The gates are drawn, the stage is set, and for trainer Simon Crisford and his son Ed, the $12 million Dubai World Cup has suddenly come into sharp, tantalising focus.
The Crisfords saddle second favourite Meydaan, who will break from stall 2 after a stylish post-position draw ceremony at Meydan, places the father-son team firmly on the doorstep of a defining moment that would crown a remarkable journey.
For Simon, whose career was forged in Dubai during more than two decades as racing manager of the all-powerful Godolphin stable, it is a chance to win the race that helped define his professional life. However, this time as a trainer.
HE Ali Al Ali, CEO of Dubai Racing Club, addresses dignitaries, connections and guests at the Dubai World Cup post-position draw.(Photo: Dubai Racing Club
“I think we would have preferred to be a little bit further out,” Crisford said of Post position 2. “But we don’t really want him to get shuffled back. The pace will be more intense… but happy enough.”
Meydaan’s presence here is the result of a bold, almost left-field move. After a quiet Melbourne Cup campaign and a profile that pointed firmly towards turf staying races, the Crisfords rolled the dice, switching their charge to dirt and dropping him back to 2000 metres for the G2 Al Maktoum Challenge. The result was emphatic: a five-and-a-quarter-length demolition that instantly transformed him into a genuine World Cup contender.
“It was a big transition from turf to dirt, and we went for it,” said Ed Crisford. “He goes really well on that dirt track… but this is a super tough race. You’ve got the best dirt horse in the world in Forever Young.”
Meydaan was an emphatic winner when switched to dirt at Meydan, a surface he has taken to seamlessly. Photo Dubai Racing Club
That rival, Japan’s formidable Forever Young and recent winner of the $20 million Saudi Cup in Riyadh, will break from stall 6, closer to the middle of the nine-runner field. Trainer Yoshito Yahagi was satisfied with the draw, noting that in a compact field, positioning will come down more to execution than luck.
“I wanted middle to outer, so I’m pleased,” he said at Meydan’s glittering ballroom.“He jumps well and will get into the right position.”
Jockey Ryusei Sakai, who was in the saddle when Forever Young did his last gallop on Wednesday, commented on the track condition following rains over the past two days.
“He doesn’t care about the track, he just likes to run,” said Sakai. “The weather is not a factor at this stage; it doesn’t change anything as far as his ability or our strategies. Neither does the draw.”
Dubai World Cup favourite Forever Young breezes at Meydan Racecourse ahead of Saturday’s big race. (Photo: Liesl King.
The defending champion and Wathan Racing-owned Hit Show is drawn alongside in gate 5, and his rider Florent Geroux was unfazed, saying: “It doesn’t matter for him really.”
Just inside, Magnitude (1), recent winner of the Mineshaft Stakes (G3) and Walk Of Stars (3), who was second in the Al Maktoum Classic (G2), add early pace to the equation, with Bhupat Seemar confident his latter runner can capitalise on.
“From stall three he can dominate and display his natural speed,” said the Zabeel Stables boss, who was also positive of his second runner Imperial Emperor’s draw (7), who may get the perfect tow into the race.
“Forever Young is on the inside… he’s the right horse to follow,” he said, hinting at a tactical shadowing of the favourite.
An Emirates cabin crew member assists during the Dubai World Cup post-position draw ceremony. Photo: Dubai Racing Club
Elsewhere, Heart Of Honor (4) is expected to sit off the speed, with his handler Jamie Osborne commenting: "Walk Of Stars is inside us; he'll go fast, we won't! I was thinking beforehand I'd like to be a bit wider, but on balance, I think it's okay. I wouldn't want to be one or two, trapped down the rail. But we might well end up on the rail because of the pace inside us."
Tap Leader (8) has the room his trainer, Doug Watson, an eight-time UAE champion, wanted after traffic issues last time, and the Qatari hope Tumbarumba’s draw (9) offers flexibility from the outside.
Watson, chasing a first World Cup after a lifetime in Dubai, remains quietly ambitious: “If he has a clean trip… who knows? We’ll dream a little bit.
"We wanted to be on the outside. A couple of times, he got in the middle of it, and we had to check him a couple of times in his last race. From stall eight, he should be able to keep his momentum up for the entire race."
Defending champion Hit Show works at Meydan Racecourse. Photo Liesl King
Yet for all the tactical intrigue, the emotional pull centres on Meydaan, who races in the flaming yellow silks of Lieutenant General Sheikh Ahmed bin Rashid Al Maktoum, the Deputy Chairman of Dubai Police & Public Security. The horse who once looked destined for an entirely different path now stands at the heart of racing’s biggest stage in Dubai, carrying the hopes of a trainer whose story is deeply entwined with the race itself.
Thirty years on, the Dubai World Cup continues to produce new narratives. On Saturday night, Simon and Ed Crisford will hope theirs is the one that defines this landmark edition.
Dubai World Cup (Group 1)
Purse: $12m Distance: 2,000m Dirt. Post timeL 8:45pm (UAE time)
Prizemoney breakdown: 1st $6,960,000 | 2nd $2,400,000 | 3rd $1,200,000 | 4th $600,000 | 5th $360,000 | 6th $240,000 | 7th $120,000 | 8th $120,000
1. Magnitude – Trainer: Steven M. Asmussen
2. Meydaan – Trainers: Simon & Ed Crisford
3. Walk Of Stars – Trainer: Bhupat Seemar
4. Heart Of Honor – Trainer: Jamie A. Osborne
5. Hit Show – Trainer: Brad H. Cox
6. Forever Young – Trainer: Yoshito Yahagi
7. Imperial Emperor – Trainer: Bhupat Seemar
8. Tap Leader – Trainer: Doug Watson
9. Tumbarumba – Trainer: Hamad Al Jehani
