Cannonball, second in the Golden Jubilee Stakes at Royal Ascot last year and third in the Breeders' Cup Turf Sprint, has left trainer Wesley Ward - at least temporarily - to join top Australian trainer Gai Waterhouse. The first American-trained horse to run in Australia when he finished ninth in the Lightning Stakes at Flemington on Jan. 30, Cannonball will be prepared by Waterhouse for the six-furlong, Group 1 Newmarket Handicap at Flemington on March 6.

War Artist took advantage of a troubled trip suffered by Gayego to make off with the Grade 3, $200,000 Al Shindagha Sprint at Meydan in Dubai on Thursday night. In his first start on a synthetic track, the James Eustace-trained War Artist quickened away from the field under Olivier Peslier to defeat Gayego by 2 3/4 lengths, traveling the six furlongs in 1:10.74 in what amounts to a track record on Meydan's fourth day of racing this winter.

A world-class sprinter by any stretch of the imagination, Gayego will make his seasonal debut at Meydan on Thursday night when he faces 11 rivals in the Group 3, $200,000 Al Shindagha Sprint. Godolphin's 5-year-old son of Gilded Time will be ridden for the first time by Frankie Dettori in the one-turn, six-furlong dash on Meydan's synthetic Tapeta surface.

Presvis, as low as 10-1 fourth choice with some British bookmakers for the Dubai World Cup, disappointed in his second start on a synthetic track at Meydan on Friday night, finishing a distant second to Godolphin's listed winner Allybar in a $150,000, 1 1/4-mile handicap.

Alexandros ran away from an evenly matched field at Meydan on Thursday night, drawing clear to take the Group 3, $200,000, Al Rashidiya by 3 1/2 lengths from Crowded House. His owner, Godolphin, thus won the first race run on the Meydan turf course after Alexandros traveled the 1 1/8 miles in 1:51.74 on good to firm ground.

The Group 3, $200,000 Al Rashidiya will be the first race run on Meydan's new turf course Thursday night. The 1 1/8-mile prep for the $5 million Dubai Duty Free lost some luster when the expected favorite, Presvis, opted for Friday night's 1 1/4-mile handicap on the synthetic track as his initial trial for the Dubai World Cup.

Gio Ponti heads the list of 288 free nominations to the $10 million Dubai World Cup at Meydan on March 27. Favored by all of the British bookmakers for the world's richest race, the 2009 Eclipse Award winner as both best older horse and best turf horse was one of 45 American-trained horses nominated to the World Cup at the first entry stage that closed Jan. 13. The list does not include Zenyatta.

Sacred Kingdom won but Good Ba Ba came a cropper in a pair of Hong Kong Group 1 races at Sha Tin on Sunday. The co-highest-rated sprinter in the world, Sacred Kingdom upheld his reputation with a handy score in the five-furlong, $579,100 Centenary Sprint Cup, while Good Ba Ba finished third behind Fellowship in the one-mile, $1 million Stewards Cup.

Cannonball failed to fire at Flemington on Saturday as the first American-trained horse to run in Australia finished ninth of 11 in the Group 1, $450,000 Lightning Stakes, a five-furlong sprint that was taken by the Royal Ascot-bound Nicconi.

Sacred Kingdom, the co-high-rated sprinter last year on the World Thoroughbred Rankings, will attempt to continue his winning ways at Sha Tin on Sunday when he starts as the strong favorite in the $579,000 Centenary Sprint Cup, a straight five-furlong dash with domestic Hong Kong Group 1 cachet.