It was raining at Lingfield Park yesterday for the All-Weather Championships Finals and some of the jockeys were looking forward to better weather. James Doyle won the mares and fillies final on Diagnostic and then flew out to Dubai after racing. The temperature for the Dubai World Cup fixture at Meydan will be above 30 degrees where Doyle rides Frontiersman in the Gold Cup.
Doyle’s mount has the joint highest Racing Post Rating but is not the most straightforward of rides. If Frontiersman runs in a straight line the horse can give the favourite Vazirabad a decent race. The market leader won the race last year so is proven over course and distance. Rare Rhythm could make the frame but stablemate Frontiersman is the horse to back.
Ryan Moore is just about the best Flat jockey in the world and the go-to man for many international races. Moore has six rides in the eight thoroughbred races and four of those are for Aidan O’Brien. Cloth Of Stars is the top-rated horse in the Sheema Classic and favourite but Idaho for O’Brien and Moore can upset that apple cart. As the odds-on favourite in the 2016 St Leger Idaho stumbled and unseated his rider.
The horse has been unplaced in four Grade 1 races around the world so is on a losing run. However, Idaho won at Royal Ascot and then faced an impossible task against Enable in the King George. Idaho was only just over five lengths behind the subsequent winner of the Arc giving a full stone. That is outstanding form and Idaho can provide Moore with a winner at Dubai tonight. Washington DC has too much to do in the Sprint.
Blue Point is the Evens favourite for that race but Librisa Breeze looks overpriced. The horse is owned by Tony Bloom who is a shrewd punter and the owner of Brighton FC. He had a winner at the Cheltenham Festival with Penhill in the stayers’ hurdle so is aiming to achieve the rare double of having a horse win at the major jumps meeting and one of the biggest nights on the Flat. If Brighton also stays in the Premier League Bloom will have had a great spring.
The UAE Derby looks like a two horse race and Gold Town and Mendelssohn are clear on ratings. The latter represents the O’Brien and Moore team and the jockey could be the key to the outcome. The two horses at the head of the betting are closely matched but Moore can get his home first so Mendelssohn is the horse to back.
The climax and richest race at the fixture is the Dubai World Cup worth almost ÂŁ4.5 million to the winner. Thunder Snow is the only British based runners in the race and has something to find on all known form. French-trained Talismanic can make the frame for Europe but West Coast will be a tough nut to crack. The even-money favourite has the best form but Talismanic represents the each-way value.
