The action kicks off early this Saturday with nine world class races from Dubai’s Meydan Racecourse, culminating in the $12M Dubai World Cup at 1:30 PM ET. For players betting on Xpressbet and 1/ST BET, you’ll receive a $10 Bonus when you bet $100+ on the card. Here are a few horses that caught my eye throughout the day, as well as my $100 Betting Strategy. Good luck!
Race 3 (9:45AM ET) – Group 2 Godolphin Mile
At one mile on the dirt, the Godolphin Mile is, conceivably, a race on paper that the Americans should dominate. But US-based trainers have won this race just twice in the last 15 years (Todd Pletcher in 2019 and Doug O’Neill in 2024). This year’s American contingent is stronger than normal, with Raging Torrent (Doug O’Neill), Steal Sunshine (Bobby Dibona) and Little Vic (Juan Carolos Avila) joining Mufasa, recently purchased by UAE connections, in a race that horses with recent US form could dominate. Of that group, #15 STEAL SUNSHINE (14/1) catches the eye. This race is loaded with speed and Steal Sunshine is a quality closer. His best races have come at a one-turn mile – most recently second behind Mindframe in the G2 Gulfstream Park Mile. Consider that Mindframe would be 6/5 in this race and Steal Sunshine was just more than a length back of him on March 1.
My Pick: #15 Steal Sunshine (14/1)
//
Race 4 (10:20AM ET) – Group 1 Al Quoz Sprint
The best horse that you’ve probably never heard of? Hong Kong’s super sprinter Ka Ying Rising. He has won 11 races in a row, each with devastating speed. In Hong Kong, he’s every bit as invincible as Romantic Warrior. #3 HOWDEEPISYOURLOVE (3/1) has had the misfortune of running against Ka Ying Rising in six of his last seven races, with a second and three thirds to show for his trouble. He travels nearly 3,700 miles to move out from under Ka Ying Rising’s shadow, which could prove to be a winning move on Saturday.
My Pick: #3 Howdeepisyourlove (3/1)
//
Race 8 (12:50PM ET) – Group 1 Dubai Sheema Classic
While the back-half of the card could get a little chalky, I’ll take #8 SHIN EMPEROR (4/1) at anything close to his ML price. He produced a huge kick to win the G2 Neom Turf Cup on Saudi Cup night, and he was beaten a short margin in the Group 1 Japan Cup in November. The local hope, Rebel’s Romance, is as honest as they get (16-for-23 lifetime), but he’s getting up there in years and Shin Emperor could be the ‘now’ horse to have, representing a nation that prioritizes winning on major stages like this one.
My Pick: #8 Shin Emperor (4/1)
//
Race 9 (1:30PM ET) – Grade 1 Dubai World Cup
I’d love to find a creative way to play against #1 FOREVER YOUNG (4/5), but this simply feels like a situation where potentially the best dirt horse in the world is many lengths clear of his competition. When this horse won the Saudi Cup last out, he was 10-lengths clear of Ushba Tesoro. There’s little money to be made in this race on Win bets, so let’s try an Exacta of Forever Young over the ‘other’ Tesoro – Wilson Tesoro – at a big ML price.
My Pick: #1 Forever Young (4/5)
//
$100 Betting Strategy:
Race 3) $5 Exacta Key Box – #15 Steal Sunshine with #5 Little Vic, #8 Mufasa, #11 Peptide Nile, #13 Raging Torrent ($40)
Race 4) $10 Win - #3 Howdeepisyourlove ($10)
Race 6) $10 Pick 4 - #9 Straight No Chaser / #8 Romantic Warrior / #4 Rebel’s Romance, #5 Calandagan, #8 Shin Emperor / #1 Forever Young ($30)
Race 8) $20 Double - #8 Shin Emperor to #1 Forever Young ($20)
.svg){kind=logo}
