• Marco Botti has secured the services of Keiren Fallon to ride Mount Athos in the Dubai Sheema Classic. The former British champion takes over from Jamie Spencer, who rode the globetrotting son of Montjeu to be third in the Group 2 Dubai City of Gold on Super Saturday. Fallon has ridden Mount Athos once before at York in 2012 where he took the Listed John Smith’s Silver Plate. The Emirates Melbourne Cup third is a promising ride and Spencer takes the ride on his main employer’s former Melbourne Cup winner Dunaden in the Sheema Classic.
• Sunset & Vine are the host broadcasters for the 17th time in succession for the Dubai World Cup meeting. In 2013 they covered it for 23 broadcaters across 134 countries with a household reach of 308,411,000 people. Seven news channels and nine racing channels took the programme and for the Dubai World Cup live and delayed coverage amounted to over 161 hours with 16 minutes also produced as News.
• Top Irish handler Aiden O’Brien has confirmed riding plans for his six raiders on Dubai World Cup night. His son Joseph O’Brien will take the rides on Ernest Hemmingway (Dubai Gold Cup), Magician (Sheema Classic) and Ruler Of The World (Dubai World Cup). Ryan Moore will ride Giovanni Boldini (UAE Derby) while Colm O’Donoghue will ride Sir John Hawkins (UAE Derby) and Seamie Heffernan gets the leg up on Festive Cheer (Sheema Classic).
• With the declarations having been made Godolphin also announced their Dubai World Cup jockeys. Sylvestre De Sousa is set to ride African Story and he will go in the blue cap suggesting he is their first string, Mickael Barzalona takes the ride on Cat O’Mountain and he wears the red cap, with William Buick on Vancouverite in the white cap.
• Richard Mullen is definitely the man who gained the most on Declaration day with Satish Seemar shuffling his pack. He gained a Dubai World Cup ride with Surfer switching to the race and also secured a ride in the Godolphin Mile as First Gold has got in to that one. And with Reynaldothewizard aiming to retain his Dubai Golden Shaheen crown it means that Mullen will have a great chance to add on his success of last year.
• The draws were also made on Monday for the non-Group 1 races. One horse to really have been set a hard task is the front-running ace from South Africa Variety Club, who has been drawn in stall 15 in a vintage renewal of the Group 2 Godolphin Mile. All his main contenders will be inside him including Mike De Kock’s Soft Falling Rain, who is drawn in 5 and Godolphin’s All weather track specialist Shuruq, who is in stall 10.
• Equestrian Fans, who want to enjoy some other fun in the lead up to the Dubai World Cup, can head to Ghantoot Polo & Racing Club about half an hour south of Dubai where there is some superb action in the Emirates Open Polo Championship. There are two games on Thursday starting at 4pm and single games at 6pm on Wednesday and Friday. This is the fourth 16-goal handicap polo tournament of the year.
— By Harry Tregoning, a racing journalist and broadcaster and GM of Draiton Feed Commodities.
