O’Brien pupils test Meydan’s Tapeta

Trainer Aidan O’Brien’s three Dubai World Cup night runners made their
first excursion on to the main track Thursday morning after clearing quarantine.

Irish Derby (Ire-G1) hero CAPE BLANCO (Galileo [Ire]) is rated by many as the main danger to TWICE
OVER (GB) (Observatory) in the Dubai World Cup (UAE-G1)and appeared on
the course with his stablemates and UAE Derby (UAE-G2) contenders MASTER OF
HOUNDS (Kingmambo) and ALEXANDER POPE (Danehill Dancer).

Jamie Spencer was aboard the Irish Champion (Ire-G1) winner and the four-year-old was noticeably warm on his neck after spending almost
a half-hour exploring
his new surroundings.

“He had a steady canter just to stretch his legs, which is just
what Aidan wanted,” Spencer reported. “We are here now and there are two days to go so we’ll just
have to see how we get on.”

Cape Blanco closed out his sophomore season with an unplaced finish in the
Prix de l’Arc de Triomphe (Fr-G1) in early October. He’ll be making his first
start on a synthetic track when going in the World Cup.

Twice Over is looking to improve on his unplaced run in last year’s World Cup (Neville Hopwood/Horsephotos.com) Jockey Tom Queally was pleased with the preparations of Twice Over, last out winner of the March 3 Al Maktoum Challenge Round 3 (UAE-G2), ahead of Saturday’s World Cup. “I could not be happier with the way he has gone,” Queally said after putting the Juddmonte homebred through his paces at Meydan on Thursday. Queally partnered the six-year-old to a 10th-place effort in last year’s World Cup and is looking for a better trip Saturday when the duo break from post 12 in the 14-horse field. “He is drawn wide again in the race in stall 12, like he was last time out when he quickened well and put up a nice performance,” Queally commented. “In the (Dubai) World Cup last year he was also drawn wide, got a bump going into the first turn and was never happy. Hopefully this time I will be able to get him in a bit and keep him happy.”

Trainer Christophe Clement pronounced three-time Eclipse Award winner GIO
PONTI (Tale of the Cat) ready for the Dubai World Cup after observing the six-year-old gallop an easy 1600 meters and then school in the starting gate on Thursday
morning at Meydan.

“Everything is great. He is very sound and very happy,” said Clement, who arrived in Dubai Wednesday evening.
“There’s not much I can do
now; I don’t do the running, he does. So, it’s up to him. We are confident and
hope for the best.”

Exuding a contained energy with a keen expression, Gio Ponti stood in the
starting gate calmly with his ears pricked for several minutes before backing
out with no problem. Members of the Dubai Racing Club gate crew told Clement the
horse seemed to handle the pre-race experience better this year than he had in
2010, prior to his close fourth-place effort in that Dubai World Cup.

Clement said Gio Ponti never had a problem in the starting gate until after
the 2009 Breeders’ Cup Classic (G1), when starter Quality Road “freaked
out” and caused many anxious moments that Gio Ponti seemed to recall later
whenever he approached a gate. Gio Ponti finished second to Zenyatta in that
Classic on Santa Anita Park’s then synthetic Pro-Ride and was second to Goldikova in
last year’s Breeders’ Cup Mile (G1) on turf at Churchill Downs. Overall, the
veteran bay has won six Grade 1 races and accumulated more than $5 million in
earnings.

In other Dubai news:

Grade 1 hero CHAMP PEGASUS (Fusaichi Pegasus) trained on the main track
at Meydan Thursday morning, in preparation for Saturday’s Dubai Sheema
Classic (UAE-G1). Outfitted in draw reins, the bay colt cantered 2400 meters with Nestor Capitane aboard.

“He’s a
feisty guy,” trainer Richard Mandella explained the additional equipment. “He likes to get his head up. It just keeps him
together.”

Mandella went on about his charge’s colorful personality.

“He’s mischievous and ornery,” the horseman said with a smile. “He’s like a
little kid looking for trouble all the time. You put your hand on his nose
and he will lick you like a dog, but you go to move and he’ll bite you. But a
good-natured horse.”

The trainer also commented on post 7 for Champ Pegasus. 

“It’s a good post,” Mandella said. “You’re not committed too far down
inside and it gives you a chance to see what happens. At a mile and a half
I don’t think it makes a lot of difference where you start from but, if I had a
choice, this is the post I would have wanted.”

Mandella expects to canter Champ Pegasus on the main track on Friday.

One of the early favorites for the Dubai Golden Shaheen (UAE-G1), EUROEARS (Langfuhr)
has been the subject of much speculation concerning the origin of his name. The
mystery was solved on Thursday when Texas-based owners Jim and Marilyn Helzer,
who started racing Quarter Horses in the 1960s and bought their first
Thoroughbreds three decades later, arrived in the quarantine barn area to see
their runner.

Helzer related that the couple acquired Euroears as a yearling to satisfy a
debt. At the time a thin and immature colt, the Kentucky-bred was turned out
for about a year and began to develop into the massive and handsome seven-year-old he is today. The story goes that due to a lingering skin condition, the
horse was sensitive about being touched around his ears, and Helzer used to say,
“How are your old ears?”

Eventually, the phrase — with the incorporation of Helzer’s Texas accent — was
condensed down into Euroears, and the rest, the Helzers hope, might become part
of Dubai racing history.

After a short blowout on Tuesday overseen by trainer Hall of Fame
trainer Bob Baffert, Euroears walked on Wednesday and jogged in the quarantine
barn area on Thursday. He’ll enter the Shaheen off a victory in the January 22
Palos Verdes S. (G2).

“He is doing awesome,” Baffert reported after Breakfast With the Stars.