Gearing Up for the 2015 Dubai World Cup
Exhaustion. Fatigue. Excitement. Anticipation. No, I’m not talking about the University of Kentucky Wildcats basketball team, although there was quite the scoreboard checking along the Meydan rail this morning. I am talking about the final preparations for tomorrow’s 20th Dubai World Cup program.
It was true, though, a lot of the talk was of what the current score between The Wildcats and West Virginia Mountaineers was in my hometown of Cleveland, Ohio. The other talk along the rail, between media members this morning, was the absence of Willie Delgado aboard California Chrome. It was quite noticeable as Chrome walked up the ramp to school in the paddock before his morning gallop. There was no word on the status of Mr. Delgado, but we did hear that California Chrome’s trainer Art Sherman was disappointed by his missing exercise rider.
As for the horse himself, California Chrome looked great with Jeff Bonde’s exercise rider Tony Gutierrez aboard. Even though he was a little late, he was still the first horse to hit the racetrack for training. He started off nice and easy, and by the time he was being pulled up, he was actually trying to go faster. He sure looked ready to me, and I wasn’t the only one as his outspoken owner Steve Coburn felt the same by greeting his horse with a hug before heading back to the barn.
Another trainer high on his horse’s chances was Bill Mott who was smiling ear to ear after his charge Lea had a nice quarter mile blowout this morning. It was stated that in previous mornings leading up to the race that the good looking chestnut had been lathering up after his gallops. Today, it didn’t even look like he broke a sweat as he just glided over the Meydan dirt with such grace and natural power beneath those four hooves.
One thing I truly believe right now, is that Team America is going to be 1-2 in the richest race in the world. As for the order, that is beyond me. Both last year’s Horse of the Year California Chrome, and a very talented older horse in Lea seem like they can win this race in either a stretch battle or a blowout. Tomorrow night we'll find out which is true, or perhaps even an upset is on the horizon. We have been down this road before on both sides of the fence for our American horses. One thing's for certain though, and that is we will all experience the thrill of an exciting horse race in the desert night. Now the only question is: What kind of thrill are we going to experience for Dubai World Cup XX?
I anticipate the excitement that is filling the air amongst worldwide racing fans and horseplayers alike. As for the exhaustion and fatigue feelings I started off this article with … that is just how an average racing fan such as myself feels during weeks like this. It is especially true this week, as I am on a once in a lifetime journey. Waking up and heading to the racetrack has always been normal to me, but the things we have done after that this week have made it some long days.
From proposing to my longtime girlfriend yesterday on top of the world’s tallest building, to exploring an aquarium inside of the world’s largest mall. Those were just a few of the things we did after training yesterday. Today we discovered Atlantis at The Palm which is the big resort that sits at the top of a manmade island shaped as a palm tree. I took Kristen swimming with the dolphins and even kissed and danced with one myself. After that experience, we had the chance to have some fun at the waterpark at the resort which was part of The Dolphin Experience package. I highly recommend doing this at least once in your lifetime. It is worth the trip!
To finish off the day, after some grub at the food court inside of the resort, we of course went to the top notch aquarium inside of the hotel. It wasn’t any bigger than the one at the mall, but sure cost more. It was alright, but none of these aquariums will ever match The Shedd Aquarium in Chicago. They are unique in their own way, though. That also seems to be how we look at the contenders of this year’s World Cup card. We will have to find the most unique out of each race, and pick apart the good and bad qualities that make them that way. On a new dirt service, that looks very similar to Churchill Downs, and my home track of Thistledown, we will see what suspense is carried out, on what looks like an amazing night of racing on both courses.
Until tomorrow, when we get all of our questions finally answered, and the moments we have been anticipating for months to happen, this is Ryan Brady signing off. Take Care and Good Luck Race Fans!