April 7 (UPI) -- An old horse racing maxim has it, "They run the races for a reason," and the 2025 Dubai World Cup program was a case in point.
With one upset more stunning than another throughout the evening, the World Cup served as a reminder there's no such thing as a sure thing and that even the most favorite of favorites can be beaten.
The event also provided plenty of entertainment along the way. Meanwhile, European flat racing is heating up while the Asian season is winding down.
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Dubai
Saturday's Dubai World Cup races got off to a reasonably normal start. Even though the favorite, Trawlerman, didn't get the job done in the Thoroughbred opener, the 2-mile Gold Cup, his 9-year-old Godolphin stablemate, Dubai Future, picked him up to get Sheik Mohammed's forces on the board.
Then, Frankie Dettori rode the Doug O'Neill-trained Raging Torrent, a solid favorite, to victory in the Group 2 Godolphin Mile, the sixth win from his last seven starts, including the Grade I Malibu at Santa Anita.
Then, things got weird. And they stayed weird through the remaining six races, with an admixture of tragedy in the Group 1 Al Quoz Sprint as the favorite, Hong Kong star Howdeepisyourlove, clipped heels and sustained a fatal injury midway down the stretch. Believing, based in England, posted her first win since last July, although she wasn't a total shock after some good performances in defeat.
The big favorites in the Group 2 UAE Derby were Japan's Shin Forever, last seen second in the Group 3 Saudi Derby, and Flood Zone, invading from America for trainer Brad Cox.
They were never in the mix, and instead it was a lesser regarded Japanese runner, Admire Daytona, edging locally based Heart of Honor by a nose. Both earned the right to claim a spot in the Kentucky Derby, but would require a $6,000 supplemental nomination to claim the honor.
The wave of upsets reached crescendo in the night's premier dirt sprint, the Group 1 Dubai Golden Shaheen, billed as a global showdown between reigning Breeders' Cup champion Straight No Chaser and last year's winner and locally dominant Tuz.
That didn't work out, although Tuz would have had a shot if he hadn't been boxed in on the rail through the final 100 meters and finished third. Straight No Chaser didn't run much at all and finished eighth.
Dark Saffron, at odds of some 40-1, got the win with a late run that got him past the Wesley Ward-trained Nakatomi to a 1/4-length victory.
It looked like order would be restored in the next race, the Group 1 Dubai Turf, when Hong Kong-based Romantic Warrior, the world's top money-earning horse and a Group 1 winner in four jurisdiction, ...
