The most awaited race meeting of the season the Dubai World Cup kicks off at the Meydan Racecourse on the March 31st. A day with nine world class races and nine celebrations. The Days starts off with the $1 million Godolphin Mile. It will be run over 1600m on dirt. The probable runners list has already come down to 13, which includes 2017 winner Second Summer.

The Doug Watson trained defending champion comes in this race with not so good race under his belt.  Since his win in this race last year the son of Summer Bird has not has a great run. Doug Watson definitely wants to get a hat trick in this race and he has left no stone unturned. He has four of his pupils listed for this race, Second Summer, the defending champ, the resilient runner, Kimbear, Shamaal Nibras and Muntazah.

“Kimbear is really training well,” he said. “Both he and Second Summer have been working nicely. Second Summer is just going to have one more piece of work and I might take the tongue tie off him. I hope we can get him right on the night and he can run a big race. He hasn’t been himself and it’s upsetting because I know he’s a very good horse.”

Salem bin Ghadayer trained Heavy Metal comes in this race with loss at the Gr3 Burj Nahar. The son of Exceed And Excel definitely wants revenge for his loss. The Burj Nahar was a disappointing race for Heavy Metal he lost the race in the final 200m where he seemed to have lost strength and gave away the first three positions to Kimbear, Secret Ambition, and Musawaat respectively. Heavy Metal has to prove his worth and beat Kimbear with his speed. He will just need to find his bearing right.

Rosa Imperial was supposed to run in the Al Quoz Sprint on the turf, but since impressing in her work on the dirt, her trainer Andre Fabre has made the decision to list her in this race. She is very highly rated alongside Heavy Metal. Trainer Andre Fabre said, “Rosa Imperial has done really well since arriving in Dubai and her work on the dirt track has encouraged us to supplement her for the Godolphin Mile, instead of running in the Al Quoz Sprint.  She has plenty of talent and is still improving.”

Trainer Satish Seemar send two Secret Ambition and Raven’s Corner. Secret Ambition is in good touch after his second position at the Burj Nahar but he will have to strive hard if he wants to compete against Heavy Metal who looks for revenge. On the other hand Raven's Corner has had a mixed luck. His only win this World Cup Carnival came in a handicap  run over 7 fulongs but he got the best of Kimbear in that race, who came in second.

Trainer Chad Brown has decided to run the son of Flatter, Economic Model in this race. This changes the dynamics of the race. He comes in this race with two back to back wins under his belt. The best part is that both the races were 1 miler. Sharp Azteca was pulled out of this race after suffering a minor setback in a workout. “The horse is not training as we expected,” Navarro wrote. “The Godolphin Mile was our goal. However, with this setback we have decided to skip this race and give Sharp Azteca a few weeks off. Now, the Met Mile will be our next target.”

With Sharp Azteca out of the picture, the field is open and the best performing horse will take the trophy.