The 2024 Dubai World Cup: runner-by-runner guide and tip

A glittering cast of British and Irish-trained runners on Dubai World Cup night at Meydan on Saturday will include Auguste Rodin, Nashwa, Emily Upjohn, Eldar Eldarov and Lord North.

Their connections have been lured by the prestige, perfect turf, a bit of sunshine and the small matter of prize-money totalling more than $30 million being dangled before their eyes. The winners alone will accumulate more than £14 million– more than John & Thady Gosdens and Aidan O’Brien accrued between them during their battle for the trainers’ championship in Britain last year.

The biggest race of them all, by some margin, is the Dubai World Cup. It’s the final race on a nine-race card that features six Group One contests (one for Arabian horses) and three Group Twos. Nobody sneaks out early at Meydan to beat the traffic, especially when there is also a dazzling closing ceremony to enjoy.

There are no European runners in the dirt showdown and Sheikh Mohammed will not, for once, face the awkward dilemma of handing the winning trophy to himself. His Godolphin operation is not represented and so a tenth win in the mile-and-a-quarter showpiece will have to wait.

One thing is for certain: if the race is half as good as last month’s pulsating Saudi Cup then we won’t be disappointed. The first pair home that day, Senor Buscador and Ushba Tesoro, meet again.

Hopes of a home win appear to rest with the Doug Watson-trained Kabirkhan but Japan, as ever on the biggest days on the world stage, have several aces to play, while the American challenge is also strong.

Remember Frankie Dettori? His Farewell Tour last year turned out to be something of a warm-up for, err, a future Farewell Tour. He’s won the race a record-equalling four occasions and will bid to nudge ahead of Jerry Bailey, the other joint record-holder, aboard Newgate.

Here’s a guide to all the contenders. All the action at Meydan on Saturday can be watched live on Racing TV. 

Official Rating: 111. Meydan form: 33. Best odds: 66/1. 

It’s hard to read this horse’s name without ending up with a Layla earworm. It could be worse, I guess. He’s exposed and finished about five lengths third to the impressive Kabirkhan in the Al Maktoum Challenge over 1m1f at Meydan in late January before filling the same position behind Military Law (beaten a similar distance) in the Al Maktoum Classic this month. Difficult to see him turning the tables on that pair, let alone achieving anything else. 

Official Rating: 113. Meydan form: --. Best odds: 16/1. 

Looks an ambitious runner for Todd Pletcher, with none of his three wins (from ten starts) being achieved at a level any higher than Listed class. Did raise his game when third in the Pegasus World Cup Invitational Stakes at Gulfsteam Park in late January, although he came from well off the pace that day, under Frankie Dettori, and there seemed an element of him picking up the pieces. Senor Buscador finished 4½ lengths in front of him on that occasion and holds more obvious claims. 

Official Rating: 116. Meydan form: --. Best odds: 50/1. 

The youngest in the line-up was a dual Grade One winner for Bob Baffert, including when upstaging Country Grammar in the Awesome Again Stakes at Santa Anita in the autumn of 2022 after that horse had won this race earlier in the year. His fortunes have since declined, though, and he made little impact in the Saudi Cup last time on his first start for Abdulaziz K Mishref. You need a vivid imagination to envisage him beating either Senor Buscador or Ushaba Tesoro, who dominated the fnish of that contest. 

Official Rating: 120. Meydan form: 1. Best odds: 4/1. 

Was a runaway winner of the UAE Derby on this card last year, when he made all from stall 1and had 5½ lengths to spare over Dura Erede at the finish. The Kentucky Derby then proved too much for him but he ran a cracker on his final start of last year, when chasing home White Abarrio in the Breeders’ Cup Classic, and he again ran well when fifth in a dramatic Saudi Cup last month. He wasn’t helped by his wide draw or and making a big mid-race move, with the principals coming from well off the pace. Seems sure to make his presence felt. 

Official Rating: 114. Meydan form: 2. Best odds: 20/1. 

He was no match for Derma Sotogake in the UAE Derby 12 months ago and his subsequent exploits suggest he will not be snapping a 15-month losing sequence. Those who fancy an upset will cling to the fact that he finished a half-length third to Ushba Tesoro, the favourite for this, in the Tokyo Daishoten in late December. However, he’s since been well beaten in the February Stakes at then same track, albeit when probably inconvenienced by the drop to a mile. 

Official Rating: 115. Meydan form: 11. Best odds: 4/1. 

Won two of his three races (all over 1m 4f) in Russia before moving to the UAE to be trained by Doug Watson. Won a handicap with ease over course and distance off a mark of 97, despite rearing in the stalls, and then bolted up in the Al Maktoum Challenge, taking that Group One contest with any amount in hand. The past two winners of that race have gone on to finish runner-up in this and his draw in stall 3 gives him prospects of grabbing the lead. However, he did flash his tail in the closing stages last time and finished a bit weary, plus now finds himself in much deeper waters. 

Official Rating: 115. Meydan form: 71. Best odds: 10/1. 

Owner Juddmonte Farms took this with Arrogate in 2017 and now roll the dice with his lightly raced six-year-old entire. A tilt at this race must have seemed a million miles away when he disappointed on his belated return over 6f here in late January but he looked a different proposition when hammering 15 rivals from the front in the Burj Nahaar over a mile here on Super Saturday. The Godolphin Mile would have seemed a more logical route, with this longer trip/better opposition/wide draw being significant obstacles. 

Official Rating: 109. Meydan form: 6122166707261. Best odds: 33/1. 

The nine-year-old would be the oldest winner of the race and is up against it. He was supposed to run in the 2021 edition but got loose before the start and was withdrawn. He was winning for the first time since then when landing the Al Maktoum Classic on Super Saturday, a victory that owed much to the enterprise of jockey Oscar Chavez, who made a decisive kick at the end of the back straight. Looks to be making up the numbers. 

Official Rating: 115. Meydan form: --. Best odds: 8/1. 

Bob Baffert and Frankie Dettori combined to win this with Country Grammar in 2022, but Newgate doesn’t look in the same league. He belatedly gained a top-level success at Santa Anita this month, but bioth he and his closest pursuers had previously had their limitations exposed. Expect Dettori to drop him out and take a gamble on thenir being a pace meltdown, which he will probably need to have any chance of hitting the jackpot. 

Official Rating: 121. Meydan form: --. Best odds: 7/1. 

Habitually held up and usually finds the winning line coming too soon, but it all clicked into place for him in last month’s Saudi Cup when he pounced from off the pace to catch Ushaba Tesoro in the final stride. He was aided by an overly strong gallop and will surely need a similar burn-up to repeat that success from stall 10. He had been beaten in his six previous Group One assignments and may have had his biggest day in the sun. 

Official Rating: 121. Meydan form: 1. Best odds: 5/2 fav. 

The crack Japanese performer was an emphatic winner last year when finishing powerfully from off the pace and connections will be delighted with his draw in stall 5 for his defence. He has won eight of his 11 races since switching to dirt and looked unlucky to be beaten a head by Senor Buscador in the Saudi Cup when he did well to get from the front after a slow start, only for the pouncer to himself be pounced on. I’d expect him to turn the tables on his American challenger but my one niggle is that both horses had tough races and have not had much time to catch their breath. He had warmed up for this race 12 months ago with a Listed win at the start of February. 

Official Rating: 115. Meydan form: --. Best odds: 16/1. 

The three-time Liated winner is not one to underestimate despite coming up short in his past four races. He was a good second in the Champions Cup at Chukyo in early December and then ran Ushba Tesoro to half a length in the Tokyo Daishoten at Ohi. He was unable to reproduce that in the February Stakes at Tokyo last time but that is reflected by his odds. 

Thunder Snow has been the only back-to-back winner of the race, although several winners have begun second vocations as stallions instead of defending their crowns. USHABA TESORO looks a worthy favourite and, provided his exploits in the Saudi Cup have not left a mark, he may well retain his crown. Derma Sotogake may provide the biggest threat, with Wilson Tesoro giving Japan prospects of a famous 1-2-3.

1 USHABA TESORO. 2 Derma Sotogake. 3 Wilson Tesoro.