Hit Show powers to $12m Dubai World Cup victory

Dubai: American horse Hit Show, ridden by Florent Geroux, won the $12 million Dubai World Cup at Meydan on Saturday night.

The Brad Cox-trained colt produced a strong turn of foot to outpace Mixto in the final furlong and clinch the feature race on the nine-card programme, sponsored by Emirates Airline.

The 2,000-metre dirt showpiece saw 11 of the world’s best battle for glory, but Forever Young—the Saudi Cup winner and favourite — could not live up to expectations and had to settle for third. Walk of Stars followed in fourth. The eight-year-old Ushba Tesoro, who broke from stall four, finished sixth.

Four-year-old Danon Decile, ridden by Keita Tosaki, capped Japan's impressive night with victory in the Group 1 Longines Dubai Sheema Classic, the penultimate race of the showpiece event.

Soul Rush and Cristian Demuro broke the hearts of Romantic Warrior fans as the Japanese challenger swooped late, leading in the very final stride of a pulsating Dubai Turf.

Three years after the judge couldn’t separate Lord North and Panthalassa, another dead-heat looked on the cards as officials studied fractions and pixels. But eventually, the number nine was called, and Demuro punched the air as victory was confirmed.

Soul Rush epitomises the late bloomer—he won his first Grade 1 title in last season’s Mile Championship at the age of six.

Dark Saffron shocked favourites Straight No Chase and Tuz in the Dubai Golden Shaheen to give jockey Connor Beasley his second win of the night.

A masterful ride by Beasley saw the local three-year-old cause a major upset in the Group 1, 1,200-metre sprint on dirt.

The presence of two three-year-olds in the race for the first time since 2006 was a talking point even before the start. Only five had ever contested the Golden Shaheen previously, and just two were bred in the Northern Hemisphere: My Catch, who finished 12th in 2014, and Dios Corrida, who placed 11th in 2017.

Japan’s dominance in the UAE Derby continued as Admire Daytona scraped home from Heart Of Honor in a thrilling photo finish, earning a spot in the Kentucky Derby.

The son of triple Grade 1 winner Drefong made all the running but was pushed to the limit in the closing stages, only just holding on by a short head.

The win marked Japan's third consecutive success in the race, following the victories of Crown Pride, Derma Sotogake, and the exceptional Forever Young last year.

Christophe Lemaire sent Admire Daytona to the front from the gates, with Rafid and Galactic Star in close pursuit. A gap opened to the rest of the field.

Heart Of Honor and Don In The Mood emerged from that trailing group and made their moves around the home turn as Admire Daytona came under pressure.

British-trained mare Believing arrived in the nick of time to claim the first Group 1 victory of her career in a blistering Al Quoz Sprint, sponsored by Azizi Developments.

Japanese challenger Win Carnelian, under Kosei Miura, set a strong early pace and still led with 400m to go. But Believing and fellow British raider Regional began to loom as serious threats.

William Buick, a master at Meydan with nine Dubai World Cup night wins to his name—including the mighty Blue Point in this very race in 2019—got Believing rolling late. She poked her head up the inside in the final strides to win by 0.68 lengths in a sharp time of 1:07.77.

Saeed bin Suroor was back in the winner’s circle on Dubai World Cup night as his fragile stayer Dubai Future stormed to a dominant victory in the Dubai Gold Cup.

Bin Suroor has won more World Cup night races than any other trainer but, like Kahayla Classic winner Doug Watson, has endured a tough season.

The win was a reminder of the trainer’s enduring skill and patience. Dubai Future, now nine, has been plagued by soundness issues and missed long spells of racing.

He returned to win the Group 3 Nad Al Sheba Trophy last time out after a 427-day layoff—and showed age hasn’t dulled his talent with a sweeping late run under Silvestre de Sousa.

First Classs joined Arabian greats Madjani and Alanudd as a multiple winner of the Group 1 Dubai Kahayla Classic (2,000m), and became the first to reclaim his crown, having previously won in 2022 under different connections.

This was a fourth run in the race for the now Watson-trained eight-year-old, who finished third in 2023 and faded from contention last year.

A gritty performance saw the jockey-trainer duo secure their first G1 Kahayla Classic win together.

Widely recognised for his striking grey coat, First Classs has gone from strength to strength this season, winning the G1 Abu Dhabi Gold Cup (2,200m) in February before finishing second in the G1 Emirates Championship (2,200m) last month.