Gulfstream stakes winner Gladiator King set for Dubai debut
{{monthName}} {{day}}, {{year}} {{hour12}}:{{minuteTwoDigit}}{{dayPeriod}}
One of the more promising American 3-year-old sprinters was acquired over the summer and is about to make his UAE bow on Jan. 2, the first night of the Dubai World Cup Carnival, in the Group 3, $200,000 Dubai Stakes at about six furlongs.
Gladiator King, an impressive winner of Gulfstream Park's Hutcheson Stakes (G3) and a five-time victor for previous trainer Jaime Mejia and owner Thoroughbred Champions Training Center LLC, will race for Sheikh Rashid bin Humaid Al Nuaimi on Thursday and the winningest active trainer in Dubai, Satish Seemar.
“He’s coming on well and he’s ready to run his race in the Dubawi,” Seemar said. “Luckily we got him at the right time in the summer and he’s acclimatized well. The American horses take a while to come along and he’s enjoyed our program. We’re pleased with him because he was actually stuck in the quarantine a bit too long, but once he got to Zabeel, he started properly climbing our steps and getting better."
Seemar said Gladiator King, by Curling, has already worked with "some of our better sprinters," including Lavaspin, another Dubawi probable, "and should only improve from this first race."
“This is my first horse for Sheikh Rashid,” Seemar continued. “I got to meet him at the last Dubai World Cup day and it went from there. Owners like him are really needed in this business. He’s keen, young, intelligent and mature. He really wants to be involved in racing and I hope we can win some races together.”
Gladiator King has earned $258,740 as a $195,000 Ocala purchase. He also won the Gulfstream's Roar Stakes and placed in the Chick Lang (G3) on Preakness Stakes Day at Pimlico. Thursday’s test will be the grandson of Hennessy’s first off a layoff after having raced 15 times in 8½ months for his previous connections.
“All I’ve seen is improvement, every week, but he will definitely improve from the race,” added assistant trainer Bhupat Seemar. “He’s about 95% fit and the race will bring him forward. We’re still getting to know the horse. We’ll see how he and Lavaspin break and let them do their thing.”
Zabeel won last year’s Dubawi with Raven’s Corner and have taken home the trophy in four of its six runnings, including three with Dubai legend Reynaldothewizard. Possible rivals this year include multiple Group 3 winner Drafted (second last year), Garhoud Sprint winner Ibn Malik, Waady, Alfredo Arcano and Nine Below Zero.
Looking at Tampa Bay Downs jockey statistics from the 2024 meet, clear leaders emerge ahead of the 2025...
Shred the Gnar 's impressive win in the Grade 3 Chilukki at Churchill Downs on Saturday earned a...
Oregon's advance deposit wagering market showed renewed strength in the third quarter of 2025, with total handle rising...
This week's Prospect Watch showcases promising young horses with exceptional bloodlines making debuts and early-career starts at major...
A total of 20 stakes worth $3.977 million will highlight Turfway Park’s winter-spring meet, anchored once again by...