Sharp Azteca gets post 6 for Godolphin Mile

DUBAI, United Arab Emirates – Sharp Azteca, the lone American runner in the race and the likely favorite, landed post 6 for the $1 million Godolphin Mile when post positions were drawn Monday for the non-Grade 1 races on the World Cup program.

Jorge Navarro trains Sharp Azteca and has come to Dubai for the second year in a row, having sent X Y Jet to a slightly disappointing second-place finish last year in the Golden Shaheen. Navarro said Sharp Azteca had worked the easiest of half-miles Monday in about 55 seconds.

“He’s already fit. I just wanted to take the edge off because he’s tearing down the stall,” Navarro said.

Sharp Azteca will be favored, but the Godolphin Mile includes a couple of dangerous locals, North America and Heavy Metal.

Likely favorite Vazirabad breaks from post 3 and faces 13 rivals in the $1 million Gold Cup over about two miles on grass.

Two American-based runners, Master Plan (post 2) and Vettori Kin (post 8) are among the 16 entered in the $2 million UAE Derby, a Kentucky Derby qualifying race. Thunder Snow, the highest-rated horse in the 1,900-meter race, drew poorly in post 13.

A previous version of this article misstated the purse of the UAE Derby. It is $2 million, not $1 million.