With a couple of really competitive National Hunt meetings at Stratford and Newbury and two AW meetings at Kempton and Lingfield, racing fans will have plenty of options this weekend. However the feature meeting is without doubt the Dubai World Cup at Meydan, which will see the Henry Cecil trained multiple group one winner, Twice Over make his attempt to win the world’s richest horse race. The card at Meydan is a cracker and will feature plenty of British and Irish interest, including a few rare Dubai entries from the Aidan O’Brien stable.
Meydan 1.15 – Al Quoz Sprint 5f
The meeting gets underway with a Group two sprint which should see the warm order favourite JJ The Jet Plane take the top prize. The seven year old looked back to his best a fortnight ago when winning the Finest Surprise Handicap over six furlongs on the turf on this track. Although his best performances have come over six furlongs, the five furlongs in this should not trouble him. Each way interests could be applied to both Inxile from the Dandy Nicholls yard and Triple Aspect who is trained by William Haggas and will be the mount of Ryan Moore.
Selection: JJ The Jet Plane @ 2/1 with Paddy Power or Ladbrokes
Meydan 1.50 – Godolphin Mile 1m
This could be a very competitive Group Two where the Barry Hills trained Red Jazz will likely go off as the favourite. He is the highest rated horse in the race but he has not won over this trip in the past, nor has he been on a Tapeta surface. One who has however is the Godolphin trained Skysurfers, who won over course and trip a month ago when taking the Listed Firebreak Stakes. That run will have put him spot on as Godolphin look to claim the race named after them.
Selection: Skysurfers @ 5/1 with Victor Chandler
Meydan 2.25 – UAE Derby 1m 1f
The third Group Two of the afternoon should see the Godolphin pair of Khawlah and Xin Xu Lin go off as the top two in the market, however this is a very open looking race, where strong challenges can be expected from the Mike De Kock trained Mahbooba, winner of the UAE 1000 Guineas a few weeks ago and who finished second behind Khawlah in the UAE Oaks on 24th February. There is also two entries from Ballydoyle, Alexander Pope and Master Of Hounds, the latter being the highest rated horse in the race.
Selection: Khawlah @ 4/1 with Bet365
Meydan 3.05 – Golden Shaheen 6f
The first Group One race of the afternoon should produce a cracking contest and which could see Kinsale King take the race for the second successive year for Carl O’Callaghan. However the favourite will be Rocket Man, who was second behind Kinsale King 12 months ago and who has never finished outside of the first two in any of his 17 starts.
Selection: Rocket Man @ 7/4 with Coral
Meydan 3.45 – The Dubai Duty Free 1m1f
With Wigmore Hall representing the Michael Bell stable and Presvis trained by Luca Cumani looking likely to dispute favouritism, this Group One could be a very close affair, particularly as there are several others all in with big chances. Mendip from the Saeed Bin Suroor stable has won twice at Group Three level during the 2011 Dubai Carnival and is in top form, whilst Bankable won a Group Three over six furlongs as a warm up for his attempt to claim this race after finishing second last year.
Selection: Mendip @ 8/1 with Boylesports of Victor Chandler
Meydan 4.50 – Sheema Classic 1m4f
The penultimate race of the afternoon could see the 2010 Epsom Derby third, Rewilding, claim his biggest prize to date. Trained by Mahmood Al Zarooni for Godolphin, this four year old is certainly one of major the class horse’s in the race and will go off favourite, but punters should follow the market with regard to the support for the Japanese entry, Rulership, a Group Two winner in Japan and the Brian Meehan trained Dangerous Midge, winner of the Breeders Cup Turf back in November. There has also been market support for the Barry Hills trained Redwood.
Selection: Dangerous Midge @ 5/1 with Bet365 or Paddy Power
Meydan 5.35 – Dubai World Cup
The richest race in the world should see a huge effort by the Henry Cecil trained Twice Over to take the race and justify the place at the top of the Dubai World Cup odds and in doing so, get the Cecil yard off to the perfect start as the new flat season looms. Winner of the Round 3 of the Al Maktoum Challenge a couple of weeks ago, the 6 year old is said to be in top form and raring to go. He has been heavily backed and is now as short as 5/2 and will go off as a very warm order favourite. There has also been support for the Aidan ‘Brien trained Cape Blanco, winner of the 2010 Irish Derby, but who has only just arrived in Dubai and who has not been seen on track since finishing down the field in the 2010 Arc de Triomphe. Big runs can also be expected from Gio Ponti, Poets Voice and the Japanese entry Victoire Pisa.
Selection: Twice Over @ 11/4 with Coral
Share this article with friends:Written by Rodwise · Filed Under Bet365, Bookmakers, Boylesports, Coral, Horse Racing, Ladbrokes, Paddypower, Tips, VCBet
Tagged: 26th march, betting, dubai world cup, Horse Racing, meydan, races, Tips, twice over
