Dubai World Cup Tips and Offers, 31 March 2018

Dubai World Cup Tips, Free Bets and Betting Offers, Saturday 31st March 2018

The hugely lucrative Dubai World Cup returns this weekend, once again boasting a gigantic purse of $10m. It marks a climatic end to a spectacular night of racing at Meydan’s dirt course. No betting is allowed at the racecourse itself as gambling is illegal in Dubai but punters from all across the world will have their eyes on this special 2000m contest. West Coast will begin the race as the strong favourite as Bob Baffert looks to secure back to back winners.

Between 2010 and 2014 this race took place on Meydan’s new artificial course but disgruntlement from American trainers was part of the reason of the switch to dirt. It’s a surface North American-trained horses are far more accustomed to and it’s helped them win 11 renewals of this race since it’s introduction in 1996. Five of this year’s contenders hail from America and four of them, West Coast, North America, Forever Unbridled and Gunnevera feature in the top five in the betting.

West Coast deserves being looked at first given his status as the evens favourite (Betfair). He’s featured once in 2018, beaten only by the now retired to stud Gun Runner in the Pegasus World Cup. There is absolutely no shame losing out to such a fine horse and Bob Baffert will have been satisfied with how his four-year-old performed. Not winning last time out hasn’t been an uncommon feature of Dubai World Cup champions but what is a slight concern is West Coast’s wide draw in stall nine of ten.

Given a more favourable draw, close to the rail, is North America has seen his odds shorten a touch as a result. He’s been busy this year, racing three times at Meydan, improving each time he’s featured there. His second outings saw him narrowly edged out by Thunder Snow, who also runs here, but the six-year-old emphatically had his revenge earlier in the month when winning by five lengths. He clocked a fast time while doing so too and a repeat showing should give him a decent chance here.

Forever Unbridled (9/1, Ladbrokes) is on a three race unbeaten streak but his last appearance came back in November. Six of the last eight Dubai World Cup winners had a previous start no more than four weeks prior so this lack of recent competitive action is a concern. Question marks can also be raised over Gunnevera (9/1, Coral) due to the colt’s lack of a previous Group 1 win. Talismanic has both the winning experience at this level and a recent run under his belt. The Andre Fabre trained horse is unproven on dirt but showed his ability to adapt when securing a polytrack victory early this month. European horses haven’t fared too well in this race but this talented five-year-old looks capable of being an exception.

Boo, the Cheltenham Festival has been and gone. But be sure to bookmark our Cheltenham offers for next year so you don’t miss out!