World Cup fav pleases in workout.

Must say the "World Cup" has lost a big glamour for me this year?
No champ like Curlin? maybe the problem.
Any thoughts.

World Cup favourite pleases in workout


DUBAI World Cup favourite Albertus Maximus continues to please his trainer Kiaran McLaughlin in his preparations for the world's richest race.

The five-year-old, winner of the both the Breeders' Cup Dirt Mile and the Grade 1 Donn Handicap, posted a strong workout on Saturday at Palm Meadows Training Center in Florida.

McLaughlin clocked Sheikh Hamdan's recruit in 59.8s for 5f and said the son of Albert The Great galloped out 6f in 1m13.2s.
"He's doing super," McLaughlin said. "He's just a wonderful horse, very talented, and extremely sound.

"He's a great horse to work with - he has a high cruising speed and we just couldn't be more happy to have him."

Albertus Maximus joined McLaughlin after Sheikh Hamdan's Shadwell Stable bought the horse following his win in the Breeders' Cup Dirt Mile on October 25.

The four-time Dubai champion trainer suggested there are some parallels with his 2007 Dubai World Cup winner Invasor, who also raced for Shadwell.

"They're similar in a couple of ways," McLaughlin noted. "They both train aggressively and they don't ever get tired. That's a great quality for a horse to have."

Although Albertus Maximus had not won beyond 1m1/2f prior to the 1m1fDonn and was known primarily as a synthetic track miler, McLaughlin said he has no worries about the horse's aptitude for either the Nad al Sheba surface or the Dubai World Cup's 1m2f trip.

"We're happy to go a mile and a quarter on that racetrack over there," he said.

McLaughlin plans to work Albertus Maximus weekly until he is shipped to Dubai on March 17.

An earner of more than $1.2m, Albertus Maximus has won six of 16 career starts and set a Del Mar track record for 1m last year.

McLaughlin also said Albertus Maximus' jockey Alan Garcia will fly to Dubai and ride on the Super Thursday programme at Nad al Sheba on March 5 to familiarise himself with the track.

Meanwhile, on the opposite side of the US, two-time champion Indian Blessing, a Dubai Golden Shaheen candidate, showed she is razor sharp with a 5f workout in 59.2s over the Santa Anita synthetic track.

Her time was the fastest of 68 horses who worked at the distance. "She just cruised around there," said trainer Bob Baffert.

Needed a pocket power.....

He would've been something for us all to look forward to!

It does seem unusual that we don't have a star waiting for the big race this year, but maybe we've just been spoiled with a good run. We can't expect a super horse every year, can we?

On the positive side, it's going to make the race more interesting in that more runners will actually have a realistic chance once they're in the starting gates. The last few years have been penalty kicks.

True Sabre, but I love penalty kicks.

Except for the ones that go missing, Scotia...and we have all seen a few of those!