World Class Day of Racing From Dubai (With Video) to the Florida Roller Derby

Nad Al Sheba racetrack bid a stunning farewell in its last day of racing with a $21M card full of furious finishes, hometown heroes and an impressive wire-to-wire romp by American invader Well Armed. I caught all the action live courtesy of HPI TV.

American transplant Two Step Salsa racing in the famous blue Godolphin silks comfortably held off a late charge from stablemate Gayego to take the Mile. 70-1 shot Don Renato snuck in late for show and prefaced what would become a day of serious money-making opportunity for savvy punters. The 4/13/2 Triactor paid $561.20.Two Step Salsa was ridden by Air Show Dettori.

Godolphin Mile


Up next was the UAE Derby which was meant to be the introduction of Desert Party to the Kentucky Derby debate, but quickly turned into the Regal Ransom show. With Alan Garcia in the irons, Regal Ransom took to the lead and was never headed striding strongly down the lane to easily hold off a flattening Desert Party. Dettori looked to have Desert Party in good stead, racing calmly, but when it came time to run, his horse just wouldn't move. Under strong urging, Desert Party finally got into stride at the shadow of the wire but he was never catching Regal Ransom and it should be noted that on the gallop out after the race, Regal Ransom remained in front. It appears that both Godolphin horses are headed to Kentucky.

UAE Derby


The Golden Shaheen featured twelve sprinters trying six straight panels on the long stretch run of Nad Al Sheba. Multiple G1 winning filly Indian Blessing would go off as the favourite but she made her move just a little too early on the long straightaway and got lost on the lead. As Indian Blessing raced off the grandstand rail nearing the finish line, Big City Man - a four year-old Northern Afleet colt - accelerated into the lead leaving no time for Indian Blessing to regroup

Golden Shaheen


Gladiatorus, winner of eight of eleven lifetime starts, stole the Dubai Duty Free under a magnificent ride from apprentice Ahmed Ajtebi. This was a horse that some experts suggested was here to set the pace for Balius. As it turns out, the rabbit ran away and hid. Ex-jock Gary Stevens was providing colour on this race and joked after that "maybe their (the other jockeys) goggles got fogged up and they didn't see him up there!" Stevens wasn't far off in his assessment. Gladiatorus had such a comfortable lead that by the turn into the stretch most punters were busy checking the bottom part of their exactor ticket. An ecstatic Ajtebi crossed the wire waving his hands and pointing at his horse. It was an emotional moment for the young man who provided the understatement of the day explaining his easy win, "He's a super horse and I think I caught the other jockeys by surprise." Big name horses knocked off in this race included Vodka, Kip Deville, Archipenko and Paco Boy. A British handicap horse by the name of Presvis nipped them all home for place and created an exactor that paid $584.70. If you managed to have Alexandros and Nicanero on your Superfecta, you could have collected $373,416.40 FOR A BUCK.

Dubai Duty Free


Ajtebi would set the twittering masses alight with his ride on Eastern Anthem in the Sheema Classic steaming through deep stretch to win by a nose. An excited Ajtebi was confident enough of the win to wave his whip at the crowd, but anyone holding tickets on this 18-1 longshot held their breath for the photo. Spanish Moon and Purple Moon finished second and third respectively, unable to rise to the occasion. A pair of horses that have run well at Woodbine - Quijano and Doctor Dino - never factored here. Big thanks to Superterrific, EJXD2, Colin's Ghost, bloodstock and Mibredclaimer for keeping things interesting this morning on Twitter. The 2/4 exactor from this race was worth a ridiculous $641.40, but the 2/4/7/6 Superfecta was a paltry $22,868.35 for your Canadian dollar.

Dubai Sheema Classic


The evening was capped off with the $6M Dubai World Cup. Handicappers took note of Ajtebi's earlier work and his mount Happy Boy was not allowed to get too far gone on the tote board. Earlier in the Dubai broadcast, Aaron Gryder was asked if he thought his mount Well Armed could get the distance and Gryder smiled confidently into the camera. It was one of those hindsight tips that a lot of us are probably wishing we could take back. Well Armed was quick to the front and held close by Gryder before exploding through the lane to win going away by some 14 lengths. An absolutely fabulous performance that will have his California connections partying late into the evening. If you happened to catch the 7/6 exactor with Gloria de Campeao up for place then you'll be celebrating a $1,059.50 payoff. The superfecta of 7/6/13/11 with Paris Perfect and Muller on the tail end punched an astonishing $415,344.05 for your dollar.

Dubai World Cup


The next edition of the Dubai World Cup will be run on the billion-dollar Meydan Racecourse. If you happened to nail a couple Superfectas today, you probably have enough capital to buy a horse to race in Dubai for 2010.

In the Florida Derby, Dunkirk faced off against Quality Road and Theregoesjojo in a Kentucky Derby entrance deciding prep. After relatively even quarters set by Casey's On Call of 23.49, 46.83 and 1:10.66, Quality Road and John Velazquez made a strong move at the top of the stretch, squeezing out Theregoesjojo, and then fought off a rally from Dunkirk to win in a track record 1:47.72. Kent Desormeaux, jockey of Theregoesjojo, has plenty to be upset about after his claim of foul against Quality Road was denied. There's no doubting that Quality Road cut him off effectively ending his race, but I believe that the best horse won this race. There were plenty of excuses being made for Dunkirk in the post-race interviews, but he was just never catching Quality Road on this day. Blame it on the track, the rider or whatever you please but it's an uphill battle to get Dunkirk into the Derby now.

On a final note, let's bid a fond farewell to Alysheba who was euthanized today at the age of 25. I'll never forget his awesome performance in the Kentucky Derby that had my dad on his feet yelling at the screen on Woodbine's third floor. This was a horse that captivated the racing nation. From his stirring battle with Ferdinand in the 1987 Breeders' Cup to the shadowy victory in what has become known as "The Midnight Classic", Alysheba truly was America's horse. Rest in peace old friend, and thank you for the memories.

Alysheba wins the 1988 Breeders' Cup Classic