NO IRISH jockey has ever won the Dubai World Cup but Johnny Murtagh is hoping to put that right by winning the world’s most valuable horse race on Asiatic Boy this Saturday.
Murtagh teams up with the South African trainer Mike de Kock for the ride on Asiatic Boy who is a 5-2 second favourite for the €4.4 million World Cup and will aim to go one better than last year.
Asiatic Boy was runner-up to the American star Curlin in last year’s World Cup, beaten almost eight lengths, and is set to tackle another top American horse in Albertus Maximus this weekend.
“Asiatic Boy is a warrior,” Murtagh said yesterday. “He goes on the track, he goes on the dirt and he stays the trip well. If he runs like he did last year, he will be exciting.” Saturday’s World Cup will the 14th time the Nad Al Sheba feature has been run and in that time it has been won nine times by an American jockey with Jerry Bailey topping the list on four. Frankie Dettori has won it three times while Richard Hills scored on Almutawekel in 1999.
Murtagh has a full book of rides on the €15.8 million card and teams up with the de Kock-trained trio of Bankable (Duty Free), Art Of War (Mile) and the ex-Aidan O’Brien-trained King Of Rome in the Sheema Classic. “Art Of War is improving all the time. He got beaten the first day I arrived but won by seven lengths the next time,” the Irishman added.
Mick Kinane’s three rides include the Godolphin hope Alexandros in the nine-furlong Duty Free on turf. However, Eddie Lynam’s decision to take Duff out of the Golden Shaheen means there will be no Irish-trained horse running on the World Cup card.
Kinane and Murtagh face a flight back to Dublin after the Dubai card in order to be on duty at Leopardstown on Sunday where Grand Ducal looks like being the Ballydoyle runner in the Group Three 2,000 Guineas Trial.
Murtagh is anticipating another good season for Aidan O’Brien and said yesterday that there are a number of relatively unexposed three-year-olds that could graduate to the limelight.
“Hopefully there will be a champion amongst them. I suppose the horse everyone talks about is Mastercraftsman, a dual Group One winner. I rode him at the Curragh last weekend and he is in good form. He has five weeks to the 2,000 Guineas and that should be about right,” he said.
“Rip Van Winkle is another one this year who is very exciting and of course Fame And Glory who won at Saint-Cloud last year.”
