Forever Young already has won races in three countries, and after running his record to five wins from five starts capturing the UAE Derby on Saturday at Meydan Racecourse in Dubai, it is on to a fourth, the United States of America, for the Japanese 3-year-old.
The Group 2, $1.5 million UAE Derby is a key fixture in Churchill Downs’ Road to the Kentucky Derby, and the 100 qualifying points Forever Young earned Saturday assures him one of the 20 Derby starting slots.
An American horse, as expected, won the Godolphin Mile to start the Thoroughbred stakes action on the Dubai World Cup card Saturday at Meydan racing – but not the one most expected. Two Rivers Over, 14-1 on the North American tote, caught Walk of Stars and Isolate in the final half-furlong and won the Group 2, $1 million Godolphin Mile by three-quarters of a length.
Tastiera was the champion 3-year-old male of 2023 in Japan, a season highlighted by a win in the Grade 1 Japanese Derby last May.
Those credentials make Tastiera an exciting prospect for the older horse division this year, beginning with an appearance in Sunday’s Grade 1 Osaka Hai at 1 1/4 miles on turf at Hanshin Racecourse. Unraced since December, Tastiera has an easier assignment than expected with the defection of several of Japan’s leading runners to Group 1 races at Meydan Racecourse in Dubai on Saturday.
For all that he has accomplished in New Zealand and Australia, notably five Group 1 wins in the last year, Mr Brightside has never won beyond slightly more than a mile.
The issue is at the fore of his appearance in Friday’s Group 1 Australian Cup at 1 1/4 miles at Flemington Racecourse in Melbourne. The $1.95 million Australian Cup will be Mr Brightside’s fourth start at 1 1/4 miles.
In June 2023, Auguste Rodin won the Derby at Epsom. In September he won the Group 1 Irish Champion Stakes, and in November he captured the Breeders’ Cup Turf. All that, and Auguste Rodin has his work cut out for him in the Sheema Classic on Saturday at Meydan Racecourse.
Auguste Rodin makes his 4-year-old debut facing 11 rivals in the Group 1, $6 million Sheema Classic, a 1 1/2-mile grass race. Spirit Dancer and Point Lonsdale haven’t found success at the top level, but the other eight entrants are Group 1 winners.
Senor Buscador can become the first horse to win the Saudi Cup and the Dubai World Cup. Ushba Tesoro can become the second horse to win two renewals of the Dubai World Cup. And the mere fact that a horse named Kabirkhan has any chance at all in the World Cup is almost unbelievable.
What worked to perfection at the start of 2023 may once again lead to a win in Saturday’s Group 1 Golden Shaheen at Meydan Racecourse in Dubai for the Florida-based gelding Sibelius.
In early 2023, Sibelius won the Grade 3 Mr. Prospector Stakes at Gulfstream Park and the $75,000 Pelican Stakes at Tampa Bay Downs in consecutive starts before a career-defining win by a nose in the $2 million Golden Shaheen at six furlongs at Meydan.
From Japan to New Mexico to the steppes of Kazakhstan, they’re putting the “World” into the Dubai World Cup this year.
Drawn Wednesday, a dozen horses whose lives span the globe – among them 2023 World Cup winner Ushba Tesoro and Senor Buscador, who beat Ushba Tesoro last month in the $20 million Saudi Cup – were entered in the Group 1, $12 million World Cup, contested Saturday at Meydan Racecourse over 1 1/4 miles.
