Dubai World Cup: Country Grammer, Hot Rod Charlie to be freshened after running one-two

Country Grammer came out of his Dubai World Cup win in good physical condition and will head to WinStar Farm in Kentucky for a freshening with no plans set for the rest of his 2022 campaign.

“He’ll do a little R and R. He deserves it,” Bob Baffert, who trains Country Grammer for Amr Zedan and WinStar, said Tuesday from California.

Country Grammer was scheduled to fly from Dubai to Kentucky on Wednesday.

Country Grammer ran two strong races during spring 2021 but hadn’t raced since May 31 when he returned to action with an excellent second-place finish in the $20 million Saudi Cup. Stuck inside much of the trip, Country Grammer got the better of Midnight Bourbon in midstretch but was passed by wide-closing Emblem Road. Country Grammer tried to regain momentum and was gaining on Emblem Road, but the wire came before he could get back on terms.

“He might have won had he seen that horse on the outside,” Baffert said.

At a one-turn 1 1/8 miles the Saudi Cup didn’t perfectly suit Country Grammer, whose best win before the World Cup had come in the 1 1/4-mile Hollywood Gold Cup at Santa Anita last May. On Saturday at Meydan, Country Grammer’s stamina came to the fore when the World Cup was contested over a slow, tiring surface. Winning time for the 2,000 meters was 2:04.97, the slowest World Cup ever among renewals contested on dirt. The race earned a 126 Timeform rating.

:: Want to start playing with a $510 bankroll and have access to free Formulator? Learn more

“He’s a mile-and-a-quarter horse through and through,” Baffert said of Country Grammer, who went straight from Saudi Arabia to Dubai and earned $10.46 million for the two-start trip. “What he did was pretty incredible. I’m happy he showed up twice.”

Baffert declined even to offer the outline of a plan for the rest of Country Grammer’s season, but Doug O’Neill, trainer of World Cup runner-up Hot Rod Charlie, said the colt’s connections would “circle the Breeders’ Cup Classic and work back from there.”

Hot Rod Charlie also exited Saturday’s race in solid condition, knocking back a tub of feed not long after returning to the international quarantine facility following the World Cup. Hot Rod Charlie traveled to Dubai in late January and won the Al Maktoum Challenge Round 2 there on Feb. 4.

“He actually bounced out of it good, his head was up, good energy, good appetite. He’s a very fit equine athlete,” O’Neill said.

Hot Rod Charlie returns to O’Neill’s barn at Santa Anita on Saturday and if all looks well will go to a local farm for a couple weeks.

Hot Rod Charlie merely finishing second was a testament to his competitive spirit. Like everyone else in the World Cup, he struggled to get over the Meydan racing surface, coming under a ride before even getting to the half-mile pole.

“He was completely spinning his wheels. It was really strange. Watching him train, seeing all his previous races, I’ve never seen him scramble like that,” said O’Neill.

The Japanese horse Chuwa Wizard surged past odds-on favorite Life Is Good to nab third as Life Is Good sputtered through the final furlong in his first try over a distance as far as 1 1/4 miles. Still, the World Cup might not have offered ironclad proof Life Is Good doesn’t stay a distance this far. A brilliant front-running miler type like Life Is Good might be able to get 1 1/4 miles over a less demanding surface.

:: Get Daily Racing Form Past Performances – the exclusive home of Beyer Speed Figures

“Right after the race, maybe you reacted that way, but thinking about it. thinking about the track, it’s premature to judge that right away,” said Elliott Walden, president and CEO of racing at WinStar. “We’re not going to rule out the Breeders’ Cup Classic. We’ll get him back, see what it looks like.

“He’s been on the go since late last summer, we’ll give him the spring and early summer and look to get him back in late summer. The Whitney would be the logical target.”

The Whitney is on Aug. 6 at Saratoga.

Fifth-place Midnight Bourbon also appeared to have exited the World Cup in good condition. Midnight Bourbon tracked Life Is Good and came into the homestretch with a win chance before fading. Asked if his fading fifth suggested 1 1/4 miles is too far for Midnight Bourbon, trainer Steve Asmussen said, “It was Saturday, as dry at the track was.” Midnight Bourbon returns to Churchill Downs with no set plans for resuming his 2022 campaign.

Baffert also said Pinehurst, eased in the UAE Derby, had come out of the race in good order despite an official Dubai Racing Club stewards’ report on the race stating Pinehurst was lame. Baffert said Pinehurst had been struck in the eye with a piece of dirt when he abruptly stopped in upper stretch.

“So far it looks good. That two turns isn’t him. He’s a one-turn horse,” Baffert said.

Crown Pride, going-away 2 3/4-length UAE Derby winner is headed straight to America to train for the May 7 Kentucky Derby. The UAE Derby earned a 111 Timeform rating. Crown Pride’s 100 Derby qualifying points earned in Dubai are plenty to get him into the race.