a three-horse field at Meydan. The Oaks was run around two turns over 1 3/16 miles, Polar River’s first start around a second bend, and after appearing to put away Vale Dori at the top of the stretch, Polar River’s lead dwindled precipitously in the final half-furlong.

Frosted took care of business last month when he won the Al Maktoum Challenge Round 2, his Dubai World Cup prep, and California Chrome did what he was supposed to do last week, winning a handicap over about 1 1/4 miles meant to propel him to a peak performance March 26 in the World Cup. Now, it’s time to see what Keen Ice has to offer, as the third American horse to ship early for the $10 million World Cup starts Saturday at Meydan in the featured Al Maktoum Challenge Round 3.

The road to the Dubai World Cup card March 26 takes its final turn this week, with the last two major racecards at Meydan on Thursday and Saturday before the World Cup program itself.

The Saturday feature, Round 3 of the Al Maktoum Challenge, includes Keen Ice, the last of the three American horses that shipped early to Dubai to race and train at Meydan in preparation for the $10 million World Cup. Frosted won Round 2 of the Al Maktoum Challenge last month and is being trained up to the World Cup, while California Chrome comfortably won a handicap race last week.

CYPRESS, Calif. – In the hours after California Chrome won a $150,000 handicap at Meydan Racecourse in Dubai on Thursday, the popular horse had a ravenous appetite.

“He ate up everything,” trainer Art Sherman said on Saturday. “Frank Taylor saw him at 1 a.m. after the race. He said he tried to bite him.”

California Chrome will break from the rail Thursday night when he spots seven rivals 15 pounds in a 2,000-meter (about 1 1/4-mile) dirt handicap at Meydan Racecourse in Dubai.