TAB WEEKEND RACING HIGHLIGHTS: 27 - 29 MARCH

GET SET FOR FIVE-STAR ACTION AT DUBAI WORLD CUP

Sit back and enjoy a weekend of superb racing headlined by Saturday’s 30th running of the Dubai World Cup at Meydan, where nine Group races - six of them Grade 1 - will light up the international stage. TAB Win, Place, Exacta, Quinella and Swinger bets on Races 2 to 9 will go into the HKJC World Pool tote and the pools will be massive. That enhances your chances of big payouts and big bets won’t depress dividends.

Saturday kicks off with bumper meetings at Rosehill in Sydney and Flemington in Melbourne. It’s Australian Cup Day at Flemington, where TAB Win, Place, Quinella and Swinger bets on Races 7 and 8 will go into the HKJC World Pool. The same will apply to Races 8 and 9 at Rosehill, where the Group 1 Tancred Stakes has top billing.

Later in the day the Turffontein card looks tricky, but there’s a good-value bet in the last race. Sunday’s HWB Greyville fixture wraps up a weekend and you can bet there won’t be a dull moment!

FRIDAY HIGHLIGHTS

FAIRVIEW: NO GRASS BUT EPIKLEROS LOOKS THE PART

Trainer Tara Laing believes five-year-old mare Epikleros has at least one win to come before she goes to stud at the end of this season. The stable may have found a good opportunity for her in Race 3 over 2000m on the Polytrack, the afternoon’s feature. “If this race was on grass, I would have made her a good thing. She has won on the poly, is well drawn and best weighted. We still give her a big chance,” said assistant-trainer Gavin Venter.

HOLLYWOODBETS GREYVILLE: QUICKSTEPGAL CAN DOMINATE

Two features for three-year-olds headline this eight-race card on turf and the Polytrack. Quickstepgal returns to the track following a highly successful Cape campaign in Race 6, the Grade 3 Umzimkhulu Stakes over 1400m. Already a Listed winner at this venue before her Grade 1 Cape Fillies Guineas victory, she will take a power of beating. On a line through Roland Garros, there is little to choose between Green Gateway and I’m A Fireball in Race 7, the Grade 3 Byerly Turk over 1400m. With promising Wild Justice also likely to have a say, this is a race not to miss.

SATURDAY HIGHLIGHTS

SELANGOR: CHEVAL PEGASUS CAN BAG A HAT-TRICK

In-form four-year-old Cheval Pegasus and chases a third successive victory in Race 8, a Class 4A contest over 1200m at Kuala Lumpur. He has recorded six wins in Malaysia, including three from five starts this season. The Jason Ong-trained galloper has drawn the coveted inside barrier and will enjoy the services of his most successful partner Sharudin Uzair. The meeting starts at 06:30.

TURFFONTEIN: HERE’S A VALUE BET TO GAMBLE ON

A tricky card with several trappy Pick 6 legs so there should be good money to be won if you read it right. Grade 2 winner Chronicle King is the standout in Race 7 over 1600m and should go close after a short break, although talented Jimmy Don is coming to hand after an injury-enforced absence and looms as a danger. Precocious goes for five in a row in Race 8 over 1000m, but a big swing at the weights favours Mystical Miss.

Kia Kaha (5-1 in the opening betting) rates a value play and potential Pick 6 banker in Race 9 over 1000m. Dropping in class and on a career-low merit rating of 73, she takes on her own sex and looks set to run a big race with Gavin Lerena aboard.

SUGGESTED R320 (10%) PICK 6 PERM (Leg 1 Race 4 @13:55):

Leg 1: 1, 2, 4, 9, 10

Leg 2: 1, 3, 4, 5, 6, 8, 10,11

Leg 3: FIELD (1-10)

Leg 4: 1, 3, 4, 6

Leg 5: 1, 8

Leg 6: 5

MEYDAN: FOREVER YOUNG SET TO LAND ANOTHER BIG PRIZE

The 2026 Dubai World Cup promises a spectacular showcase of international racing talent with contenders from Japan, Europe and the UAE, UK and USA all in pursuit of glory and a share of $30.5-million prize money. Horseracing fans can look forward to five hours of thrilling racing as many of the top thoroughbreds compete on one of the world’s richest and most prestigious stages. Race 1 is at 13:30 and below is a brief race-by-race guide:

Race 1 – 2000m Dubai Kahayla Classic (Group 1)
Doug Watson’s admirable nine-year-old First Classs, twice a winner of this race for Arabians, returns to Meydan at the top of his game, having won the Group 1 Obaiyah Arabian Classic at Riyadh last month. He has sound claims of landing his third success.

Race 2 – 1600m Godolphin Mile (Group 2)
Commissioner King, one of six runners trained by Bhupat Seemar, is the one to beat. Tadhg O’Shea’s mount impressed winning this season’s Burj Nahar over the same course and distance. A confirmed front-runner, he has the benefit of a good draw and should take some catching.

Race 3 – 3200m Dubai Gold Cup (Group 2)
Trainer Joseph O’Brien’s Irish St Leger winner Al Riffa is a classy stayer and ran well in defeat in the Hong Kong Vase in December. He looks the right one in a small but competitive field.

Race 4 – 1900m UAE Derby (Group 2)
Japanese-breds have won the last four renewals and there are two in this year’s race with preference for Godolphin-owned Pyromancer. He is unbeaten in three races including a Grade 1 win last December.

Race 5 – 1200m Al Quoz Sprint (Group 1)
Reef Runner and Lazzat, first and second in the 1351 Turf Sprint last month, renew rivalry and Lazzat looks set to turn the tables. He was narrowly beaten after a tough trip in Riyadh and will be suited stepping down to 1200m.

Race 6 - 1200m Dubai Golden Shaheen (Group 1)
Historically, USA sprinters have dominated the race, winning it no less than 15 times since the turn of the century. Last year’s Breeders’ Cup Sprint winner Bentornato can give America another victory. He possesses bags of early speed, is strong at the finish and should be suited to the conditions.

Race 7 – 1800m Dubai Turf (Group 1)
It’s hard to look past dual Group 1 winner Ombudsman, one of the top-rated horses in the world. Trained by John and Thady Gosden, he recently pleased connections in a workout at Chelmsford Racecourse ahead of this assignment and arrives in winning condition.

Race 8 – 2400m Dubai Sheema Classic (Group 1)
French champion Calandagan has followed his second place in last year’s race with four wins at the highest level in England, France and Japan, including a historic success in the Japan Cup. Now the highest-rated thoroughbred in the world, he will take plenty of stopping.

Race 9 – 2000m Dubai World Cup (Group 1)
Japanese superstar Forever Young is the odds-on favourite, six weeks after winning the $20-million Saudi Cup for the second year running and increasing his career earnings to nearly $30 million. Winner of the UAE Derby at Meydan two years ago, Forever Young is aiming to avenge last year’s disappointing third behind shock winner Hit Show. His trainer Yoshito Yahagi has reported that Forever Young is in better shape than he was in Saudi Arabia. Improving Magnitude, trained by 2008 Dubai World Cup winner Steve Asmussen, rates a threat but Forever Young will be hard to beat at best.

DONCASTER: 2026 FLAT SEASON KICKS OFF WITH THE LINCOLN

The Lincoln (Race 5) on the 1600m straight course marks the official start of the British flat racing season annually and this year’s race is a typically competitive renewal of this famous handicap with 22 runners carded. La Botte is the 3-1 favourite based on a narrow defeat in the Britannia at Royal Ascot last year, but preference is for William Haggas-trained Eternal Force, whose trainer has won this race four times.

La Botte’s stablemate Docklands can take the listed Doncaster Mile a race earlier. The six-year-old gave trainer Harry Eustace his first Group 1 winner in the 2025 Queen Anne at Royal Ascot and can go in again here. “He’s in good order and the straight mile suits him very well. This race will set him up nicely for a feature in Hong Kong at the end of April,” said Eustace.

SUNDAY HIGHLIGHTS

SELANGOR: BANKER’S HONOR SHOULD RELISH LONGER TRIP

Banker’s Honor shapes as a value pick in Race 4 over 1800m at Kuala Lumpur. He found 1400m a touch too sharp on his local track debut two weeks ago, settling well off the pace before finishing strongly. His Australian form suggests his preferred distances range from 1600m to 2100m and he looks capable of contesting the finish here. The meeting starts at 06:25.

SHA TIN: YOUNG CHAMPION LOOKS READY TO DELIVER

Trainer John Size’s Young Champion has shown steady improvement in three of his five runs this year and rates the one to beat in Race 9 over 1200m. He has been knocking on the door since dropping back to this trip, placing in all three starts, and his latest third to Crimson Flash was full of merit. From barrier No 1, he should return to winning ways.

HOLLYWOODBETS GREYVILLE: GO WITH GOTTA GO EDDIE

Consistent Gotta Go Eddie caught the eye when running on well for third behind smart three-year-olds I’m A Fireball and Roland Garros in a 1400m contest recently. He will enjoy the extra in Race 7 over 1600m and looks poised to record an overdue third career win. “He always tries his best and should be in the firing line from a nice draw,” said trainer Mathew de Kock.