Dubai Golden Shaheen: Take 22/1 on G1 winner with superb course form

Of the various favourites on Dubai Cup Night who tower over their rivals on paper, three are heavily odds-on. One who isn't is Bentornato in the Dubai Golden Shaheen.

There's an argument he should be. After all, he stands head and shoulders above his rivals on form and has only ever been beaten over six furlongs once – by just half a length, in the 2024 Breeders Sprint. That was much deeper G1 race than this contest.

However, putting up short-priced favourites is not our bag, and having recommended a wager on Bentornato for the '25 BC Sprint at 16/1 (see here, he was backed down to 7/4 and duly delivered) we're not going to advise going in again at cramped odds like this.

What we do expect is for Bentornato's speed to burn off, and demoralise, a whole host of other early-speed horses in this race. So for the places we look to the closers, and there are three of them that look to have a chance at 20/1 or greater.

We wouldn't put anyone of taking a flyer on Lovesick Blues at 20/1. He's a Group 1 winner over six furlongs as recently as last summer, and came through to finish 5th from an absolutely impossible position in the Riyadh Dirt Sprint (must have been 20 lengths off the lead at least at one stage). There's also Mufasa, a classy ex-US (and ex-Chilean) closer with a decent back catalogue of high-class form. It hasn't quite worked out for him in Dubai, however, and we suspect he's really a 7-furlong horse at heart.

The one we want most is Nakatomi at an enticing 22/1. This is quite an insulting price for a horse who has run extremely well at G1 level (including winning one) on numerous occasions. Even more to the point, he has finished 3rd and 2rd in the last two editions of this very race. We like him to at least place again here, with a slight chance of bagging a victory if there's a pace meltdown.

He's seven now, but that's a full two years younger than the 2024 winner Tuz, who reopposes here aged nine. Wesley Ward is as good as any trainer at getting a horse ready to run to their best fresh, so it doesn't bother us in the slightest that we haven't seen Nakatomi since a lacklustre run at Del Mar in the BC Sprint (not his track) in November. He's won multiple times off a layoff, and was just a quarter of a length off winning this last year after a break.

Recommendation for Dubai Golden Shaheen, Meydan racecourse, Saturday 28 March:

Back Nakatomi each-way at 22/1 with Paddy Power or Skybet. The 20/1 generally available is fine too.