The cards fell wildly for the favored horses at the barrier draw for the 27th Dubai World Cup sponsored by Emirates.
There were audible gasps early in the ceremony as defending champion Country Grammer drew gate 14 of 15, leaving Frankie Dettori with a tactical headache on what will be his final start in the race.
Saudi Cup hero Panthalassa will break from the widest stall of all in 15, with the added intrigue that Yoshito Yahagi’s representative is a confirmed frontrunner.
And the drama didn’t end there, as Algiers, winner of the first two rounds of the Al Maktoum Challenge, drew stall 13.
A trio of fancied Japanese-trained runners are housed inside, with Jun Light Bolt in stall three, Vela Azul in five, and Ushba Tesoro in eight.
Canadian owned and trained SHIRL’S SPEIGHT drew post 2 in a big field for the Grade 1 Dubai Turf worth $5 million. The 1800 metre turf race is the second outing for Charles Fipke’s horse this year after he was unplaced in the February Stakes on the dirt in Japan. Trained by Roger Attfield. Shirl’s Speight was second in the Grade 1 Breeders’ Cup Mile last fall at Keeneland and is a Grade 1 winner.
For more information on the Dubai races and post times, visit HERE.
Form guide by race entries HERE.
Saturday, Meydan, UAE, post time: 12:35 p.m. EST
DUBAI WORLD CUP SPONSORED BY EMIRATES AIRLINE-G1, $12,000,000, NH 4yo/up & SH 3yo/up, 2000m
SaddleC/PP HORSE SIRE JOCKEY TRAINER WT
1. 13 Algiers (Ire) Shamardal Doyle S & E Crisford 126
2. 7 Bendoog Gun Runner Soumillon Seemar 126
3. 10 Cafe Pharoah American Pharoah Moreira Hori 126
4. 14 Country Grammer Tonalist Dettori Baffert 126
5. 12 Crown Pride (Jpn) Reach the Crown (Jpn) Lane Shintani 126
6. 2 Emblem Road Quality Road Al Furaydi Abdulwahid 126
7. 9 Geoglyph (Jpn) Drefong Lemaire Kimura 126
8. 3 Jun Light Bolt (Jpn) King Kamehameha (Jpn) Moore Tomomichi 126
9. 15 Panthalassa (Jpn) Lord Kanaloa (Jpn) Yoshida Yahagi 126
10. 1 Remorse (Ire) Dubawi (Ire) O’Shea Seemar 126
11. 4 Salute the Soldier (Ger) Sepoy (Aus) de Vries Seemar 126
12. 11 Super Corinto (Arg) Super Saver Berrios Sanchez 126
13. 6 T O Keynes (Jpn) Sinister Minister Murphy Takayanagi 126
14. 8 Ushba Tesoro (Jpn) Orfevre (Jpn) Kawada Takagi 126
15. 5 Vela Azul (Jpn) Eishin Flash (Jpn) C Demuro Watanabe 126
Saturday, Meydan, UAE, post time: 12:10 p.m.
DUBAI TURF SPONSORED BY DP WORLD-G1, $5,000,000, NH 4yo/up & SH 3yo/up, 1800mT
SaddleTowel/Post – Horse – Sire Jockey Trainer Weight
1. 6 Alfareeq (Ire) Dark Angel (Ire) O’Neill Al Mheiri 126
2. 4 Danon Beluga (Jpn) Heart’s Cry Jpn) Moreira Hori 126
3. 13 Do Deuce (Jpn) Heart’s Cry (Jpn) Take Tomomichi 126
4. 12 El Drama (Ire) Lope de Vega (Ire) Egan Varian 126
5. 15 Glorious Dragon (Ire) Teofilo (Ire) Callan Ng 126
6. 8 Junko (GB) Intello (Ger) Guyon Fabre 126
7. 3 Lord North (Ire) Dubawi (Ire) Dettori J & T Gosden 126
8. 10 Master of the Seas (Ire) Dubawi (Ire) Doyle Appleby 126
9. 16 Nations Pride (Ire) Teofilo (Ire) Buick Appleby 126
10. 1 Order of Australia (Ire) Australia (GB) Moore O’Brien 126
11. 7 Real World (Ire) Dark Angel (Ire) Murphy bin Suroor 126
12. 5 Serifos (Jpn) Daiwa Major (Jpn) Lane Nakauchida 126
13. 11 Shelir (Ire) Dark Angel (Ire) Watson O’Meara 126
14. 2 Shirl’s Speight Speightstown Fresu Attfield 126
15. 9 Sir Busker (Ire) Sir Prancealot (Ire) Curtis Knight 126
16. 14 Vin de Garde (Jpn) Deep Impact (Jpn) Fujiwara Barzalona 126
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