World Trophy Betting

The Group 3 World Trophy is contested at Newbury on Sports Saturday, the second day of the annual Dubai Duty Free International Weekend in September. It is one of the highlights among seven afternoon races held on that day, joined by the Group 2 Mill Reef Stakes and the Group 3 Arc Trial. Apart from horse racing, the weekend features sporting master classes, trick shot shows, live music, a face painter and a bouncy castle for the children, making it a festive fall fixture for the entire family.

The £65,000 World Trophy is sprint covering just five furlongs and 34 yards on the straight turf of the Newbury Racecourse. It is open to all Thoroughbreds aged three years and upwards. Each of the youngest sprinters must carry eight stone thirteen pounds, while those aged four years or older must bear nine stone even.

There is an allowance of three pounds for fillies and mares. Penalties are applied to entries successful in previous races since 28th February, amounting to seven pounds for Group 1 winners, five pounds for Group 2 winners and three pounds for Group 3 winners.

When the World Trophy was inaugurated in 1997, it was initially classified at the Listed level. Although the title of the event has been changed numerous times for marketing purposes, there has been only one sponsor for this sprint through its history—Dubai Duty Free. Brands which have been promoted include Dubai Airport and Dubai International Airport as well as Dubai Duty Free.

In 2002, the World Trophy was promoted to its current Group 3 status. In 2008, it was included as part of a very special celebration—Dubai Duty Free’s 25th Anniversary. The event currently has the distinction of being the very last Group-level conditions race of the two-day festival.

A single horse is responsible for just about every record associated with the World Trophy. That honour goes to The Tatling, a gelding owned by Darren Hudson-Wood, trained by Milton Bradley and ridden by Ryan Moore. As a seven-year-old, The Tatling outran ten other sprinters to win the 2004 edition. A year later, the gelding tied the fastest time ever posted for this race, 0:59.72, while winning by a neck over favoured four-year-old Majestic Missile.

Apart from being the oldest and fastest winner here, The Tatling made Bradley the race’s leading trainer and allowed Moore to tie Pat Eddery as the jockey with the most wins. Eddery’s two successes came aboard Cathedral in 1998 and Imperial Beauty in 1999.

It might seem odd that the bookmakers didn’t have The Tatling favoured on either occasion, but a look at their history of predictions reveals a trend of poor forecasts. In 200, they picked Lord Kintyre to win at 5/2. The bay gelding came home fifth, allowing Ivory’s Joy to claim the victory at 16/1 odds.

In 2006, Dixie Belle delivered an even more stunning win. The three-year-old brown mare beat 15/2 Excusez Moi by a length and 6/4 Dandy Man by a bit more to make her backers ever so happy at odds of 50/1. In fact, some handicappers caught her opening price at 66/1 and the odds briefly touched 100/1 at one point, making for an amazing payday indeed.

The following year, the bookmakers chose Desert Lord to prevail at odds of 9/4. A bay gelding trained by Linda Jewell made them look quite foolish when the favourite did no better than fifth. The 2007 winner Rowe Park paid 25/1. In fact, the favourite has succeeded only once in recent years. In 2010, Astrophysical Jet broke the bookie’s jinx with a victory that paid 3/1.

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