Dubai World Cup visitors arrive

All 13 American-based horses running on Dubai World Cup Night, March 26, arrived safely in Dubai on Wednesday night. Led by World Cup hopeful Gio Ponti and defending Dubai Golden Shaheen winner Kinsale King, and including UAE Derby hopeful Sweet Ducky, formerly trained by Kelly Breen but now with South African-based Herman Brown since being purchased by Chechen president Ramzan Kadyrov, they joined the Ben Cecil-trained Crowded House, a Godolphin Mile candidate who has been in Dubai all winter.

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Jim Cornes, the man in charge of the international stable at Meydan Racecourse, reported that the Americans all traveled without incident on the long flight from Miami.

“Everyone looked good,” he said. “They drank well on the flight and there were no problems. Fly Down [World Cup] made a great impression, and Victor’s Cry [Duty Free] looked particularly good.”

Those horses, along with Bourbon Bay and Champ Pegasus (Sheema Classic), I Want Revenge, Make Music For Me (Godolphin Mile), Mr Gruff, Quick Enough, Stradivinsky (Al Quoz Sprint), and Euroears (Golden Shaheen), will spend two days in quarantine before being allowed onto the Meydan track on Saturday morning.

◗ Ryan Moore has picked up the World Cup ride on Japanese Horse of the year Buena Vista. Moore replaces Christophe Soumillon, who is contracted to ride Bold Silvano for Mike de Kock. The filly Buena Vista and three other Japanese horses, Victoire Pisa, Transcend (World Cup) and Rulership (Sheema Classic), all arrived safely in Dubai last Thursday before the devastating earthquake and tsunami which struck Japan last Friday.