Dubai Racing Club Classic

by Heather Anderson and J.N. Campbell With New Year's celebrations firmly in the rearview, racing eyes turn to Dubai, as the $7.5-million Dubai World Cup Carnival kicks off at Meydan Racecourse. The DWCC culminates on Super Saturday, Mar. 4, the warmup for the $30.5-million Dubai World Cup card slated for Mar. 26. Of the seven races carded, five are black-type level and there are a quartet of stakes contests set to be decided in the desert on Friday. Anchoring the action is the $250,000 G2 Al Maktoum Challenge Round 1...

The Dubai World Cup Carnival gets underway at Meydan on Thursday with its traditional opener, the G2 Al Maktoum Challenge R1 going a mile on the dirt with a well-matched field of 11 lining up. Group 1 winner Capezzano (Bernardini) is the highest-rated of the bunch at 117, but the 7-year-old gelding isn't always straightforward. He beat Thunder Snow (Ire) (Helmet {Aus}) by 9 1/2 lengths in the G1 Al Maktoum Challenge R3 two years ago before trailing him by 32 lengths when last in the G1 Dubai World Cup,...