Erwan Charpy and Maria Ritchie will have their first World Cup runners after both Furia Cruzada and Special Fighter made the cut to face Arrogate in the Dubai World Cup next Saturday.
The full fields to the US$30 million (Dh110.2m) World Cup night were released at the same time and Arrogate, who arrived in Dubai late on Tuesday with stable companion Hoppertunity, will spearhead a 14-strong American challenge across the nine races.
Arrogate leads a team of five from America in the World Cup itself, with Hoppertunity, who was third last season, set to enter the gates alongside Gun Runner, Keen Ice and Neolithic.
Furia Cruzada will be the only mare in the line-up, and is the lowest-rated runner on 108. As a contrast, Arrogate is rated the world’s best horse on 134. Special Fighter, who was fourth 12 months ago, is rated 115 and will give the new Oasis Stables trainer the biggest night of her fledgling career.
Both horses had to give way to Salem bin Ghadayer’s Long River 11 days ago in the Al Maktoum Challenge Round 3, but the trio will renew the rivalry with Move Up, who was fourth and will be Godolphin’s only representative in the $10m contest.
Charpy may well be accused of tilting at windmills as Arrogate is set to become the highest-rated runner to ever grace Dubai, but with $200,000 to the horse who finishes sixth, there is all to play for.
"I thought she ran a good race in the Al Maktoum Challenge and the two that finished ahead of her got first run on her," Charpy said. "When we got a run we made up ground in the straight.
"It is strange that her rating has stayed the same as she beat Second Summer last time and finished ahead of that horse on Super Saturday and he is rated higher."
Furia Cruzada was bought on the eve of Super Saturday by Avaz Ismoilov, a businessman from Uzbekistan, and with her South American roots and Charpy’s French background the trio will add to the rich tapestry of this international event.
Behind the UAE and USA, Japan have had the most World Cup runners out of any other nation and struck with Victoire Pisa in 2011. They will have four challengers next weekend in Awardee, Apollo Kentucky, Gold Dream and the recalcitrant Lani, last season’s UAE Derby winner who was tailed off in the Al Maktoum Challenge.
The World Cup field is completed by Mike de Kock’s Mubtaahij, last year’s runner-up and the previous season’s UAE Derby winner.
Sheikh Mohammed Obaid’s Postponed will face just seven rivals in the $6m Dubai Sheema Classic, in what will be the smallest field since the race was first run in 1998.
Last year’s winner was only second on his reappearance run in Dubai on Super Saturday when he finished second to Godolphin’s Prize Money in the Dubai City Of Gold and the two will do battle again in the 2,410-metre turf race.
They will face two of Aidan O’Brien runners in last year’s fourth, Highland Reel, and stable companion Seventh Heaven, while Godolphin realise a long-term plan to get Jack Hobbs to race at Meydan.
Overall O’Brien comes with a strong group of horses and has eight runners on the most valuable night in world racing.

Source: The National