CHELTENHAM, England – Kauto Star is on target for a possible third win in Friday’s Cheltenham Gold Cup at Cheltenham Racecourse in western England.
Monday, trainer Paul Nicholls confirmed the participation of Kauto Star, following schooling sessions over fences and routine training over the weekend.
It has been compared to horse racing with Mardi Gras, or maybe it’s the other way around.
Either way, the four-day National Hunt festival , the world’s most prestigious gathering of steeplechasers, begins at Cheltenham Racecourse in western England on Tuesday.
When it comes to trips to Dubai, Regally Ready is on the Curlin career path.
Back in 2008, trainer Steve Asmussen gave Curlin two starts in Dubai – a victory in a prep race in late February that led to a win in the Dubai World Cup a month later.
[MEYDAN SUPER SATURDAY: Free PPs, video previews, race-by-race analysis]
There are questions looming over the top three contenders in Saturday night’s feature at Meydan, the $400,000 Maktoum Challenge Round 3, the final major local prep for the $10 million Dubai World Cup on March 31.
Mendip, a winner in five of his seven starts over the Tapeta main track at Meydan, captured Round 2 of the Maktoum Challenge by one and one-quarter lengths on Feb. 9, but Mendip got a clear run in the race and the overall class of the 10 foes he beat that evening falls somewhat short of that possessed by his 13 rivals in this start.
Dubai's Meydan Racecourse has dubbed Saturday's s eight race card Super Saturday as connections prime their elite runners in anticipation of the rich March 31st Dubai World Cup day.
:: DUBAI WORLD CUP: Live Video, Free PP's, news and handicapping analysis
The undefeated super sprinter Black Caviar is not running in Saturday’s
$1.07 million Newmarket Handicap at Flemington Racecourse in Melbourne, Australia, but her trainer, Peter Moody, will be after his third consecutive win in the race with King’s Rose.
Moody won the 2011 Newmarket with Black Caviar, the 10th win of her 19-race victory career. She is expected to make her next start in April, in advance of a trip to Royal Ascot in June.
Royal Ascot could be in the plans for King’s Rose if she runs well on Saturday and in April.
Led by Breeders’ Cup Turf Sprint winner Regally Ready, and a stakes winner formerly trained by Nick Zito, Fly Down, there are strong American influences on Saturday’s program of seven stakes at Meydan racecourse in Dubai.
The program, worth $1.775 million, features prep races for the seven-figure stakes on the Dubai World Cup card on March 31.
Regally Ready, trained by Steve Asmussen, will start in the $175,000 Meydan Sprint over five furlongs on turf, a prep for the $1 million Al Quoz Sprint on March 31.
