Seeking The Soul set for heavyweight fight in Dubai World Cup

Dubai - While there are no clear favourites, making it a wide-open field, handler Dallas Stewart said that it would be a folly to think that way and added that each contender is worth their weight.

Leading American handler Dallas Stewart likened the $12 million Emirates Airline Dubai World Cup to a "heavyweight fight" and said that there was no bigger stage than this for the horse and its connections to show their mettle.
The 21st renewal of the world's richest horse race meeting and the richest horse race in the world takes place at the Meydan Racecourse this weekend and Stewart, a multiple Breeders' Cup-winning trainer, sends out Seeking The Soul.
And while there are no clear favourites, making it a wide-open field, the 59-year-old said that it would be a folly to think that way and added that each contender is worth their weight.
"Look, it is a heavyweight fight, you need to be ready," Stewart said after overseeing trackwork at the Racecourse on Tuesday morning.
"You can't say to yourself, 'hey, this is an easier field than last year or the year before.' Just be ready to run because if you are not, somebody else is going to be ready," he added.
And Stewart was upbeat of Seeking The Soul's chances against the best in the showpiece event on Saturday night.
"It is like walking into the big arena and everybody is waiting over there to see what you can do. So, you got to have the horse with the right attitude, the presence about himself to be able to handle a big night like here. And he's been at some big stages. He was at the Pegasus (World Cup), that's a big stage, the Clark (Handicap), that's the big stage, the Breeders' Cup. So, he's a big stage horse," said Stewart.
Stewart had brought Forever Unbridled last year, with the multiple graded-stakes winner finishing fifth in her final race. The trainer had had thoughts of bringing Seeking The Soul too but an injury forced him to cancel those plans.
"We were actually looking at it last year and but he had an injury after the Pegasus and we just took our time with him. He held up great, he was really good and patient. He didn't have to have any surgery but we just took our time, did a lot of jogging with him, a lot of icing and just plain old-fashioned horsemanship and he held up great. Got back to the big time in good fashion. So, it just goes to show you he's a good horse," he said.
Stewart couldn't stop raving about his charge, calling the six-year-old son of Perfect Soul, 'macho man type.'
"He's a real tough horse and he trains hard. He's real honest, he's kind of a macho man type.he's a little bit mean. But he does his job, he looks great, he travels well, he's won over different racetracks, he equaled the track record at Keeneland in an allowance race. So, he knows how to fight with the big boys, he really does so, we will see what happens," said Stewart, who saddled Lemons Forever to victory in the Kentucky Oaks in 2006.
And he said that the approach to the race will the same like they did with Forever Unbridled.
"You need to be ready as in any big race and we took the same approach with this horse as we did bringing her over here. And I think we are ready. I liked the way the horse has trained, I like the way he looks, his attitude - he's very bold about himself," he said.
The trainer was also not fretting on the draw. "I'm not going to stress out on it. You'd like to be in the middle, maybe not so much down inside. But if it happens like that, we will let Mike Smith handle it," said Stewart.
John R Velazquez has been riding him but with the jockey opting to compete in the Florida Derby, Smith has the chance to make it a double after a dramatic with Arrogate in 2017.
james@khaleejtimes.com