Dubai World Cup Preview
We have reached the climax of the racing season in Dubai. It has been 30 years since the first Dubai World Cup, won by US Hall of Famer Cigar and there is a chance to see another star in this year’s renewal. This card is packed full of quality and as the anticipation builds towards the World Cup itself, there will be the opportunity to see the World’s best racehorse run in the Dubai Sheema Classic 35 minutes beforehand. Here is our preview of the horses to look out for through this year’s World Cup Night card.
Godolphin Mile Sponsored by Emaar (G2)
There are several horses in this field that are chasing a hat-trick and that makes this one of the most competitive races on the night. Diamond Dealer has already won 4 races this season and was an impressive winner over this course and distance a couple of weeks ago. That was his 2nd win over course and distance in the last month and having clocked a top speed of 41.72 mph when winning here in February, he should have the necessary speed to get across from stall 11 under Mickael Barzalona. I do prefer his form to the form of the Jebel Ali winners Zandvoort and David of Athens, the latter of which was slightly fortunate to dead-heat for the win in the Jebel Ali mile after being played as late as possible by James Doyle. I would much prefer to be with a horse that is going to be ridden prominently around the turn at Meydan and having drawn the ideal gate in stall 1, it is very hard to ignore the claims of COMMISSIONER KING under champion jockey Tadhg O’Shea. He was drawn wide in stall 10 in the Burj Nahar last month, but managed to get across after taking just 5.6s to reach 50 km/h when the stalls opened and recording opening splits of 14.35 and 10.87s to get to the front. From that point, he was able to control the pace before kicking clear around the bend with race best splits for the 5th, 6th and 7th furlongs. He has the ideal draw to repeat the dose and if he gets to lead around the turn, he should prove hard to pass.
Dubai Gold Cup Sponsored by Al Tayer Motors (G2)
Al Riffa is clearly the best horse in this race and if he runs to form, he should win. He won the Irish St Leger in September and has run perfectly respectable races in the Melbourne Cup and the Hong Kong Vase in the interim period. His connections have reached for the visor on Saturday evening though and that would slightly put me off given the nature of this track and the possibility that it may light him up. He has achieved a lot, but aside from a win in the Preis Von Berlin in 2024, all of his winning form has come at the Curragh and I wonder if he simply saves his best form for closer to home. For that reason, I will be taking him on with Joseph O’Brien’s other runner, SONS AND LOVERS. He won the Red Sea Turf Handicap in Riyadh last month, breaking well and taking just 6.2s to reach 30 mph when the stalls opened to sit behind the leaders. In a race that developed into a tactical sprint, he was ideally placed under James Doyle and after quickening to run 11.29 and 11.13s for the 2 furlongs that followed the entry for the straight, he was in the ideal position to hold on despite being challenged on either side. He has a promising draw in stall 2 and with Ryan Moore taking over, a similar ride should see him go very close.
UAE Derby Sponsored by Jumeirah (G2)
This is without doubt one of the most difficult races on the night to try and solve. I started with Labwah, who has won her last 3 starts and who looks worth trying against the boys after an impressive 7 length romp in the UAE Oaks in February. She made all the running that day, kicking away off the bend with the fastest split for each of the last 3 furlongs to record a time of 2:00.57, which compares well with the most recent winners of that race. It has to be said that Fillies do not have a good record in this race, but she is arguably one of the best to try and it wouldn’t be a complete shock if she hit the frame. At 22.14 ft, she has the shortest expected average stride length in the field, which is the real reason my enthusiasm would be tempered as it will take a careful ride from Bernardo Pinheiro to keep her in clear racing room from the middle of the draw in stall 8.
Salloom could be anything. I don’t like that phrase but after just 1 start, he is really hard to assess. He won a maiden race here at the end of January by over 6 lengths, recording a top speed of 42.19 mph. With a peak average stride length of over 26.5 ft, he is a big son of Authentic and may well be capable of keeping up with his rivals, though it is very hard to assess his form at this stage. Brotherly Love won the Road to the Kentucky Derby race here last time, despite having to be driven away from the stalls. He stayed on well under Saffie Osborne to win by 2 lengths, recording a race best 13.35s for the penultimate furlong. A finishing speed of 95.8% did help his cause as the leaders came back to him in the closing stages, but as a half-brother to last year’s runner-up Heart of Honor, he should be competitive. Six Speed has also won his last 3 starts and was a very comfortable winner of the UAE 2,000 Guineas in January. He dominated that race from start to finish, reaching the 3rd furlong pole in just 35.78s. The fastest horse into stride, he took 5.6s to reach 50 km/h and he finished his race well too, with a late speed figure of 56.1 km/h and a run-out speed 51.4 km/h, which was faster than the next 3 horses to chase him home. From stall 2 it seems impossible that he won’t be racing in the vanguard and it will take a very good horse to beat him.
I can’t be sure what Pyromancer has achieved in Japan and how it compares to the form of the other runners in the UAE, but his latest victory in the Zen-Nippon Nisai Yushun at Kawasaki in December earned him a rating of 111 from Japan Thoroughbreds and that puts him within 5 points of the best performances in Japan last year. That race was the 2nd leg of the Japanese Road to the Kentucky Derby and although he was holding on in the final strides, he won the race with a winning move at the end of the back straight. A winning time of 1:44.20s made it the slowest winning time in that race since 2014 and with no real way of comparing the form, it’s hard to form a strong opinion on this race. However, James Doyle is booked and Japanese runners have won each of the last 4 runnings, so I can certainly see why he is currently one of the more fancied runners.
Al Quoz Sprint Sponsored by Azizi Developments (G1)
There was very little between Reef Runner and LAZZAT when they met in Riyadh last month and I expect them to dominate this race too. Lazzat had to work very hard to get across from stall 12 that day and James Doyle had to battle for the lead around the bend. He kicked on with 3 furlongs to go and was still in front at the furlong pole before being picked off by Reef Runner, but over a straight 6 furlongs, I do expect that form to be reversed. Lazzat has the longer stride and all of his best form has come on a straight course rather than round a bend. When Reef Runner headed him inside the final furlong in Riyadh, Lazzat rallied and he recorded the better run-out speed of the pair at 34.65 mph. He ran the fastest opening furlong in the field last time in 11.59s and on a course that should suit his aggressive running style, I think it will be much harder for Reef Runner to stalk him this time.
Dubai Golden Shaheen Sponsored by Nakheel (G1)
Whilst he may well come on for the benefit of his recent outing, I do think that age may well be catching up with Tuz and it is hard to make a case for him regaining his crown in this race. The Breeders’ Cup Sprint winner BENTORNATO is the classiest horse in this field and having gotten a decent draw in stall 2, he should prove to be very hard to beat. At 44.5 mph, he had the fastest top speed figure of the 14 runner field and after breaking well with a race best 14.2s for the opening furlong at Del Mar in November, he could be called the winner at the top of the straight as he kicked readily clear under Irad Ortiz Jr. The runner-up that day was Imagination, who won the Riyadh Dirt Sprint for Bob Baffert last month and with form that strong, if Bentornato is fit, he should win from a better draw than he had at the Breeders’ Cup. Drew’s Gold would look to be the best of the home team and he has looked like a different horse since switching to Bhupat Seemar, winning both starts this season. He got the better of subsequent Group 3 winner El Nasseeb in the Al Shindagha Sprint last month and he hit the line hard that day, recording a race best run-out speed of 33.64 mph. Bentornato does have the higher expected stride frequency figure and the better of the draw, so Drew’s Gold will probably be behind the US raider, but he should finish his race well and could take advantage in the latter stages if Jose D Angelo’s charge is slightly below his best.
Dubai Turf Sponsored by DP World (G1)
OMBUDSMAN is a long way clear of his rivals in this race based on the ratings and whilst his fitness does need to be taken on trust, he really should win this race if getting a clear run round. He did need the run on his seasonal return last season when he was beaten by Almaqam at Sandown in the Brigadier Gerard Stakes and that would be a nagging doubt. However, he found only Calandagan too good in the Qipco Champion Stakes at Ascot on his latest start and that form is some way clear of his 10 rivals on Saturday. He recorded a faster top speed than Calandagan at Ascot (40.62 mph) and if we took Francis-Henri Graffard’s star out of that race, Ombudsman was easily the fastest horse over the final half a mile.
Unless Ombudsman doesn’t run to form, the others would appear to be running for 2nd place, but the most likely horse to challenge the Gosden runner would look to be Elnajmm. He has been revitalised this season by Michael Costa, who will be saddling his last runners at Meydan on Saturday evening and after an impressive win in the Las Al Khor last time, he looks to be coming into this race in peak form. He received a brilliant ride from Ray Dawson 3-weeks ago, who had his mount in the ideal position before kicking hard in the closing stages to run down the long time leader (Dubai Treasure). His run-out speed of 36.66 mph was 3% faster than anything else in the field and that would suggest that the step up in trip should still be within range. He lacks the class of Ombudsman, but he is in form and should hit the frame with a similarly strong finishing effort.
Longines Dubai Sheema Classic (G1)
CALANDAGAN is the world’s best racehorse. I won’t be swayed from that opinion and if he gets the race run to suit, he should win this and gain compensation for last year’s narrow defeat in this race. He didn’t get to Danon Decile in this race in 2025, but he closed with 3 consecutive sub-11s furlongs and the fastest late speed figure in the field (41.36 mph). He is a more mature horse now and having won both a Champion Stakes and a Japan Cup at the end of last season, he deserves his place at the head of the rankings. He has a longer expected stride figure and a higher expected stride frequency than Ethical Diamond and even though this smaller field is likely to turn this into a tactical affair, he should win if Mickael Barzalona gets his fractions right. Willie Mullins’ charge was a surprise winner of the Breeders’ Cup Turf, but he ran down Rebel’s Romance at Del Mar, clocking the fastest final 3 furlong splits in the field and the strength of that effort should not be underestimated. If he got first run on Calandagan, he could be a real danger, but side by side, I would expect the Aga Khan horse to prove too strong in the home straight.
Dubai World Cup Sponsored by Emirates Airline (G1)
If Calandagan is the world’s best racehorse, then Forever Young is the world’s best horse on the Dirt. He has won a Breeders’ Cup Classic and a 2nd Saudi Cup in the last few months and is clearly the most likely winner of this race too. He won at Del Mar in November despite the fact that he wasn’t able to run the fastest individual furlong split at any point of the race and I would argue that he matched that form when winning in Riyadh in February. He controlled that race perfectly and clocked the fastest split for each of the last 3 furlongs to win by a length from the Breeders’ Cup Dirt Mile winner Nysos. That is a very strong piece of form and if matching it, he will win. However, I can’t get out of my head that he was beaten in this race 12-months ago after a similarly impressive performance in the Saudi Cup when he beat Romantic Warrior. Hit Show was over half a second faster than Forever Young over the last quarter of a mile in 2025 and I think that the longer straight does make the race a stronger test.
Hit Show was the best horse in the race last season and is back for more after a comfortable success in the Mineshaft Stakes at Fair Grounds last month. He was entitled to win that race but he eventually got on top with a race best late speed figure of 35.83 mph. That was his first run since November and should have set him up nicely for this race. Tumbarumba was 3rd in the Saudi Cup and did stay on to record a better run-out speed than Forever Young (31.97 mph) but he does have work to do to reverse a gap of 0.9s.
It is probably foolish to try and take on Forever Young, but I do like the chances of MAGNITUDE under Jose Ortiz. he has won his last 2 starts in the US, including a comfortable success in the Razorback Handicap at Oaklawn Park 4 weeks ago. he hit the line really strongly that day, recording a run-out speed of 36.57 mph after running closing splits of 12.21 and 12.19s. That run-out speed figure was over 5% faster than any of his rivals and he did hit the frame in both starts in Grade 1 company last year. There was no shame in chasing home Sovereignty and Baeza in the latter half of 2025 and he looked to have taken a step forward on his first run as a 4-year-old. The presence of Walk of Stars in stall 3 should give him a decent pace to track and he should be capable of getting himself into contention in the latter stages of the contest at the very least.