West Coast to keep up US floood of World Cup winners

March goes out in a blaze of glory this weekend, with £1 million up for grabs at Lingfield’s All-Weather championships on Friday a tasty hors d’oeuvres to what promises to be a bonanza Dubai World Cup Night both on turf and dirt at Meydan 24 hours later.

It’s an arduous journey from America to Dubai, but 11 of the 22 runnings of the $10-million World Cup have gone to “the stars and stripes”, and punters are likely to be doing a Yankee Doodle Dandy again, with hot-favourite WEST COAST a con dent choice to emulate California Chrome and Arrogate, who took the race in the last two years.

West Coast, who beat all but America’s 2017 Horse-of-the-Year Gun Runner in the Breeders Cup Classic in California last November, has looked an awesome specimen when limbering up on the track this week.

Granted, West Coast has only 1kg in hand of French-trained Talismanic on o cial ratings, but the Godolphin horse, runner-up to the globetro ing superstar Highland Reel in last year’s Breeders Cup Turf, has had just the one run on dirt, finishing second to the smart Cloth Of Stars at Chantilly recently.

Cloth Of Stars himself is favourite for the $6-million Sheema Classic on the grass, but the value at near double figure odds is Godolphin’s HAWKBILL, who won his prep here impressively and had the class to win the Group 1 Eclipse Stakes at Sandown two years ago.

However, I am definitely with the French in the Dubai Gold Cup, with the Aga Khan’s Ascot Gold Cup hope VAZIRABAD expected to gain his revenge on Godolphin’s Rare Rhythm in the 2800m staying race.

The pair met in the Nad Al Sheba Trophy here at the beginning of the month, and, while it was no more than a dress-rehearsal for both horses, William Buick ‘stole’ the trial on Rare Rhythm when catching the over-confident Christophe Soumillon napping by seizing first run over the Belgian. “Soumo” won’t make the same mistake again (hopefully!).

The big two are both suited by a strong pace, and they’ll get that as last year’s Ascot Gold Cup hero Big Orange will play his usual catch-me-if-you-can role up front, though, while Mike de Kock’s Al Sahem, who runs here rather than taking on the 2400m superstars in the Sheema, has been brought along steadily, one senses that the trainer would be delighted to snatch a place.

Godolphin have enjoyed their best Dubai Carnival ever, and, besides Gold Town, Talismanic, Cloth Of Stars and Rare Rhythm, they also have major players in BLUE POINT for the Al Quoz Sprint and BENBATL in the Dubai Turf.

Benbatl was unlucky to be beaten by fellow Godolphin challenger Blair House in the Jebel Ha a on Super Saturday, and he has always been top of my list for this race so given a faster pace I expect him to gain his revenge.

Not that we should underestimate Mike de Kock’s Janoobi, who was only a head behind Benbatl in that race and must have sound prospects of nishing in the money.

Blue Point could be the best bet of the night. He was not far short of the best speedballs around in Europe last season, and, though course specialist Ert aal had his measure in the Group 1 trial, it was more a case of him being the er of the pair, and, in any event, whereas Blue Point is effective between 1200m and 1400m, Ertijaal’s petrol gauge runs dry over this longer trip.

There could be an upset in the Godolphin Mile, with favourite Heavy Metal, ridden for the first time by Ryan Moore, badly drawn in stall nine, while American challenger Economic Model is only one place be er, and Kimbear, who, like Heavy Metal, likes to blaze the trail, even worse off in stall 12.

The one thing that we have learned at this year’s Carnival is that on the dirt being on the speed and close to the inside rail is an absolute necessity as virtually nothing has been winning from o the pace.

Therefore, I’m deserting the form horses here and going for MUSAWAAT, who was li le more than a length behind Kimbear last time, having had far the worst of the draw. From the four stall, the local horse can spring a surprise.

Doug Watson, who is yet again champion trainer at the carnival, was “gutted” about Kimbear’s draw, but, in contrast, he punched the air in delight when Rayya was allowed stall one in the UAE Derby.However, Rayya might still struggle to hold Godolphin’s Gold Town and Coolmore’s Mendelssohn in a race which is being billed as Europe’s Kentucky Derby Trial.

Mendelssohn, who seemed to handle the Polytrack well enough when outclassing second-rate opposition at Dundalk in Ireland recently, has the ‘Run For The Roses’ at Churchill Downs on the rst Saturday in May as his prime target.

But then so does GOLD TOWN, who was just an average horse on turf in Europe last year but has proved a revelation since switched to the dirt.