The US$10 million Dubai World Cup has been opened up by what appears to be a dismal gate position for warm favourite Twice Over.
The six-year-old, trained by legendary Henry Cecil, has been allocated gate 12 of 14, and those who saw last year's Dubai World Cup will recall most of the wide-drawn horses - including Twice Over - struggling in vain to overcome a pedestrian pace at Meydan's speed-favouring track.
Cecil has been training triple Group One winner Twice Over by 'telephone' from Newmarket, but Teddy Grimthorpe, racing manager to Khalid Abdulla, is on site in Dubai and observed hopefully: 'Twice Over won the Maktoum Challenge last time from a wide draw so maybe it's a good omen. It's not the graveyard, but he will need some above-average luck.'
Perhaps this time, however, those who bet the outside gates in this 2,000m spectacular will be getting no disadvantage but better odds. That certainly seems to be the view of those closely connected with the two horses drawn even wider than the Tom Queally-ridden Twice Over.
Hiroyishi Matsuda, trainer of the brilliant Japanese mare Buena Vista, who was controversially disqualified after her winning romp in last November's Japan Cup, said: 'The draw doesn't matter. It's just fate. I think she's the best in the race and I have a lot of confidence.'
And Kevin Shea, who rides Mike de Kock's Golden Sword said: 'Gate 14 makes no difference. He's got no early speed anyway.'