RICHARD ENG:
Several of world's top horses to be on display in Dubai
The Dubai World Cup card on Saturday is international racing with the class of the Breeders' Cup.
Six stakes totaling $21 million in purses have attracted top horses from around the world. Horse of the Year Invasor and unbeaten Discreet Cat will have a long-awaited meeting in the $6 million Dubai World Cup.
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As brilliant as Discreet Cat has been in winning his six career starts, he's never been challenged in the stretch. That's because his wins have all been by daylight. If he gets hooked in a street fight with Invasor, I think the more experienced and tested rival can upset him.
Invasor is seeking to join Cigar and Pleasantly Perfect as the only horses to win both the Dubai World Cup and the Breeders' Cup Classic.
U.S. fans will be rooting for Lava Man in the $5 million Dubai Duty Free on turf. The two-time Santa Anita Handicap winner has never won outside his native California. He tried the Dubai World Cup on dirt once, but now trainer Doug O'Neill is switching to grass and hoping for better results.
Trainer Todd Pletcher may have a better chance than O'Neill of visiting the Dubai winner's circle. Among Pletcher's five starters is English Channel, who will be facing Lava Man.
If I had to pick one horse on the Dubai card that I like, it would be Asiatic Boy in the UAE Derby. He is a Southern hemisphere colt. That means he is really a 4-year-old facing 3-year-olds. Asiatic Boy is trained by the world renowned Michael de Kock.
Nevada is not offering parimutuel wagering on the Dubai races. That's hard to accept. Dubai racing, with enormous international star power, is being handled worse than a card from Great Lakes Downs.
• CONTESTS -- The free $5,000 Horse Handicappers Contest returns to the Cannery and Rampart race books on April 8 and runs through July. You can play at either race book, but only one entry is allowed per person.
There were no perfect tickets again in the Santa Anita Pick 5 contest held each Thursday at the South Point. The carryover is now $32,670.
Richard Eng's horse racing column is published Friday. He can be reached at rich_eng@hotmail.com.
