The third meeting of the 2020 Dubai World Cup Carnival takes place tomorrow, please find below the Week 3 Meydan Overview and bet selections written by Racing TV’s Angus McNae.
Meydan Overview & Selections – Week 3:
Week 2 of the Carnival brought with it two excellent performances on the turf from Ehktiyaar and Zakouski. Both fired triple digit speed figures in recording overall times that were better than the expected. Zakouski will be hard to beat in the Al Fahidi Fort and Ehktiyaar can lay claim to be the best turf sprinter in the UAE at the moment.
The Al Maktoum Challenge on the dirt was a real spectacle with a tight fought finish, but from a purely analytical point of view this was a disappointing renewal. North America emerges as the best horse in the race and Muntazah needed the run badly. The latter will be hard to beat next time out.
The Cape Verdi heads up a strong card this week and here are my selections:
10:05am Meydan: Nine Below Zero
In a first time visor this horse showed a good deal of zest last week when racing clear of his field over 6 furlongs on the turf, before paying for his early exertions. Such aggressive tactics rarely work on turf but could be much more effective here on the dirt. Last season he can boast a very good second place to Drafted in the Mahabharata Al Shimaal and although out of form since, I felt there was real promise in his effort last week. My Catch is an obvious danger but he is a “need to lead” type and from his wide draw I’m not sure he can cross and clear Nine below Zero who should lead on the rail.
11:15am Meydan: Dubai Blue
This filly looked potentially very smart when beating Hateya at Lingfield last time out and can land a weak looking Cape Verdi. The turn of foot she showed to win with ease was most taking and now she has a chance to show that she is as effective on turf as she is on artificial surfaces. She is rated 5lb inferior by the handicapper to the top rated and exposed Surrounding but she has a considerably better speed figure last time out and with the promise of better to come I will take her to prove she can handle the turf and win the Cape Verdi.
11:50am Meydan: Dubai Icon
Although not really bred for dirt, this horse made an eye catching start to his career on the dirt surface. He missed the break, battled his way through the kickback and once in the clear ran on strongly to be a good fifth to Grand Argentine two weeks ago. Christophe Soumillon takes over in the saddle and in stall 4 he has an ideal draw. He just needs to be sharper from the gates but that run should have livened him up and he is the one to beat here.
12:25pm Meydan: Yaalail
This horse was an excellent second to the blindingly well treated Zakouski last week and a repeat performance must see him go close here. In that contest he set out to make all the running and stuck to his task in game fashion despite having no answer to the Zakouski surge. That effort came on the back of a front-running success at Abu Dhabi and these tactics have undoubtedly brought about a good deal of improvement. In stall 3 he is well berthed to attack once again and with his main rival Major Partnership out in stall 13 he may be able to dominate this race and win from the front. There is a slight doubt that he could bounce out of that effort last week but if not he holds a tactical advantage and can pay a compliment to the machine that is Zakouski.
Remember to place your wagers at IdaBet.com!
