from "cigar" to "Magnitude"/ The 30th edition of the Dubai World Cup witnesses a major surprise
Dubai, March 29 / WAM / The American horse “Magnitude” caused a great surprise by being crowned champion of the 30th edition of the Dubai World Cup Class 1 race, with a prize of $12 million, which was held yesterday evening at the Meydan International Racecourse, after beating the most prominent candidate “Forever Young” in an exciting end.
Under the supervision of coach Steve Asmussen, jockey Jose Ortiz led the horse “Magnitude” to a remarkable victory after a strong start from the first gate, during which he maintained the lead until the finish line, despite Forever Young’s attempts to catch up with him in the final meters.
The history of the race dates back to 1996, when Nad Al Sheba Racecourse hosted the first edition of the Dubai World Cup, and the American horse “Cigar” won at that time.
In the thirtieth edition, which was held at the Meydan track, all eyes were on Forever Young, who was seeking to achieve an unprecedented achievement by winning three of the richest races in the world on sand, but Magnitude had a different opinion after imposing his style from the beginning.
“Magnitude” remained firmly in place for the last 800 metres, before increasing its speed at the final turn, ahead by nearly two lengths over “Forever Young”, who tried to reduce the gap in the final meters, but settled for second place, while “Meydan” came in third, with a clear difference from the leaders.
Knight Ortiz said after the victory: “We knew we had a special horse, but Forever Young is the best horse in the world right now. We left our options open, and when he started well, I realized it was time to rush, and the horse responded wonderfully.”
For his part, Coach Asmussen expressed his happiness with the victory, saying: “It is an amazing victory. We let the horse run in his style from beginning to end, and he was confident of himself, and this gave us confidence as well.”
For his part, jockey Ryusei Sakai said: “Things went as we planned with Forever Young, but the winner was the best today.”
Final results:
1- Magnitude (United States)
2- Forever Young (Japan), with a difference of 0.98 lengths
3- Maidan (Ireland), with a difference of 3.97 lengths
4- Imperial Emperor (Ireland)
5- Hit Show (United States)
6- Tambarumba (United States)
7- Heart of Honor (Britain)
8- Tap Leader (United States)
9- Walk of Stars (Britain)
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