Plans uncertain for Dubai World Cup's top finishers

Plans are uncertain for the first four finishers from Saturday’s Group 1, $10 million Dubai World Cup, but fifth-place Forever Unbridled is headed for a date with the stallion Medaglio d’Oro in Kentucky.

Thunder Snow, who led virtually all the way in scoring a 5 3/4-length victory in the World Cup for Sheikh Mohammed’s Godolphin, trainer Saeed bin Suroor, and jockey Christophe Soumillon, heads to England this week and will get a freshening at Godolphin Stables at Newmarket after a busy winter campaign. Thunder Snow is a Group 1 winner on turf as well as dirt, and seems as likely to carry on his 2018 campaign in Europe as to come to the U.S. for a dirt race before the fall. At a post-race press conference, however, bin Suroor said a passel of options on both European turf and American dirt would be kept in play.

Thunder Snow, racing on a fast-playing surface, ran 2,000 meters in a course-record 2:01.38 and got a 111 Beyer Speed Figure, which would make him an elite American older dirt horse.

West Coast and Mubtaahij, the two-three World Cup finishers, both trained by Bob Baffert, will fly back to California on Wednesday. Baffert, back in California on Sunday, said the two had at first analysis come out of the race in good physical condition, but both will be assessed after getting back to Baffert’s barn and back to their normal routine before upcoming race plans will be set.

“They ran well, both of them, and I knew they would, but we came there to win,” Baffert said. “Sheikh Mohammed puts on a great show, takes amazing care of you when you come, but then he wants to beat you, too.”

Pavel lost precious ground during the running and finished a head in front of Forever Unbridled, who raced even wider. Those two finished 1 3/4 lengths behind Mubtaahij. Pavel returns to trainer Doug O’Neill’s base in California this week and could have the Pacific Classic as a long-range target, O’Neill said in a text message Sunday.

Forever Unbridled had little chance to show her best when kept to the outside, the worst part of the racing surface, for much of the race.

“We gave up a little bit of a tactical advantage, but she ran a good race,” said trainer Dallas Stewart, who now says goodbye to his star race mare, who is off to become a broodmare. Forever Unbridled flies to Chicago on April 9, and after a couple days of quarantine will head to owner Chuck Fipke’s farm in Kentucky. Forever Unbridled retires with a record of 18-8-3-4 and earnings of $3,486,880.

Mendelssohn Derby-bound

It wasn’t even a Group 1, and the Meydan card had five of those, but the Group 2, $2 million UAE Derby came close to stealing the show Saturday night. Mendelssohn, ridden hard for the lead by Ryan Moore, controlled a solid pace, and then blew the doors off the race in the homestretch, pulling steadily clear to win by 18 3/4 lengths and bring a real dose of excitement to the Kentucky Derby. Mendelssohn ran 1,900 meters in 1:55.18, a track-record time that was 2.26 seconds faster than Thunder Snow’s winning time in the same race a year ago, albeit on a slower-playing surface. Mendelssohn got a Beyer Speed Figure of 106, an elite number for a 3-year-old at this time of year.

Mendelssohn’s pedigree is a big part of his appeal as a Derby prospect. He’s by the deceased Scat Daddy and out of Leslie’s Lady, whose most famous offspring is the great dirt mare Beholder. Mendelssohn’s quirk is his propensity for vocalizing, at least during morning training. He yelled his way through morning exercise at the Breeders’ Cup last fall before winning the BC Juvenile Turf, and he did so the entire time he jogged a lap around the Meydan main track along with trainer Aidan O’Brien’s other Dubai runners Friday morning. Whatever the motivation for his talk, Mendelssohn does not appear to be acting coltish with the behavior.

And as for his ability, there’s no questioning that. “He’s a fast horse,” jockey Ryan Moore said just after the race.

The English press already is positing whether Moore will stick with the mount on Mendelssohn in the Derby or stay home to ride the English 2,000 Guineas on the same day, but a trip to Churchill Downs seems like a fait accompli. O’Brien ships horses all over the world to win major races and always goes as close to the race as he can, and he said that will be his plan with Mendelssohn for the Derby.

UAE Derby runner-up Rayya, a filly, heads to Baffert’s barn with his World Cup runners after racing five times this winter for trainer Doug Watson in the UAE. Rayya qualified for the Kentucky Oaks by winning the UAE Oaks this winter and will start in that race, Baffert said, as long as she’s doing well.

Mind Your Biscuits looks good

Mind Your Biscuits, the only horse all night to close real ground on the Meydan dirt, came out of his second straight win in the $2 million Golden Shaheen in good shape, trainer and part owner Chad Summers said Sunday.

“He barely drank any water after the race and came out of it super,” Summers said.

Mind Your Biscuits will head to the Fair Hill Training Center in Maryland after doing a short quarantine period in Chicago after flying back, Summers said. If the horse recovers as Summers hopes, he’ll be pointed to the Metropolitan Handicap on the Belmont Stakes undercard.

Roy H finished third in the Shaheen as the heavy favorite but was part of a productive night for trainer Pete Miller, who sent Stormy Liberal and Conquest Tsunami to finish second and third in the Group 1 Al Quoz. All three horses return to California this week.

Jungle Cat won the Al Quoz, one of four winners on the card for Godolphin along with Thunder Snow, Benbatl in the Group 1, $6 million Dubai Turf, and Hawkbill in the $6 million Sheema Classic. Hawkbill has the QEII Cup in Hong Kong later this month as an option, while Benbatl goes to England and will be pointed to the Prince of Wales’s Stakes this summer.