Dubai World Cup Carnival 2018: Five things to look forward to

1. Dubai World Cup

The $10m showpiece, which takes place on the final night of the carnival – March 31, 2018 - has been the scene of several iconic performances. As the graph below shows, the race attracted a similar class of horse before the 139-rated Arrogate turned up 12 months ago.

He became the first dirt horse to break the 140-rated barrier when overcoming a slow start and tumultuous race to win, and the meeting’s organisers will be hopeful that other superstars turn up this time round; the likes of Collected and West Coast, second and third in the Breeders’ Cup Classic last year, look the most likely to step up to the plate.

2. International stars

Like the carnival itself, the declared horses for Thursday’s opening meeting includes runners from a number of countries. As well as a number of UAE-based horses, countries represented include South Africa, Norway and France, and, of course, strong teams sent over from Britain and Ireland. Perhaps surprisingly, Scandinavian horses have traditionally done well at these meetings, with Niels Petersen making the breakthrough with Beat Baby in 2015, which was closely followed by a win for the Jessica Long-trained Volatile in the Meydan Classic. Both Let’sgoforit and Giftorm were placed last season, as well as Avon Pearl who hit the frame in a 10-furlong handicap at 50/1.

3. The evergreen Vazirabad

Despite suffering defeat when sent off odds-on for the Prix Royal-Oak when last seen (video below), Vazirabad is a standing dish at this meeting and the Alain de Royer-Dupre-trained gelding is on target for an unprecedented third win in the Dubai Gold Cup. Last year he warmed up for the big race in the Nad Al Sheba Trophy, however connections may decide to send him straight to World Cup night without a run, as they did when he won the race in 2016. He made history when becoming the first horse to win back-to-back renewals of the Dubai Gold Cup last season and – despite his advancing years – he looks the one to beat once more.

▶️😱 Le 3ans #IceBreeze @JuddmonteFarms barre la route d'un triplé à #Vazirabad @AgaKhanStuds dans le #RoyalOak 🏆G1 #FrenchRacingToday pic.twitter.com/qV4IOCYu1b

— France Galop (@francegalop) October 22, 2017

4. The world’s fastest sprinters

Though there was some wet weather in the build up to last year’s World Cup night, conditions are usually lightning quick on the turf course and as a result there are often some very fast times recorded, especially over the minimum distance. European speedballs like Caspian Prince have often tried to match strides with the local sprinters, however the likes of Ertijaal have usually triumphed. Trained by Ali Al Rayhi for Sheikh Hamdan Al Maktoum, Ertijaal has won five races at the track, including the last two renewals of the 5f sprint that he contests on Thursday.

5. Godolphin dominance

Whilst Sheikh Mohammed’s principal trainers Charlie Appleby and Saeed bin Suroor have shared the limelight, this year could see more high profile success for Salem bin Ghadayer who trains horses for Sheikh Mohammed’s son Sheikh Hamdan bin Mohammed Al Maktoum. Though well beaten behind Arrogate when last seen, Long River is respected in the feature race on Thursday – the Maktoum Challenge Round One, especially considering he was second at 50/1 in the race last year. Stablemate Heavy Metal was bogged down on a muddy track on World Cup night, but showed he was back on-song when winning at the track last month; they could both offer some value against likely favourite Thunder Snow.

هافي ميتل بإشراف سالم بن غدير وقيادة الفارس رويستون فرنش يحقق سباق دبي كريك مايل لمسافة الميل pic.twitter.com/9xnYmLfisn

— Dubai Racing Channel (@DubaiRacingTV) December 21, 2017