Dubai World Cup Tips: 174/1 Frankie Dettori Treble for Saturday at Meydan

In the UAE Derby, Frankie Dettori will ride three-race maiden Worcester, who was only beaten two lengths in Grade 3 company last time and has a decent chance on what is an open renewal of this contest. 

He was beaten in maiden special weight events at Santa Anita on his first two starts but the form has worked out well and Bob Baffert wouldn’t be running him here in this race, despite being winless, without good reason. 

His trainer knows what it takes to do well with maidens in stakes events and this horse could be another example, who may find this easier than his latest two performances, which are strong form. 

The history suggests horses who have yet to win and enter these types of contests tend to thrive and the fact that connections have appointed the services of Frankie Dettori is noteworthy to a large extent. 

This runner heads the American contingent and isn’t badly drawn in stall 11 either and, should Worcester win on Saturday, he will become the first maiden horse to win the UAE Derby and, at the same time, provide his trainer with a first UAE Derby success as well. 

He will need to be on his a-game to succeed but he has no better rider doing the steering and even though his main realistic danger is Aidan O’Brien’s Cairo, the initial favourite, he has a good chance of shedding the maiden tag and the markets reflect his chances. 

Frankie’s most high-profile ride of the European battalion on World Cup night is the John Gosden-trained Lord North, who is a household name at this meeting, as he attempts to win the Dubai Turf for a third straight year. 

He must have an excellent chance of doing so provided he has plenty of luck of course, which is a key component, as his turn of foot is lethal when he hits top gear. 

This high-class seven-year-old returned a breathtaking winner of the 2021 renewal, winning by three lengths, before sharing the spoils with Panthalassa last year, who goes for the Dubai World instead this time. 

He has taken the same route that he took en route to here last year but having finished second in the Winter Derby on that occasion, this year he ran out an impressive winner of the Lingfield Group Three.

He will face strong opponents though, especially with Japanese challengers in his path, such as Do Deuce and Serifos who are both formidable rivals and his connections are wary of the task ahead. 

That said, the defending champion is drawn very nicely in stall two and still has to be recognised as the one they all have to beat given he’s won this for the last two years and would become the first horse to win this three times if successful. 

It was 12 months ago in this very race, the feature race of the evening, that we witnessed Frankie Dettori guide Country Grammer to a career-best performance in winning the Dubai World Cup. 

Frankie managed to galvanise his mount for a sustained challenge and eventually run down red-hot favourite Life Is Good, who hit a brick wall in the last furlong, and lift the £10 million prestigious contest. 

Bob Baffert’s charge had his colours surprisingly lowered by the Japanese challenger Panthalassa in last month’s Saudi Cup at Riyadh but that was the first time Frankie had ridden him since the pair won this race last year and this course seemingly suits him better. 

Moreover, he was doing all of his best work at the finish last time and will relish the return to this longer trip of one-mile-two-furlongs, as he’s likely to be charging very late.

While Dettori is under no illusion as to the challenge he will face, given his mount is unfortunately dealt with the wide draw in stall 14, last year’s winner will not go down without a fight and remains the one to beat. 

This high-class six-year-old has yet to finish out of the top two in all of his starts for this stable and is still a big player despite this year’s field having a lot more strength in depth compared to last year.

Frankie Dettori has won the world’s richest race four times in his career and in what will be his final appearance at the Dubai World Cup, he will be eager to add to that tally by having that perfect send off.