Dubai World Cup retrospective: highs, lows, and videos

As with the other marquee race meetings around the world, last Saturday's Dubai World Cup program offered some exhilarating moments, interspersed with a few disappointments.

Here are the replays of the eight Thoroughbred races, along with my personal highs and lows:

Godolphin Mile

High: Tamarkuz's sheer determination to extend his winning streak to four, and become the first horse to sweep Meydan's series for milers -- the Firebreak (UAE-G3), Burj Nahaar (UAE-G3) and Godolphin Mile (UAE-G2). When the pace factor blew the start, I thought it was over, but Sheikh Hamdan's colorbearer simply rallied from off the pace instead. As others have pointed out, that flub could have been a blessing in disguise, since he was spared being part of the frenetic pace. Nevertheless, Tamarkuz deserves credit for displaying tactical versatility and admirable resolve. Racing Manager Angus Gold indicated that the son of Speightstown could point for a U.S. campaign, a logical plan in light of his proficiency on dirt.

Low: The what-might-have-been if Sloane Avenue hadn't drawn a dreadful post 15. The Jeremy Noseda trainee covered about 26 more feet than the winner, according to Trakus, and missed by all of a short head. Considering that he hadn't run since taking the Hyde S. at Kempton last November, shipped to Gulfstream only to have to scratch from the Donn H. (G1) after grabbing a quarter, and had to maneuver his way from near the tail of the field here, Sloane Avenue ran a mighty race in defeat. The Candy Ride colt proved his mettle on the dirt, earning himself a crack at the June 6 Metropolitan Mile (G1).

 

Dubai Gold Cup

High: Seeing the best horse in the race, Brown Panther, put on a course record-setting show. After jockey Richard Kingscote niftily steered him over from post 14 and slotted into a tracking second, the proverbial handwriting was on the wall. Brown Panther delivered the coup de grace turning for home and flaunted his class. The Tom Dascombe charge became the first fresh shipper to win this race, without having prepped at the Carnival. That stat unanimously in favor of Carnival runners looked a bit shaky going in, given the brief race history and the past shippers who've tried, but it's still good to have it overturned.

Low: While Dubday was a decent fifth in his first marathon attempt, especially after a less than ideal stretch passage and significant ground loss (36 feet, according to Trakus), Bathyrhon didn't perform up to his high-class French form and reported home seventh. You could say that he came a long way to get a prep run for the European season. Look for the son of Monsun to be a different proposition in the staying contests back home.