In the days leading up to the $12 million Dubai World Cup at Meydan Racecourse in Dubai, United Arab Emirates, on March 27, usracing.com is profiling the contenders for the 2,000-meter (about 1 ¼ miles) race. The profiles will be updated with odds, post positions and jockeys following the post-position draw scheduled for Wednesday (March 24).
By Richard Rosenblatt
The country of Uruguay will be represented in the $12 million Dubai World Cup (G1) for first time when Ajuste Fiscal lines up for Saturday’s 25th edition in a field of 14.
Photo Courtesy of Dubai Racing Club and Erika Rasmussen
Bred in Uruguay by Haras La Concordia, the 5-year-old bay is trained by Brazilian Antonio Cintra, who has been based at Meydan Racecourse in in Dubai with a five-horse team, including Ajuste Fiscal and El Patriota, scheduled to run in the UAE Derby (G2) on Saturday.
A likely longshot in World Cup, Ajuste Fiscal’s 3-year-old season is worth noting: three straight Group 1 wins at Maronas Racetrack in Montevideo, and an overall career record of 12-6-1-2. He was Uruguay’s 2019 Horse of the Year.
Since arriving in Dubai, he has raced twice, finishing third behind Salute The Soldier and Thegreatcollection, a pair of horses he’ll go against in the World Cup, most recently in the G2 Al Maktoum Challenge Round 2. He was fifth in the Challenger Round 1 on Jan. 21.
Early last week was his final serious training work, and he’s been cantering around the track this week.
“The two horses [Ajuste Fiscal and El Patriota] will continue like this until race day. They both did their last piece of fast work on Tuesday last week and we are very happy with them. Today we went from the 1,200-meter pole, stopped at the 800-meter pole and just walked back.”
Dubai World Cup Contenders 2021: Ajuste Fiscal
Post position: TBD
Odds: TBD
Trainer: Antonio Cintra
Jockey: Vagner Leal
Owner: La Pomme
Age: 5
Career record: 12-6-1-2
Career earnings: $251,036
Top Equibase speed figure: N/A
Pedigree: Ioya Bigtime-Braid, by Storm Surge
Color: Bay
Running style: Mid-pack
Notes: This will be Cintra’s first World Cup runner, but he previously har runners in the UAE Derby and won the 2006 Al Shindagha Sprint with Heart Alone.
Dubai World Cup 2021 Contenders
MYSTIC GUIDE (USA) USA Michael Stidham
CHUWA WIZARD (JPN) Japan Ryuji Okubo
MAGNY COURS (USA) France Andre Fabre
SALUTE THE SOLDIER (GER) Bahrain Fawzi Nass
JESUS’ TEAM (USA) USA Jose Francisco D’Angelo
SLEEPY EYES TODD (USA) USA Miguel Angel Silva
GIFTS OF GOLD (IRE) UAE Saeed bin Suroor
HYPOTHETICAL (IRE) UAE Salem bin Ghadayer
MILITARY LAW (IRE) UAE Musabbeh Al Mheiri
GREAT SCOT (GB) Saudi Arabia Abdullah Moshrif
THEGREATCOLLECTION (USA) UAE Douglas Watson
TITLE READY (USA) USA Dallas Stewart
AJUSTE FISCAL (URU) Uruguay Antonio Cintra
CAPEZZANO(USA) UAE Salem bin Ghadayer
Over the years while working at The Associated Press, Rich Rosenblatt became a familiar name to legions of the horse racing fans and industry insiders with his award-winning articles on horse racing and his stories from the backstretch.
In addition to being an astute observer of sports, Rosenblatt is the co-author of The All-American Chili Cookbook. His work has been seen in just about every publication in the world, including The New York Times, The Washington Post and Time Magazine.