Arnold planning Dubai trip for Leinster

HALLANDALE BEACH, Fla. – For all his four-plus decades in racing, Rusty Arnold has never run a horse in Dubai. That could well change next month if Arnold goes through with tentative plans to run his turf-sprint star Leinster in the $1 million Al Quoz at Meydan.

Leinster, third as the favorite last fall in the Breeders’ Cup Turf Sprint, won his 6-year-old debut Saturday at Gulfstream Park when along late to nail front-running High Crime by a neck in the Grade 3 Gulfstream Turf Sprint.

“I guess my passport will get me out of Lexington,” joked Arnold, a native Kentuckian who spends his winters in Florida. “Going to Dubai isn’t necessarily on my bucket list, but winning a $1 million race is.”

Leinster already is booked on an overseas charter flight 11 days before the Al Quoz, part of the huge March 27 Dubai World Cup card. The Al Quoz will be run on the Meydan turf at 1,200 meters, or about six furlongs.

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“We’ll go if the horse comes out of this the right way and his energy level is where it needs to be,” said Arnold, who will turn 66 on March 26. “We wanted to see how he did Saturday, and he came through it very well, I thought. If we don’t go to Dubai, there’s always a race at Keeneland or Churchill Downs for him.”

Leinster ran Saturday without Lasix, marking the first such time in his 24-race career. Lasix is banned in Dubai, just as the bleeder medication is now banned for all Gulfstream stakes.

“There wasn’t any issue Saturday, so that’s one thing we apparently don’t need to concern ourselves with,” said Arnold.

Leinster was the 2-5 favorite in winning the Gulfstream Turf Sprint, the same tote price as Mischevious Alex, a more comfortable winner of the main-track counterpart, the Grade 3 Gulfstream Park Sprint, later on the Saturday card. Mischevious Alex earned a 99 Beyer Speed Figure and is now 2 for 2 in the care of Saffie Joseph Jr.

Leinster, by Majestic Warrior, got a 96 Beyer, which followed triple-digit Beyers in each of his three prior starts. The Kentucky-bred horse is owned by the four-way partnership of Amy Dunne, Brenda Miley, Westrock Stables, and Jean Wilkinson.