Captain Steve, Aptitude Will Try to Crash Dubai Party

It may take one of the two California contenders to prevent another house horse from winning the Dubai World Cup.

The Maktoums, the ruling family of Dubai, have won the last two runnings of the race, with Dubai Millennium last year and the longshot Almutawakel in 1999.

They’re running three horses for the $6-million pot on Saturday, but the one to beat is trainer Bob Baffert’s Captain Steve, the 8-5 favorite on the morning line from Arlington Park, which is the hub of U.S. betting on the 1 1/4-mile race.

The other California invader, trained by Bobby Frankel, is Aptitude, listed at 5-1, even though he has never won a stake and hasn’t run in four months.

The best chance for Godolphin, the racing stable of Dubai’s Sheik Mohammed, is Best Of The Best, the 3-1 second choice after winning by 12 lengths over the sandy Nad Al Sheba Racecourse in Dubai last month.

Frankie Dettori, Godolphin’s English jockey, rode Dubai Millennium to a six-length victory over the U.S. import Behrens last year.

“I haven’t got a Dubai Millennium this year, but Best Of The Best is not too bad,” Dettori said.

Jerry Bailey, who’ll ride Captain Steve, won the first two World Cups, with Cigar in 1996 and Singspiel in 1997.

“If my horse runs like he did in the States, he’ll be very tough,” Bailey said.

Captain Steve, a 4-year-old colt who has earned almost $3 million for his owner, Mike Pegram, won the Donn Handicap at Gulfstream Park in his only start this year. Part of Baffert’s stable at Santa Anita, Captain Steve was flown the 9,000 miles to the United Arab Emirates a couple of weeks ago and has acclimated well. Because Captain Steve has been known to jump shadows, Baffert worked him last Monday night under the lights, to approximate Saturday’s race conditions. The colt went six furlongs in a sharp 1:10 2/5.

Captain Steve drew the No. 11 post in the 12-horse field. That’s the same post Dubai Millennium won from last year.

“We wanted to be on the outside, so this is a good spot for him,” Baffert said. “The break here is more important than the draw.”

Baffert won the 1998 World Cup with Silver Charm, who finished sixth in the race the next year.

Best Of The Best will break inside Captain Steve, in the No. 10 stall. Aptitude, ridden by Gary Stevens, will break from the No. 4 post. Aptitude’s reputation stems from second-place finishes in last year’s Kentucky Derby and Belmont Stakes. He has earned $555,410 while winning only two of nine starts.

The last time Aptitude ran, he had a breathing problem and beat only one horse in the Clark Handicap at Churchill Downs in November. Aptitude then underwent throat surgery, which accounts for his late start this year.

First place in the richest race in the world is worth $3.6 million. The World Cup is part of a six-race card with purses of $15 million. Post time for the World Cup in California is 9:15 a.m.

Another race on the card, the United Arab Emirates Derby, could have Kentucky Derby implications. Seven of the 16 horses running Saturday are owned by Godolphin, which has nominated them for the Triple Crown races in the U.S.

The best Godolphin 3-year-old is thought to be Street Cry, who raced last year in the U.S. for trainer Eoin Harty, a former Baffert assistant. Street Cry, an Irish-bred, won only one of five starts, but he was second in the Del Mar Futurity and the Norfolk at Santa Anita and ran third, behind Macho Uno and Point Given, in the Breeders’ Cup Juvenile at Churchill Downs. In his 2001 debut, Street Cry won by two lengths in Dubai on March 1.

*

Kent Desormeaux, citing family considerations, has signed a three-month contract to ride in Japan, beginning on April 28.

Desormeaux, who has won the Kentucky Derby--with Real Quiet and Fusaichi Pegasus--two of the last three years, said that one of the reasons he’s leaving California is because of a need to spend more time with his 2-year-old son. Jake Desormeaux, who was born deaf, has had a hearing aid surgically implanted. In Japan, racing is conducted only on Saturdays and Sundays.

Desormeaux, 31, won his 4,000th race in January at Santa Anita and ranks seventh nationally in purses this year with a total of $2.1 million.

Desormeaux will be riding for Kazuo Fujisawa, Japan’s premier trainer. Fujisawa trains for the Yoshida family, a powerful breeding and racing outfit. The Yoshidas were among the owners of Fusaichi Pegasus.

Desormeaux’s deal reportedly will allow him to return to ride in this year’s Kentucky Derby, on May 5, should he have a mount.

*

Holy Bull, Manila and Precisionist are on the ballot in the male-horse category for this year’s Racing Hall of Fame election.

Voted horse of the year in 1994, Holy Bull will be a heavy favorite for induction.

Nominated in the female-horse division were Flawlessly, Sky Beauty and Paseana. In the horses-of-yesteryear category, the nominees were Maskette, Numbered Account and Swoon’s Son.

The 150 voters must decide among trainers Richard Mandella, Sonny Hine and Mel Stute, and jockeys Craig Perret, Earlie Fires and Jack Westrope. Only one horse or horseman can be elected from each category. Results will be announced at Churchill Downs on May 1 and the induction is scheduled for Aug. 6 at the Hall of Fame in Saratoga Springs, N.Y.

Notes

Kent Desormeaux rode the Mel Stute-trained Warren’s Whistle to a half-length win in the $87,950 Sardula Stakes. . . . Buckle Down Ben, making his first start for trainer Wayne Lukas, is a lukewarm 5-2 favorite in Saturday’s $600,000 Turfway Spiral Stakes at Turfway Park. Next on the morning line at 7-2 is Mongoose, unable to run in last Sunday’s Tampa Bay Derby when his foal papers didn’t reach the track racing office in time. This is the field, in post-position order: Fan Club’s Mister, Keats, Clutch Player, Balto Star, Halo’s Stride, Mongoose, Camden Park, Buckle Down Ben and Meetyouathebrig. . . . Lonny Powell, former president of Santa Anita, has been hired as a legislative consultant by the National Thoroughbred Racing Assn.