Benbatl headlines strong field for Dubai World Cup

Dubai - Three UAE contenders in fray as landmark 25th renewal to be held behind closed doors

The landmark 25th renewal of the Dubai World Cup has drawn a strong field of 12 and headlining the star cast is none other than Benbatl.
The Dubai Racing Club (DRC) announced the likely fields for the nine races on the $35 million Dubai World Cup card on Wednesday night and there are three UAE contenders in the showpiece - the $12 million Dubai World Cup.
Benbatl, the six-year-old son of the blue-blooded Dubawi and owned by Godolphin, is one of the favourites for the contest to be run over 10 furlongs.
Benbatl, saddled by Emirati Saeed bin Suroor, the most successful trainer at the Dubai World Cup with nine wins, gave his conditioner and his connections a lot of confidence after placing in both his runs on dirt.
Benbatl had made a successful dirt debut while winning the Group 2 Al Maktoum Challenge Round 2 during the sixth race meeting of the Dubai World Cup Carnival at Meydan in early February.
His previous 19 starts had all been on turf. And he proved that it was no fluke by coming up with a truly creditable performance while finishing third under regular jockey Oisin Murphy in the inaugural running of the Saudi Cup at the King Abdulaziz Racetrack in Riyadh, last month.
Bin Suroor will be aiming for a hat-trick of triumphs after Thunder Snow had created history by landing back-to-back victories over the previous two instalments.
The other UAE hopefuls in the fray are Gronkowski and Matterhorn. Both are handled by Emirati conditioner Salem bin Ghadayer and provides a three-pronged attack from the UAE, along with Benbatl, against the American and Japanese raiders.
Gronkowski was ridden by Murphy last year and provided a thrilling and dramatic end - finishing second by a nose to Thunder Snow, who is now enjoying life as a stud.
Meanwhile, Matterhorn, the five-year-old son of Raven's Pass punched his ticket for the centerpiece after winning the Group 1 $600,000 Al Maktoum Challenge Round 3 on Super Saturday.
The mount of Barzalona, Matterhorn landed his first Group 1 winner in style, by a whopping 5.5 lengths over Military Law, saddled by Musabbeh Al Mheiri.
The others in the field are Japanese quartet Chrysoberyl, Chuwa Wizard, Gold Dream and Master Fencer with the Americans also with a quartet of runners.
There is Sir Winston, Tacitus and War Story and Mucho Gusto, with the last named being one of the odds-on favourites.
Mucho Gusto, saddled by American Hall of Famer Bob Baffert, had finished fourth behind Benbatl in the Saudi Cup.
The 67-year-old Baffert is no stranger at the Dubai World Cup, enjoying iconic status with three victories. The snow-white haired had saddled Silver Charm, Captain Steve and Arrogate to triumphs in 1998, 2001 and 2017, the last being a scintillating come-from-behind victory.
The other races on the card are the Group 1 Dubai Sheema Classic, Group 1 Dubai Turf, Group 1 Dubai Golden Shaheen, Group 2 UAE Derby, Group 1 AL Quoz Sprint, Group 2 Dubai Gold Cup, Group 2 Godolphin Mile and the Group 1 Dubai Kahayla Classic, the only race for Purebred Arabians, and the one which opens the race night.
The Post Position Draw will be held on Monday.
james@khaleejtimes.com