dubai world cup day!!
meydan
race 2
6-surfer 6-1(is 9-1 on europe market so probably goes off higher)
8-master of hounds 15-1
2-mufarrh 20-1
5-zazou 10-1
4-time prisoner 30-1
tough race but think the favorite is vulnerable so it could payoff to go deep.surfer is my key as the horses he has been behind while losing last couple are running in the world cup.plus a bunch of other pretty good angles working for him.
w/p 6
ex bx 6/2,4,5,8
race 3
7-saddler's rock 12-1
1-imperial monarch 3-1
8-tenebbaum 8-1
6-verema
just going with the best stayer aside from the fave 1.looks between those two but crazy things can happen during the 2 miles run.
w/p 7
ex bx 7/1,8,6
race 4
4-lines of battle 10-1
7-secret number 3-1
3-now spun 15-1
the horse i'm playing against here that figures to take some money is 1-law enforcement.the trainer doesn't have a good track record in dubai while doing great just about everywhere else.on the other hand aiden o'brien's horses almost always runs well in the uae derby and he sends out the 4 who looks good on form too.
w/p 4
ex bx 4,7,3
race 5
5-spirit quartz 15-1
7-shea shea 5-2
15-sole power 5-1
4-dux scholar 20-1
w/p 5
ex bx 7/5,15,4
5 furlong turf sprints are chaos but shea shea might be much the best here with a repeat of last.i think the value is in the 5 who has a ton of near misses against some really good horses.the 1-eagle regiment is the scary horse if healthy but was reported to have a hoof issue once he got to dubai and was 50/50 to run.if it is all a ruse then he is a big overlay.
race 6
5-reynaldothewizard 12-1
10-mental 7-2
7-kavanagh 15-1
2-gordon lord byron 15-1
w/p 5
ex bx 5,10,7,2
another race with a scary favorite in mental but the 5 couldn't have been more impressive last out and at the prices have to put that one on top.no i don't hate america i just think there are too many question marks to back any us horse running here for the first time.
race 7
11-mushreq 15-1
9-giofra 15-1
2-i'm a dreamer 10-1(will go off much higher)
6-igugu 15-1
w/p 11
ex bx 11,9,2,6
wide open race with the favorite probably going off anywhere from 9-2 to 6-1.the knocks i have on the faves are that ocean park comes up from new zealand/australia and i have seen plenty of these good looking types not live up to the hype when trying to run anywhere but down under.trade storm is 12-1 ml but currently 5-1 co-fave with ocean park.that one is stuck out in post 14 and playing for a wide trip/fade.the question mark is igugu as on her best she smokes this field but she was in heat when she underperformed in both her races at dubai this year.the problem is the heat cycle is 20-23 days and this race falls 21 days since her last.so its a total guess but if she is good to go then she is a huge overlay at 15-1.
race 8
6-st nicholas abbey 5-2
w/p 6
don't think there is much money to be made here in exotics with gentildonna looking very tough at close to even money.maybe i can beat her on the win end but its asking a lot to keep her out of the exacta.i guess there is an outside chance dunaden can get there but 8-1 isn't really that great.st nicholas abbey is a total pro and always runs his race except for on soft ground and it is always good at meydan.
race 9
5-capponi 20-1
8-royal delta 4-1
1-treasure beach 20-1
4-hunter's light 7-2
w/p 5
ex bx 5,8,1,4
on paper royal delta lays over this field.the problem is those figs were achieved vs females.however if mott brings her to dubai for another go around then i have to think he truly believes she has a good chance.he just doesn't put horses in unrealistic spots.the reasoning for my two longshots is that capponi's trainer al zarooni is among the best there is winding a horse up to run the race of their life right off the bench.i look at it as a positive that he bring capponi directly into this spot and he obviously fits with this classy field having finished 2nd in last year's world cup.as for treasure beach , if you followed the carnival then you probably noticed de kock's horses improving by leaps and bounds the 2nd start after a layoff which is what treasure beach is doing.he didn't finish that far behind the favorite hunter's light last race and if he improves like most of de kock's runners then he is right there with that one.hunter's light is 7-2 and treasure beach is 20-1 so it looks like value to me.plus he has speed to take advantage of the rail.
Gl