Dubai World Cup: Monterosso eyes Singapore Cup, Prince of Wales’s Stakes

Dubai World Cup winner Monterosso will be campaigned in England this summer, with a trip to Singapore in May under consideration.

After Saturday’s $10 million World Cup, trainer Mahmood Al Zarooni said a long-range goal for Monterosso will be the Prince of Wales’s Stakes at Royal Ascot in June. On Sunday, Simon Crisford, the racing manager for winning owner Sheikh Mohammed’s Godolphin Racing, told the Racing Post in England that a trip to Singapore for the $2.4 million Singapore Cup over about 1 1/4 miles on turf on May 20 is a possibility.

Monterosso, a 5-year-old British-bred horse by Dubawi, won his third stakes in the Dubai World Cup. A winner of 7 of 15 starts and $7,404,141, Monterosso won the Group 2 King Edward VII Stakes at Royal Ascot in 2010 and the Group 2 Dubai City of Gold Stakes on turf at Meydan in 2011. He was third in the 2011 Dubai World Cup.

Monterosso led a 1-2 sweep in the World Cup for Godolphin and Al Zarooni. Capponi, a 5-year-old Irish-bred, finished second, three lengths behind Monterosso. Planteur, winner of the Group 1 Prix Ganay in France last year, finished third.

[bc_video_id:247736:]The winner was ridden by Mickael Barzalona, who will ride regularly for Godolphin this year in Europe. Barzalona has had a breakthrough year in the last 12 months. The 20-year-old Frenchman won the 2011 English Derby on Pour Moi last June.

There were two prominent American-based runners in the field. Royal Delta, winner of the Breeders’ Cup Ladies’ Classic at Churchill Downs last November, finished ninth in the field of 13. Game On Dude, runner-up in the BC Classic last November, finished 12th. Royal Delta raced near the front for the first seven furlongs before fading. Game On Dude was never a threat, starting from the outside post.

Game On Dude is trained by Bob Baffert, who also started The Factor, who finished sixth in Saturday’s $2 million Golden Shaheen for sprinters. Both Game On Dude and The Factor emerged from the race without mishap, Baffert wrote on Twitter.

“All well in Dubai,” he wrote. “Factor and Dude fine.”

Baffert suffered a heart attack last Monday after arriving in Dubai and was hospitalized until Thursday. He attended the race Saturday and was expected to return to California on Tuesday after spending time in Dubai with his wife Jill and son Bode.

After the race, Baffert was able to put his week into perspective.

“Tough day, but so happy to be outdoors again enjoying the sport I love,” he wrote on Twitter.