The Trophy for The Dubai World Cup Race. (Getty Images)
A crowd of 60,000 watched Dubai's Godolphin triumph in
Saturday's $10 million Dubai World Cup, the world's richest horse race, when
African Story was first past the finishing post.
Ridden by jockey
Silvestre De Sousa, the seven-year upset race favourites Military Attack and
Ruler Of The World to win the prestigious race at Meydan.
African Story, who
was Godolphin's only win of the night, was trained by Saeed Bin Surour in a
record time. Mukhadram, owned by Sheikh Hamdan, took second place with Cat
O'Mountain, another Godolphin horse, third.
De Sousa said: “He’s
proved how good he is. I had a bit of bad luck in the earlier races but he has
saved the night.”
The victory is a huge boost for Godolphin which was hit by a
doping scandal last year.
It has embarked on
operational changes to help safeguard horse welfare and ensure compliance with
all relevant laws and regulations.
All the pre-race
chatter had surrounded Ruler Of The World, Aiden O'Brien's four-year-old colt.
In October, the 2013
Epsom Derby winner was beaten narrowly by Farhh and Cirrus des Aigles in the 10
furlong Champion Stakes at Ascot and was aiming to return to winning ways in
the 19th running of the Dubai World Cup despite returning from a five-month
lay-off.
Sixteen runners,
including nine Group 1 winners, from eight countries competed for the prized
golden trophy.
