Hit Show capped off a night of stunning upsets April 5 at Meydan Racecourse with the biggest surprise of all, leading an American-trained 1-2 finish in the $12 million Dubai World Cup Sponsored by Emirates Airline with the massive favorite, Forever Young, relegated to third.

Florent Geroux booted the winner home with a ground-gobbling late rally for trainer Brad Cox, denying the Doug O’Neill-trained Mixto and jockey Frankie Dettori by a half-length. Forever Young, winner of the $20 million Saudi Cup in February, was another 1 ½  lengths adrift in third.

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Hit Show raced well back in the field through most of the 2,000 meter-distance (about 1 ¼ miles) of the Dubai World Cup but found a huge gap between rivals midway down the stretch. He quickly picked up when asked but Geroux said he wasn’t sure there was time to catch Mixto, who had raced forwardly through the race and opened up a daylight lead in the late going.

“About 100 meters,” Geroux said when asked when he thought he could get the win, admitting his pre-race expectation for the World Cup did not extend to victory.

“To be honest with you,” he said, “I was looking for a placing. And he gave me more.”

Cox, who stayed behind in the United States to tend to his Kentucky Derby Presented by Woodford Reserve aspirants, seemed equally surprised.

“I still can’t quite believe it,” he said by phone to Dubai officials. “It’s unbelievable. I would have loved to be there but just with so much going on with these 3-year-olds and trying to get to the (Kentucky) Derby, I couldn’t make it.”

Dettori looked to have wrapped up a record fifth World Cup win and his second win of the day for O’Neill after scoring in the Godolphin Mile Sponsored by Emaar with Raging Torrent (see below). But Mixto, whose previous high point was a big upset win in the 2024 FanDuel Racing Pacific Classic Stakes, ran out of gas in the final strides.

“He ran superb,” Dettori said. I had the perfect trip. I couldn’t complain. It’s just a shame he got beaten on the line.”

While the result looked American as apple pie, the winning owner, Wathnan Racing, is a three-year-old venture headed by the Amir of Qatar. And Geroux is a native of France.

Forever Young, the odds-on favorite in the international wagering, ran evenly behind the early speed but couldn’t find his usual extra gear in the final 200 meters. The 4-year-old son of Real Steel had used that late kick to win the 2024 United Arab Emirates Derby Sponsored by Atlantis The Royal over the same Meydan surface, post a photo finish third in the Kentucky Derby Presented by Woodford Reserve and to edge Hong Kong superstar Romantic Warrior in the Saudi Cup.

The Saudi Cup may have taken some starch out of both of those runners as Romantic Warrior was defeated by the narrowest of margins by Soul Rush in the Dubai Turf Sponsored by DP World two races before the World Cup.

Forever Young’s rider, Ryusei Sakai, said his colt “ran a great race in Saudi and I expected him to win if he ran his race ... It was tough and we did our best. He wasn’t traveling at all. It wasn’t an easy race and (it’s) hard to keep winning.”

The winner's circle celebration. (Eclipse Sportswire)

While most handicappers were hard pressed to nominate any longshot likely to go with Forever Young in Dubai, Hit Show would have been well down even on even those lists.

Although he was an eight-time winner coming into the race, Hit Show had never won at the Group 1/Grade I level.

He was prominent on the 2023 Triple Crown trail, winning the Withers Stakes before finishing second in that year’s Wood Memorial Stakes Presented by Resorts World Casino, fifth in the Kentucky Derby, fourth in the Belmont Stakes Presented by NYRA Bets and fifth in the Jim Dandy Stakes Presented by DK Horse at Saratoga.

Hit Show, a 5-year-old by Candy Ride, ran for his breeders, Gary and Mary West, until he was sold privately to Wathnan after winning the West Virginia Governor’s Stakes at Mountaineer Aug. 4, 2024.

He proved a good investment even before the Dubai shocker, winning the Lukas Classic Stakes at Churchill Downs in September and the Hagyard Fayette Stakes at Keeneland a month later. He reported third in the Clark Stakes Presented by Norton Healthcare in November back at Churchill but was disqualified to fifth.

Hit Show started 2025 with a victory in the Louisiana Stakes Presented by Relyne GI By Hagyard at Fair Grounds and finished third in the Santa Anita Handicap Presented by Yaamava’ Resort & Casino before shipping to the Middle East.

The World Cup this year was added to the roster of Breeders’ Cup “Win and You’re In” challenge races, affording Hit Show a fees-paid spot in the Longines Breeders’ Cup Classic Nov. 1 at Del Mar.

Admire Daytona Wins UAE Derby, Straight No Chaser Disappoints in Golden Shaheen

Admire Daytona (Eclipse Sportswire)

In earlier races on a fantastic racecard at Meydan, Japan-based Admire Daytona was all out to hold off Heart Of Honor by a nose in the $1 million United Arab Emirates Derby Sponsored by Jumeirah Group. The Drefong colt, trained by Yukihiro Kato and ridden by Christophe Lemaire, was forwardly placed throughout the 1 3/16-mile race and narrowly edged locally-based Heart Of Honor in a thrilling stretch run that also involved third-place Don in the Mood. Flood Zone, winner of the Gotham Stakes March 1 at Aqueduct, never threatened and finished seventh of nine runners, but the Brad Cox trainee already has 50 qualifying points for the Kentucky Derby Presented by Woodford Reserve earned in the Gotham and should have a starting-gate spot secured.

As the UAE Derby is now part of the Euro/Mideast Road to the Kentucky Derby series, two positions in the May 3 starting gate at Churchill Downs are reserved for the top two points earners in the series. Admire Daytona earned 100 points with his narrow victory, and Heart Of Honor 50 points for second, giving them secure spots in Derby 151 if their connections decide to make the international trip.

One race after the UAE Derby, U.S.-bred, Dubai-based 3-year-old colt Dark Saffron posted a huge upset in the $2 million Dubai Golden Shaheen Sponsored by Nakheel. The Flameaway colt led from start to finish in the six-furlong dirt race, and held off U.S. Grade 1 winner Nakatomi by three quarters of a length. The headliner in the Golden Shaheen, last fall’s Cygames Breeders’ Cup Sprint winner Straight No Chaser, never threatened and finished eighth of 11 runners one race after the MyRacehorse-owned 6-year-old horse dominated the Riyadh Dirt Sprint Presented by Saudi National Bank Feb. 22.

Another U.S. shipper, Raging Torrent, fared much better in the $1 million Godolphin Mile Sponsored by Emaar, rolling to a 3 ½-length victory under Frankie Dettori. The Doug O’Neill trainee was making his first start at age 4, having won the Malibu Stakes at Santa Anita Park Dec. 26 to close out 2024.