All across the globe, horsemen are ramping up preparations for the Dubai World Cup card on March 26 at Meydan Racecourse.
Skip to main content
Create Your DRF Account
New to DRF?
Everything you could possibly
need in one place
need in one place
Register
Don't have an account?
Register Here
DRF Past Performances
Irish jockey Joseph O’Brien will retire from riding to focus on a training career in 2016, it was reported Monday.
O’Brien, the son of famed trainer Aidan O’Brien, was easing out of his role as a prominent jockey for Ballydoyle last year, and though he is just 23, its remarkable O’Brien was able to ride Thoroughbreds for this long. O’Brien has long been unusually tall for a flat-racing jockey, and his size has forced him to work hard to make riding weight the last several years.
Polar River was nowhere near as impressive Thursday in the UAE Oaks as she had been in her three previous starts this winter, but she kept her unbeaten record alive with a three-quarter-length win over South American import Vale Dori in just a three-horse field at Meydan. The Oaks was run around two turns over 1 3/16 miles, Polar River’s first start around a second bend, and after appearing to put away Vale Dori at the top of the stretch, Polar River’s lead dwindled precipitously in the final half-furlong.
Frosted took care of business last month when he won the Al Maktoum Challenge Round 2, his Dubai World Cup prep, and California Chrome did what he was supposed to do last week, winning a handicap over about 1 1/4 miles meant to propel him to a peak performance March 26 in the World Cup. Now, it’s time to see what Keen Ice has to offer, as the third American horse to ship early for the $10 million World Cup starts Saturday at Meydan in the featured Al Maktoum Challenge Round 3.
The road to the Dubai World Cup card March 26 takes its final turn this week, with the last two major racecards at Meydan on Thursday and Saturday before the World Cup program itself.
The Saturday feature, Round 3 of the Al Maktoum Challenge, includes Keen Ice, the last of the three American horses that shipped early to Dubai to race and train at Meydan in preparation for the $10 million World Cup. Frosted won Round 2 of the Al Maktoum Challenge last month and is being trained up to the World Cup, while California Chrome comfortably won a handicap race last week.
CYPRESS, Calif. – In the hours after California Chrome won a $150,000 handicap at Meydan Racecourse in Dubai on Thursday, the popular horse had a ravenous appetite.
“He ate up everything,” trainer Art Sherman said on Saturday. “Frank Taylor saw him at 1 a.m. after the race. He said he tried to bite him.”
California Chrome will begin in earnest to take care of unfinished business when he races Thursday night in the sixth race on the Meydan card in Dubai.
The 2014 Kentucky Derby winner has for months been pointed to the $10 million Dubai World Cup on March 26. He finished second as the favorite in that race last year, upset by the highly unlikely winner, Prince Bishop, after which his glittering career went off the rails.
California Chrome had his final workout in advance of his planned start in Dubai next week with a half-mile workout in 47.20 seconds at Meydan Racecourse on Friday.
The 2014 Horse of the Year, California Chrome is scheduled to start in a $150,000 handicap at about 1 1/4 miles on dirt at Meydan next Thursday as a prep race for the $10 million Dubai World Cup on March 26. California Chrome was second in the 2015 Dubai World Cup.
Friday’s workout was California Chrome’s fourth workout since arriving in Dubai in late January.
Tryster won for the seventh time in his last eight starts and won the first turf stakes of his career in Thursday’s $200,000 Dubai Millennium Stakes at Meydan Racecourse in the United Arab Emirates.
Ridden by William Buick, Tryster (7-2 with British bookmakers) closed from the back of a field of 10 to take the lead in the final furlong of the Grade 3 race at 2,000 meters, or about 1 1/4 miles. Tryster finished 2 3/4 lengths in front of Haafaguinea, who had won three of his previous four starts.