Vazirabad makes history with Dubai Gold Cup three-peat

DUBAI, United Arab Emirates – Leave it to jockey Christophe Soumillon to sum up the nature of Vazirabad in one efficient phrase.

“My horse saw the horses in front of him, and he just wants to catch them,” Soumillon said.

Wants to, and usually does. On Saturday, Vazirabad came from the back of the pack with a mighty blast and cut down those horses in front of him. Buzzing to the front with about 100 meters to run, he won the $1 million Dubai Gold Cup for the third year in a row. No other horse has won a World Cup race three years running.

Vazirabad ran the 3,200 meters, about two miles, in 3:17.92, a course record. Favored as he should have been in North American wagering, he paid $4.60 to win.

Two years ago, Vazirabad came to the Gold Cup fresh and won, but the last two seasons trainer Alain de Royer-Dupre has sent him here to prep in the Nad Al Sheba Oaks. Both times, he has lost that race, and both times, it has served its purpose.

“Alain did a good job again,” Soumillon said. “He knows how to bring him 100 percent fit, and you can see today he is a different horse. It was a great moment to do it three times in a row.”

Frontiersman, chased by Red Galileo, went hard on the front end, opening several lengths on the rest of the pack as Vazirabad settled in 14th of 16, a perfectly fine spot for a gray gelding of modest stature who burns with desire and can burn through his final quarter-mile, even at the end of a two-mile race. Vazirabad loomed into contention at the top of the stretch, and even when Soumillon had to alter course, it was clear he’d get there.

“When you come every year to Dubai, you learn what you have to do because it’s very hot, and you have to not train them too much,” Royer-Dupre said. “You have to know the place.”

Vazirabad knows it, and since he is a gelding, if all goes well, he will return to try to win his fourth Gold Cup in 2019. Owned by the Aga Khan, Vazirabad is a 6-year-old by Manduro and out of Visorama, by Linamix. His record now stands at an excellent 21-14-5-0.

A fine second, beaten one length after Vazirabad took his foot off the gas, was the venerable 9-year-old gelding Sheikhzayedroad, who was making his fourth start in this race. Rare Rhythm finished a neck farther back in third, and Frontiersman held valiantly for fourth. Big Orange, one of the favorites, was 12th, while Torcedor was a disappointing last after a strong end to his 2017 campaign. American invader Run Time raced from last, passed a few, and checked in 13th.