DUBAI, March 28 : Magnitude, ridden by Jose Ortiz, pulled ahead and held on to beat Forever Young to win the Dubai World Cup on Saturday, as the United Arab Emirates held its first major international sporting event since war broke out in the Middle East.
The race at Meydan Racecourse, with $12 million going to the winner, remained on schedule despite numerous regional sporting events being postponed or cancelled due to the conflict that started when the U.S. and Israel launched attacks on Iran.
Winchell Thoroughbreds’ Magnitude denied second-placed Forever Young the opportunity to simultaneously hold dirt racing’s three biggest all-age prizes, including the Breeders’ Cup Classic and the Saudi Cup.
With 2022-born Magnitude leading by a length and a half, Japanese-trained Forever Young, ridden by Ryusei Sakai, tried to close the gap in the last 300 metres but fell short as Magnitude finished the 10-furlong feature in two minutes 4.38 seconds.
“Obviously, Forever Young was the best horse in the world and we had to respect that. But we knew we had a horse good enough to win, and he showed up to it,” said Ortiz, who fought back tears after the win.
“He jumped well, he put me in the lead, I was very happy to be there… when I looked to my side, passing 600 metres, I saw Forever Young and I knew it was time to go. I knew he was going to be the horse to beat, so I asked (Magnitude) to run and he was there for me.”
It was the second Dubai World Cup title for trainer Steven Asmussen, who previously won it in 2008 with Curlin, another American-trained thoroughbred.
Meydaan, named after the venue holding the race, finished third.
Dubai’s international airport was hit by drone attacks earlier this month, leading to flights being cancelled, rescheduled and rerouted as Iran launched assaults on Gulf nations.
Adverse weather also threatened to disrupt the Dubai World Cup, but the sky cleared up before more than 100 horses brought in from around the world competed across nine races.
