Meydan 26 March 2016 – 2000 m (10f) dirt

Globeform ratings are expressed in pounds.

1 length equals two pounds over this distance.

124 - CALIFORNIA CHROME

123 - KEEN ICE

122 - INTILAAQ

121 - FROSTED

120 - MSHAWISH

118 - HOPPERTUNITY

117 - SPECIAL FIGHTER

116 - MUBTAAHIJ

115 - HOKKO TARUMAE

115 - VADAMOS

114 - TELETEXT

114 - GUN PIT

114 - CANDY BOY

Ratings by Geir Stabell

Dubai Gold Cup contender

Vazirabad, owned by the Aga Khan and trained by Alain de Royer-Dupre in France, will be a tough nut to crack in the Dubai Gold Cup. This four-year-old son of Manduro is one of the best young stayers in Europe. He notched up five straight wins at home last year, culminating in a game one-length success in the prestigious Prix Royal-Oak over 3100 metres at Saint-Cloud in Paris, where he beat older horses for the first time. Jockey Christophe Soumillon rode his normal patient and confident race on the gelding, biding his time at the back of the field early on. He delivered the favourite with a relentless run taking him past horse by horse in the home straight and Vazirabad won by a length from Siljan's Saga, who was also finishing well from off the pace. Mille Et Mille finished third and the well known globetrotter Cirrus des Aigles (who failed to see out the trip) came home in fourth place. Vazirabad had previously won the Prix Lutece, beating Deauville winner Big Blue by just over a length, and the Prix Chaudenay at Longchamp, winning that event easily by 3 lengths from Tiberian. Vazirabad's sire Manduro excelled over 1600 and 2000 metres, and this Gold Cup contender probably gets more stamina from the dam, Visorama, who ran third in the Grand Prix de Saint-Cloud over 2400 metres as a four-year-old.