Meydan - Race 8 (Dubai World Cup)

#12 Twice Over (4/1 ml)

I gave this horse out in the World Cup last year, and i still like him. He's been extremely effective at 1 1/4 miles throughout his career (while facing world-class competition), and has also looked very sharp on synthetic. Last year's World Cup was his lone "poor" effort, although he was bumped in the early going and reportedly didn't act like himself after that (though he was only beaten 3 lengths at the wire in a blanket finish). Beyond that, also note that he was coming into the race with no prep off a 5-month layoff, and this year they've done things a little differently, shipping him in early and running him in the course-and-distance prep that has produced several European-based winners over the years (though they all came at Nad Al Sheba). He has reportedly been thriving of late, both in the prep race and in his recent training, per his regular rider Queally. Figures quite formidable with a clean trip.

HRT record:

78 for 292 (27%)

$655.80 mutuels ($8.41 avg)

Almost forgot to mention, when you bet to place in Dubai, you also get paid if your horse runs third.