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.”
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.
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
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.
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.
CHELTENHAM, England – Cue Card, Djakadam and Native River were 7-2 co-favorites with bookmakers on Wednesday to win Friday’s Grade 1 Cheltenham Gold Cup for steeplechasers at 3 5/16 miles at Cheltenham Racecourse.
They inherited the role as much as earned it.
Brett Davis
R1 - 4-3-2-1
R2 - 8-4-11-2
R3 - 2-1-9-5
R4 - 1-4-3-11
R5 - 1-10-6-4
R6 - 12-11-2-1
R7 - 9-1-7-10
R8 - 5-8-1-10
Best - R3 n2 Royale Elegance
Longshot - R4 n1 Happy Journey
Best Play - R4 Q/QP 1,4,3
Paul Lally – Selection
R1 1-4-2-3
R2 8-4-6-2
R3 9-3-1-2
R4 5-2-11-1
R5 7-10-4-8
R6 12-2-10-11
R7 10-8-9-7
R8 8-10-3-1
Speedy Longwah was found to have an irregular heartbeat after a last-place finish in a minor handicap at Sha Tin Racecourse in Hong Kong in late November. The condition has been successfully treated. In three subsequent starts, Speedy Longwah has returned to win, finish third, and finish a troubled sixth in his last start.
On Sunday at Sha Tin, Speedy Longwah is a 131-pound joint topweight in the $225,376 Cymbidium Handicap at about a mile on the all-weather track. The race will be a new test for Speedy Longwah, his first start on the surface in his 23rd start.
