Dubai: The $1-million Al Quoz Sprint (Group 1), one of the newer races on the Dubai World Cup card, is shaping into one of the hottest races of the night.
First run in 2010 to coincide with the opening of Meydan Racecourse, the 1,200-metre contest is likely to be contested by some of the fastest turf sprinters in the world.
Among the potential runners are Blue Point, a dual Group 3 winner at Ascot, England and Group 2 Al Fahidi Fort scorer Jungle Cat, both trained by Charlie Appleby for Godolphin.
British Champions Sprint winner Librisa Breeze, who races out of Saeed Bin Surour’s Godolphin headquarters at Al Quoz and UAE’s top-rated sprinter Ertijaal are also in the running.
Godolphin are out in numbers in a race that they won in 2007 with the Bin Surour-trained Great Britain, with France-based Rosa Imperial, who is trained by the legendary Andre Fabre.
Meanwhile, Australian speedball Music Magnate will be joined by Faatinah, trained by David and Ben Hayes and country-mate Illustrious Lad.
The connections of Washington DC, Declarationofpeace and recent Daytona Stakes (G3) winner Conquest Tsunami also appear on the radar.
The Al Quoz Sprint is one of five Group 1 races held on the World Cup card.
