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| Staff Writer |
The Dubai Turf is one of the most anticipated races at the Dubai World Cup Night, and this year's edition promises to be a thriller.
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The field is packed with talented horses, including Measured Time, Real World, and Voyage Bubble.
Rebel's Romance, who won the Gr.2 UAE Derby earlier this year and has three straight Gr.1 wins on turf, is looking to add another major victory to his impressive record. His trainer, Charlie Appleby, is confident in his horse's abilities, saying, "He has come here in great nick. It looks the strongest race of the evening, but the 12-furlong turf division is always strong internationally. We respect the opposition, and hopefully, William [Buick] can get him into a good position by the back stretch."
Measured Time, another Appleby-trained horse, has won five out of six career starts and is coming off two impressive victories at Meydan this season. His half-brother, Rebel's Romance, is also in the field, making for an exciting sibling rivalry. Appleby believes that Measured Time is a sharp horse and that he has a good chance of winning the Dubai Turf.
Real World, a three-time Group winner, including the Gr.2 Zabeel Mile in 2022, is also a strong contender in the race. Although he finished ninth in the Dubai Turf last year, he has been in excellent form lately, winning a Bahrain Listed race in commanding fashion. Real World lines up in the Dubai Turf for a second time after finishing ninth 12 months ago, the same position he occupied in the 2022 Dubai World Cup.
Saeed bin Suroor said, “Real World won his Listed race nicely in Bahrain but he is taking on a different quality of horse here. He worked well earlier this week and I have been happy with him, although it’s a very tough race.”
Voyage Bubble, trained by Ricky Yiu, is looking to secure his second major victory at Meydan Racecourse after winning the BMW Hong Kong Derby and the G1 Stewards' Cup in previous years. Yiu is confident in his horse's class and preparation and believes that the good draw will be an advantage.
“It’s a good draw. With the big, roomy track here, you save a lot of ground,” Yui said at Meydan. “It’s definitely an advantage to have a good draw here with the big, wider turn.
“I’ll leave it to the good jockey. He [Voyage Bubble] is fine, he seems to be enjoying himself and he’s adapted really well. We give him a bowl of feed and he finishes it in three minutes. Everything is in the right place.”
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Narrowly beaten by Hong Kong middle distance champion Romantic Warrior in the Gr.1 Citi Hong Kong Gold Cup on 25 February, Voyage Bubble will have his first start over 1800m since finishing sixth in the 2023 Hong Kong Classic Cup at Sha Tin.
Yiu entrusted the final stages of Voyage Bubble’s Dubai Turf preparation to his son Eric and work rider Britt McDonald and is impressed with the gelding’s progress.
“He’s doing really well, the feedback has been positive,” Yiu said. “When he first arrived, he lost about 35 pounds and then in a few days’ time, he was back on his normal weight — he was eating up — and he’s been working the left-handed way, not the Hong Kong way, and he’s coped with it really well.
“He’s had a good preparation and he’s not putting a step wrong.”
With all these talented horses in the field, it's hard to predict who will come out on top in the Dubai Turf. However, one thing is for sure - it's going to be an exciting race that fans won't want to miss.