Opry will run in two-mile Dubai Gold Cup

Opry, claimed for $25,000 in late November at Del Mar, is bound for Dubai and the Group 2 Dubai Gold Cup at two miles at Meydan Racecourse on March 25, trainer George Papaprodromou said on Thursday.

Opry was third in the Grade 2 San Marcos Stakes at 1 1/4 miles on turf at Santa Anita on Feb. 5, finishing three-quarters of a length behind the winner, Prince Abama. Opry closed from sixth in the field of 10.

“I like the way he galloped out,” Papaprodromou said.

Owned by the partnership of David Bernsen, Mark Gorman, and Andrew Schwindt, Opry will start in the longest race of his career in the $1 million Dubai Gold Cup, which often draws a tough international cast of stayers.

The Dubai Gold Cup is on the same program as the $12 million Dubai World Cup on dirt.

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A 7-year-old gelding by Declaration of War, Opry has earned $69,000 since being claimed. He won an allowance race/optional claimer at 1 1/8 miles on turf at Santa Anita on Jan. 8 in his first start for his current owners and Papaprodromou. Opry was eligible to be claimed for $80,000 in that race.

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