Mon, 03/20/2017 - 14:16

Arrogate, Gun Runner have first Dubai works

Andrew Watkins/Dubai Racing Club
Arrogate trains in Dubai on Sunday in preparation for the Dubai World Cup.

DUBAI, United Arab Emirates – Arrogate worked about a half-mile Monday at Meydan Racecourse in Dubai while preparing for the Dubai World Cup on Saturday night.

Trainer Bob Baffert arrived here Sunday night, got to the quarantine barn at about 4:30 a.m. Monday, and watched Arrogate go through his paces on a warm, windy morning at about 5. There is no official clocker at Meydan. Baffert said he timed Arrogate from the quarter pole to the finish in 25 seconds, and that Arrogate probably had worked a half-mile in about 50 seconds.

Mon, 03/20/2017 - 13:30

Sharp Azteca gets post 6 for Godolphin Mile

Lauren King/Coglianese Photos
Sharp Azteca wins the Gulfstream Park Handicap by 4 1/2 lengths Saturday.

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.

Mon, 03/20/2017 - 13:26

Imperial Hint struggles to shake bug

Jim McCue/Maryland Jockey Club
Thee 4-year-old Imperial Hint wins the General George, giving trainer Luis Carjaval and owner Raymond Mamone their first victory in a graded race.

DUBAI, United Arab Emirates – Grade 3 General George winner Imperial Hint’s status for the $2 million Golden Shaheen was in doubt Monday after the horse spiked a fever upon arrival in Dubai last week.

Trainer Luis Carvajal Jr. said Imperial Hint ran a temperature for only one day upon his arrival but appears not to have fully shaken whatever bug hit him.

“He looks really good and is eating good,” Carvajal said Monday. “He has no fever, but his blood shows something abnormal. If his blood is not 100 percent, I will not run. We always put the health of the horse first.”

Mon, 03/20/2017 - 13:26

Arrogate among 14 entered in Dubai World Cup

Andrew Watkins/Dubai Racing Club
Arrogate trains in Dubai on Sunday in preparation for the Dubai World Cup.

DUBAI, United Arab Emirates – There were no surprises Monday when final entries for the $10 million Dubai World Cup were released by the Dubai Racing Club, with 13 challengers set to take on Arrogate, the horse considered the best in the world right now.

Sat, 03/18/2017 - 17:19

Hong Kong selections for Sunday, March 19, 2017

SHA TIN SELECTIONS

(Sunday, March 19, 2017)

:: Get free PPs and watch live racing from Hong Kong

Brett Davis - Selections

Race 1: 2-12-1-11

Race 2: 4-3-1-13

Race 3: 7-2-3-6

Race 4: 1-3-5-7

Race 5: 7-11-5-12

Race 6: 4-3-6-13

Race 7: 10-2-5-12

Race 8: 1-3-4-8

Race 9: 3-12-5-2

Race 10: 10-1-13-2

Best Bet - Race 6: #4 City Legend     

Longshot - Race 4: #7 Sichuan Chief

Fri, 03/17/2017 - 13:56

Arrogate stretches his legs in Dubai

Barbara D. Livingston
Arrogate is one of five American horses expected for the $10 million Dubai World Cup on March 25.

Arrogate had an easy gallop Friday morning at Meydan Racecourse in Dubai after being released from quarantine. Arrogate and his stablemate Hoppertunity arrived this week in Dubai after shipping from California for the $10 million Dubai World Cup on March 25.

“All good so far,” trainer Bob Baffert said Friday from California. “They said he shipped really well.”

Thu, 03/16/2017 - 15:16

Rapper Dragon poised to win Hong Kong's Triple Crown

Hong Kong Jockey Club
Hong Kong Classic Mile winner Rapper Dragon will try to become the first horse to claim all three legs of Hong Kong's Triple Crown.

The legendary Hong Kong trainer John Moore has six entrants in Sunday’s $2.3 million Hong Kong Derby at Sha Tin Racecourse, but all eyes will be on his Rapper Dragon, who will be favored to become the first winner of Hong Kong’s version of the Triple Crown.

Unlike in America, Hong Kong’s Triple Crown is for 4-year-olds, and the races are on turf, but, as with the American Triple Crown, variability in distance makes a three-race sweep difficult.

Thu, 03/16/2017 - 11:42

Andrew Hawkins' Hong Kong selections and analysis for Sunday, March 19, 2017

SHA TIN SELECTIONS

(Sunday, March 19, 2017)

 

RACE 1: #1 Jumbo Luck, #12 Indigenous Star, #2 Mr Picasso, #8 Mr Oriole

RACE 2: #1 Hit A Home Run, #3 Winner St Paul's, #2 Carry To Win, #4 Winning Boy

RACE 3: #6 Dashing Fellow, #7 Invincible Dragon, #2 Helene Paragon, #3 Contentment

RACE 4: #4 Winfull Patrol, #1 Fish N' Chips, #5 Encore Boy, #11 Strathclyde

RACE 5: #5 Rattan, #7 Cool And Neat, #2 King's Man, #13 Wingold

Wed, 03/15/2017 - 16:06

Arrogate among 14 probables for Dubai World Cup

Barbara D. Livingston
Arrogate is one of five American horses expected for the $10 million Dubai World Cup on March 25.

A list of likely runners for the Dubai World Cup card on March 25 at Meydan Racecourse was released by the Dubai Racing Club on Wednesday, the same day that Arrogate, the best horse in the world, according to international rankings, was settling into his temporary home at the Meydan quarantine facility after arriving from California.

Wed, 03/15/2017 - 15:34

Imperial Hint, Stallwalkin' Dude depart for Dubai

Jim McCue/Maryland Jockey Club
Thee 4-year-old Imperial Hint wins the General George, giving trainer Luis Carjaval and owner Raymond Mamone their first victory in a graded race.

Their travel plans to Dubai disrupted by Tuesday's winter storm, Imperial Hint and Stallwalkin' Dude had to go to Plan B on Wednesday, vanning from Belmont Park to JFK International in the morning, then leaving at noon for Belgium. The pair was scheduled to have a three-hour layover in Belgium before leaving for Dubai, according to Luis Carvajal Jr., the trainer of Imperial Hint.