The $12 million Dubai World Cup (G1) is March 30 at Meydan Racecourse in Dubai, United Arab Emirates. The race is for 4-year-olds and up at 1 ¼ miles on dirt. usracing.com is publishing profiles of the contenders.

USHBA TESORO

Like the great Cigar in the mid-Nineties, switching from turf to dirt turned this horse into a world beater. Ushba Tesoro was an uninspiring 3-for-22 on grass before starting a remarkable turnaround in April 2022.

Since then, he’s 8-for-11 on the main track, with his only off-the-board effort a troubled-trip fifth in last year’s Breeders’ Cup Classic. He’s earned all but $451,676 of his $13.927 million bankroll on the dirt.

In what may be the understatement of the century, his trainer, Noboru Takagi, said, “Moving to dirt helped him. The timing worked well, and he grew up both mentally and physically from it. He was a difficult horse to control, but with dirt racing, everything matched him, I believe.”

Last year, in his first race outside Japan, Ushba Tesoro made a dramatic splash at odds of 13-1. He rallied from last of 15 to take the Dubai World Cup by 2¾ lengths at Meydan Racecourse. Takagi called the blowout “my greatest honor.”

You won’t get anywhere near 13-1 odds Saturday (March 30), but barring traffic problems, expect him to be a factor at the finish. If the fractions are quick, he could match the feat of Thunder Snow, who won this race in 2018 and 2019.

Betting advice:  The defending Dubai World Cup champion is an international star who just missed last month in the Saudi Cup. He ran a winning race in Riyadh, surging to the lead in deep stretch before Senor Pescador nailed him on the wire. A serious win contender.

🇯🇵 Can USHBA TESORO become only the second horse to win the #DubaiWorldCup twice?

He certainly looked very good this morning! 🐎 #ウシュバテソーロ | #DWC24 pic.twitter.com/VjoxaLtU7F

— Dubai Racing Club (@RacingDubai) March 25, 2024

Post position: 5

Jockey: Yuga Kawada

Trainer: Noboru Takagi

Owner: Ryotokuji Kenji Holdings Co.

Age: 7

Career record: 33-11-2-5

Career earnings: $13,927, 477

Most recent race: Saudi Cup, Feb. 24 (2nd)

Top Equibase speed figure: 112

Pedigree: Orfevre (JPN)-Millefeui Attach (JPN), by King Kamehameha (JPN)

Color: Bay

Running style: Closer

Notes: Finishing second in the Saudi Cup was worth $3.5 million, which was $6.5 million less than the winner’s share that went to Senor Pescador … The Japanese have been futilely chasing Europe’s most important race, the Prix de l’Arc de Triomphe, since the Nineties. One of their most excruciating losses in the Arc came in 2012, when Ushba Tesoro’s sire, Orfevre, squandered a three-length lead inside the final furlong and lost by a neck … Check the temperature at race time. Takagi said that Ushba Tesoro struggles in hot weather.