When Dubai welcomed the world to old Nad Al Sheba Racecourse for the first time in 1996, ‘America’s Horse’ Cigar repelled what seemed an inevitable challenge from compatriot Soul of the Matter to help cement His Highness Sheikh Mohammed bin Rashid al Makoum’s goal of creating a worldwide Thoroughbred spectacle in the Emirates.
The eyes of the racing public were on sprawling Meydan Racecourse Saturday for the 30th renewal of the G1 Dubai World Cup Sponsored By Emirates–at $12 million now worth three times original pot–and Japan’s Horse of the Year and American Eclipse Award winner Forever Young (Jpn) (Real Steel {Jpn}), looking to complete an unprecedented sequence of the world’s three richest dirt races.
Ultimately it was not meant to be, as Winchell Thoroughbreds’ Magnitude (Not This Time) took control right out of the stalls and Forever Young–in the role of Soul of the Matter–just plain ran out of real estate. The victory earns Magnitude a fees-paid berth into the GI Breeders’ Cup Classic at Keeneland this fall.