Keep an eye on McKinzie as a Dubai World Cup prospect

When a trainer wins three Dubai World Cups, it is natural to start taking notice of the kinds of horses he usually sends to the globe’s richest racing affair. Such is the case with Bob Baffert, whose modus operandi around this time of year is a bit transparent; a natural byproduct of consummately working at the top level, where there are only but so many places to point classy Grade 1-level performers and $35 million reasons to send your best to Dubai.

At this point, if forced to choose a prototype from the Baffert barn for UAE racing fans to keep an eye on, it would have to be McKinzie.

A lightly raced, multiple Grade 1-winning grandson of 2002 Dubai World Cup winner Street Cry (being by Street Sense), McKinzie carries the familiar red and yellow silks of Mike Pegram, whose Baffert-trained Captain Steve won the Dubai World Cup in 2001 at Nad Al Sheba. Like McKinzie, he was a son of a U.S. champion 2-year-old (Fly So Free) who failed to win the previous year’s Breeders’ Cup Classic, but had shown ample G1 class on the racetrack.

While Captain Steve had a sole prep for Dubai, as with Baffert’s 2017 winner, Arrogate, in the Donn Handicap (G1)/Pegasus World Cup Invitational (G1) at Gulfstream Park, McKinzie is running in the same race Baffert’s other Dubai World Cup winner, Silver Charm, used as a springboard toward his 4-year-old campaign: Santa Anita’s Malibu Stakes (G1) this Wednesday at seven furlongs. The final Grade 1 of the American season restricted to 3-year-olds, the Malibu is often an intriguing clash of routers and sprinters grasping for black type like a proper "day-after-Christmas" sale.

The Malibu leads to a point worth noting: Baffert has won all three of his Dubai World Cups with 4-year- olds who were top-class 3-year-olds with room for improvement. Even Silver Charm, a Kentucky Derby and Preakness winner, and Arrogate, a Travers (G1) and Breeders’ Cup Classic winner, had the physical scope to suggest that their best may still be ahead.

While his older horses to compete such as Pegram-owned Hoppertunity and Mubtaahij deserve much respect, it was clear when they ran that they were not the primary candidate in the barn; roles filled by Arrogate and West Coast, respectively. 

While McKinzie is worth watching in the Malibu, also pay attention to how Solomini does for Zayat Stables. A three-time Grade 1-placed colt, he exits a layoff and is running below his optimal trip. A big effort, especially at the end of the race, could bode well for possibly seeing the horse in Dubai come March 30.