DUBAI WORLD CUP

Wednesday, 26 March, 2014

Akeed Mofeed (GB) -- Trainer Richard Gibson said: “Very pleased with his work this morning. He was very settled. Douglas Whyte will ride him tomorrow Thursday in an easy breeze but I was delighted with how relaxed he was this morning.

“I think he will find this race more truly run than a lot of 2000m races in Hong Kong and I think that will suit him and the surface is not going to present a problem either. The good horse, the champion has to adapt to the conditions and we know that this is a top horse, now ranked the third highest rated in the world.” 

Belshazzar (JPN) – “He walked one circuit and then galloped on the second lap before he was cooling down on the third lap today.  He was driving strongly in the last two furlongs (400m) today, and I am very happy to see his galloping.  Today, I let him walk in the first lap and made him look at the surroundings carefully because I wanted to make him concentrate on the galloping.  As we always do at home, after galloping we walked him to be more flexible,” said trainer Kunihide Matsuda.
“We have done everything as (good as) possible.  He has been staying for two weeks here, and that made him more fluid and is in good form.  We have targeted this race since last autumn.  This is a race against the other high-class competitors, but I believe everything we have done to him is good to him and hopefully he can compete well.”

Hillstar (GB) – Just as the rain eased, the Royal Ascot winner and his regular work rider Katie Reed completed a steady canter on the main all-weather track. “All’s well,” Sir Michael Stoute’s travelling head lad James Savage reported.

Hokko Tarumae (JPN) –  Jockey Hideaki Miyuki said, “I expected the time would be faster due to the wet condition on the all-weather, but it was faster than I expected.  The lights at the track was suddenly shut down just before I started to make him move on the all-weather, but he was never surprised and concentrated on the work today.  He is full of beans and is in a good form.”

Military Attack (IRE) -- Trainer John Moore said: “This is his first day at the main track. We kept our three runners at the quarantine area to give them time to get over the trip from Hong Kong.

“I’m very happy with Military Attack (IRE). He’s travelled very well, just like when he went to Singapore last year and won. He’s eating up and you could see him kicking his brand off this morning. He handles the all-weather surface fine and I believe any rain like we have had this morning makes it a quicker surface and that would be okay too.

“The draw is imperative, however. I’d like to draw low. I’m hoping to pull a good gate that will give him a chance to get a nice cushy run in behind the speed, because he has a devastating turn-of-foot when unleashed, and then we’ll see the real Military Attack, hopefully.”

Mukhadram (GB) -- With trainer William Haggas expected to attend the post position draw on Wednesday afternoon, Mukhadram (GB) was sent out for a bit of light exercise during the rainy morning.

“We just had a canter,” said assistant Elizabeth Budden.

Red Cadeaux (GB) – Trainer Ed Dunlop arrived at the track to oversee last year’s Dubai World Cup second have his final piece of serious work on the all-weather track.

“We went round the track and quickened up the straight – that will do now and he is ready for the weekend,” said Dunlop. “Like most of us he likes the heat as he gets older so he does well here. He seems very well in himself and we now just need to see what the draw does for him, but I imagine we will use similar tactics to last year.”

Ron the Greek (USA) -- At 4 a.m. Wednesday with a light rain falling, Dubai World Cup sponsored by Emirates contender Ron the Greek (USA) made his first appearance on the Meydan all-weather oval.   As a GCC-based horse, there are different quarantine rules in effect and the training window for those horses is from 4-4:30 a.m.

“He just had an easy gallop to get his feet underneath him,” trainer Nicholas Bachalard said. “He looked good and handled the track well. More of the same tomorrow, maybe a little quicker down the lane.”

A career earner of $2.7 million, the 7yo son of Full Mandate is a multiple graded stakes winner on dirt, but only one of his 30 career races has come over an all-weather surface.

“He ran fourth in an allowance race at Keeneland (April 3, 2011), but the distance (1 1/16 miles, approx. 1,700 m with a very short stretch to an alternate finish line appox. 100m before regular finish) was too short and he’s a better horse now that he was back then,” Bachalard said. “The only way to find out (if he’ll handle it) is to run on it.”

Ruler of the World (IRE) – The Derby winner and five other Ballydoyle stablemates making up Aidan O’Brien’s biggest Dubai World Cup night challenge arrived at the international quarantine barn on Tuesday evening. Like the rest of the team, he had light exercise on Wednesday and will clear quarantine on Friday.

Side Glance (GB) – Andrew Balding’s travelling head groom Leanne Masterton was aboard last year’s Dubai World Cup fourth as he exercised on the all-weather track for the final time ahead of Saturday night’s showdown.

“I was pleased with him this morning and he has had a nice leg stretch,” said Masterton. “I wanted to get a blow in to him so we did a strong canter and made him pick up to get that blow into him. He will just have two easy days now on the training track.”