The last two horses to beat Ombudsman are not involved Saturday’s Group 1 Dubai Turf Stakes at Meydan Racecourse in Dubai. Delacroix beat Ombudsman by a neck in the Group 1 Eclipse Stakes at Sandown Park near London last July and is now at stud. Calandagan beat Ombudsman by 2 1/4 lengths in the Group 1 Champion Stakes at Ascot last October and is an odds-on favorite to win the Group 1 Sheema Classic at Meydan on Saturday. :: Get free Past Performances for Dubai World Cup Day. Their absences leave Ombudsman a standout in the $5 million Dubai Turf. On Wednesday, Ombudsman was the 8-13 favorite with British bookmakers over 7-1 Facteur Cheval and 8-1 Gaia Force. Facteur Cheval is winless in nine starts since the 2024 Dubai Turf, and was second by 4 3/4 lengths to Royal Champion in the Group 1 Neom Turf Cup in Saudi Arabia on Feb. 14. Gaia Force was second in the Grade 1 Mile Championship at Kyoto Racecourse in Japan in his last start in November. To beat Ombudsman, they will need career-best performances. Trained by John and Thady Gosden, the 5-year-old Ombudsman has won 6 of 9 starts in a career that has focused on races at 1 1/4 miles. :: Access the most trusted data and information in horse racing! DRF Past Performances and Picks are available now. If Ombudsman has a vulnerability on Saturday, it could be the race distance of 1 1/8 miles. But his tracking style should give jockey William Buick options to keep him well placed in a field of 11. Buick has ridden Ombudsman six times, with four wins. The Dubai Turf is followed on Saturday’s program by the Sheema Classic and $12 million Dubai World Cup. Before the Dubai Turf, there are five stakes for Thoroughbreds, several with intriguing storylines. UAE Derby The Group 2 United Arab Emirates Derby at 1 3/16 miles is part of the European/Middle East Kentucky Derby qualifying series and is expected to produce a runner for the famous race at Churchill Downs on May 2. The $1 million race is led by Pryomancer from Japan, who was unbeaten in three starts in 2025. Owned by Godolphin Racing of Dubai, Pyromancer is trained by Keiji Yoshimura in Japan. A Japanese-bred colt by Pyro, Pyromancer will be ridden for the first time on Saturday by James Doyle. The first five finishers of the UAE Derby earn 100-60-30-15-10 points for the Kentucky Derby in the qualifying series. The top two runners in the standings qualify for the Kentucky Derby. The UAE Derby is the 10th and final race in the series and offers the most qualifying points. Pyromancer currently ranks second with 20 points in the Japanese Kentucky Derby qualifying series after three of the four races. One berth to the Kentucky Derby is available via the Japanese series. Pyromancer earned 20 points by winning the Zen-Nippon Nisai Yushun at a mile at Kawasaki Racecourse in December, his last start. Six Speed, a Kentucky-bred colt by Not This Time, will have a major role in the UAE Derby as a possible pacesetter. Six Speed won his third consecutive start in the Group 3 UAE 2000 Guineas at a mile in January, his latest appearance. Golden Shaheen Bentornato, unraced since a game win in the Breeders’ Cup Sprint at Del Mar in November, will be favored in the Group 1 Golden Shaheen at six furlongs. Trained by Jose D’Angelo, Bentornato drew post 2 in a field of 12 and is expected to dispute the pace under jockey Jose Ortiz. Aside from Bentornato, the $2 million Golden Shaheen has significant American influence. This is the first start in the Middle East for Midland Money, who was second in the Grade 1 Malibu Stakes for 3-year-olds at seven furlongs at Santa Anita on Dec. 28 for trainer Bob Baffert. Midland Money is now trained by Michael Costa, who is based in the United Arab Emirates. The American Grade 1 winners Lovesick Blues and Nakatomi are rated as outsiders. Lovesick Blues, trained at Santa Anita by Librado Barocio, won the Grade 1 Bing Crosby Stakes at Del Mar last July. He was later sixth in the BC Sprint and the Group 2 Riyadh Dirt Sprint in Saudi Arabia last month. Nakatomi, trained in Florida in recent months by Wesley Ward, won the Grade 1 Alfred Vanderbilt Stakes at Saratoga in 2024. Last fall, Nakatomi won the Grade 2 Phoenix Stakes at Keeneland but was a troubled ninth in the BC Sprint at Del Mar. :: Get free past performances, analysis, and picks for international racing. Al Quoz Sprint Reef Runner, the multiple stakes winner from Florida, and Lazzat, a multiple stakes winner from France, were first and second, separated by a neck, in the Group 2 1351 Sprint on turf in Saudi Arabia on Feb. 14. They are the two leading contenders in the Group 1 Al Quoz Sprint at six furlongs on turf, with Lazzat predicted to reverse the outcome. As of Wednesday, Lazzat was the 2-1 favorite in early betting, while Reef Runner was 11-2. Reef Runner paid $21.10 in American pools in the 1351 Sprint, while Lazzat was the 4-5 favorite. Reef Runner, trained by David Fawkes, and Lazzat, trained by James Reynier, are part of a field of 13 in the $1.5 million Al Quoz Sprint, run on a straightaway course. Lazzat typically runs near the front, while Reef Runner is effective as a closer. Lugal, champion sprinter in Japan in 2024, is likely to race as a stalker. He was third by a half-length in the Group 3 Ocean Stakes at six furlongs at Nakayama on Feb. 28. Godolphin Mile The first Thoroughbred stakes on the program, the Group 2 Godolphin Mile on dirt, should be dominated by local trainer Bhupat Seemar, who starts six of the 12 entrants, including the Kentucky-breds Commissioner King and Mendelssohn Bay. Commissioner King, a colt by Commissioner, will be favored on the basis of a four-length win in the Group 3 Burj Nahar at a mile at Meydan on Feb. 28 in his last start. Mendelssohn Bay, who is by Mendelssohn, beat Commissioner King by 2 3/4 lengths when they were first and second in the Grade 3 Firebreak Stakes at Meydan on Jan. 23. Mendelssohn Bay was only eighth of nine in the Group 2 Al Maktoum Challenge at 1 1/8 miles on Feb. 28, fading through the stretch. The lone American-based runner is Banishing, winner of the Grade 2 Charles Town Classic in West Virginia last August. Banishing was eighth behind Dubai World Cup favorite Forever Young in the $20 million Saudi Cup in Saudi Arabia on Feb. 14. Dubai Gold Cup Al Riffa will start in his ninth country in the Group 2 Dubai Gold Cup at two miles, the first turf race on the program. Trained in Ireland by Joseph O’Brien, Al Riffa, a four-time group stakes winner, was seventh of 24 in the Group 1 Melbourne Cup in Australia in November, and fourth of 11 in the Group 1 Hong Kong Vase in December. The $1 million Dubai Gold Cup will be Al Riffa’s first start of the year. His main foe is stablemate Sons and Lovers, winner of the Group 2 Red Sea Turf Handicap at 1 7/8 miles in Saudi Arabia on Feb. 14. :: Want to learn more about handicapping and wagering? Check out DRF's Handicapping 101 and Wagering 101 pages.