One of the richest races in the world takes place on Saturday with $12 million dollars on the line in the Dubai World Cup. Thunder Snow is listed as a slight favorite to win what should be a very competitive race. Thunder Snow will be trying to make history, as there has never been a repeat winner of the Dubai World Cup. Five horses are expected to go off at single-digit odds in what is expected to be a 13-horse field. Let’s look at the race and Dubai World Cup picks.
Dubai World Cup Odds
Thunder Snow 7-2
North America 4-1
Capezzano 5-1
Seeking the Soul 8-1
Yoshida 8-1
Audible 12-1
Gunnevera 14-1
Dolkong 20-1
Axelrod 25-1
Gronkowski 25-1
K T Brave 33-1
New Trails 25-1
Pavel 33-1
Saturday’s race could be a battle between Saeed bin Suroor’s Thunder Snow and the American dirt stars, Yoshida, Gunnevera, Seeking the Soul, Audible, and Pavel. Last year it was Thunder Snow giving bin Suroor his eighth Dubai World Cup win. History is against Thunder Snow as only two World Cup winners have even made a return trip and neither one did much, as Silver Charm finished sixth in 1999 and African Story was sixth in 2015. Thunder Snow has raced just once since finishing third to Accelerate and Gunnevera in the Breeders’ Cup Classic. Thunder Snow ran a tiring second behind Capezzano in the Al Maktoum Challenge Round 3 earlier this month.
The one horse that could upset everything on Saturday is not actually an American horse, even though his name sounds like it. The horse is North America, trained by Satish Seemar. The horse broke badly in last year’s race and finished last. North America beat Thunder Snow last year in their final prep and he has looked really good in 2019 with a win in the Al Maktoum Challenge Round 1 and Round 2.
Three of the five American horses who are shipping in were in the Pegasus World Cup. Seeking the Soul rallied for second to City of Light. Seeking the Soul will have Hall of Fame jockey Mike Smith in the irons.
Trainer Todd Pletcher will be sending Audible who finished third to Justify in last year’s Kentucky Derby. Pletcher has never won in six previous Dubai World Cups.
Another horse to watch is Gunnevera who finished sixth in the Pegasus World Cup. The horse suffered a hoof injury in last year’s Dubai World Cup and was never a factor.
Another American horse getting attention is Yoshida for Hall of Fame trainer Bill Mott. The horse switched to dirt last year and beat Gunnevera in the Woodward but had a rough start and finished fourth in the Breeders’ Cup Classic.
Not to be forgotten is Capezzano for trainer Salem bin Ghadayer. The horse has won three straight races, but Al Maktoum Challenge Round 3 winners have not had a ton of success in the Dubai World Cup, with only three horses winning previously and none since 2006.
None of the longshots really look that appealing, but at least Gonkowski could be worth a look. The horse was second to Justify in his debut on the dirt in last year’s Belmont Stakes. The horse was closing in the Round 3 race recently and he will have a good jockey in the irons in Oisin Murphy.
Dubai World Cup Picks
I think North America is the best choice to win Saturday’s race. The horse had a rough start to last year’s Dubai World Cup that ruined his chances. Thunder Snow is a good horse, but history is against him and history is also against Capezzano. I will take North America as my top choice. If you are looking for an exacta then I would go with an exacta box of North America along with Yoshida and Gunnevera. If you want a longshot then perhaps Gronkowski is worth a flyer.
Check out the latest Dubai World Cup odds at BookMaker.eu.
