Saudi Cup hero Forever Young heads field of 11 runners for 2025 Dubai World Cup

The Dubai World Cup is the third-richest horse race on planet and Saudi Cup hero Forever Young is the odds-on favourite to land yet another huge pot.

Saudi Cup Hero Forever Young Heads Dubai World Cup Runners 2025

As per the best horse racing betting sites, Forever Young is as short as 1/2 to win the feature race on Saturday, April 5 at Meydan Racecourse in the United Arab Emirates.

The four-year-old recently landed the most lucrative pot in the sport when winning a dramatic Saudi Cup at Riyadh in February, taking home an incredible $10 million.

The Dubai World Cup prize money isn’t quite as juicy but with $6.96 million to the winner, Forever Young’s career earnings could sur the $20 million mark if he gets over the line in front.

Owned by Japanese tech guru Susumu Fujita, CEO of digital advertising firm CyberAgent, Forever Young is without doubt the horse of a lifetime.

The Yoshito Yahagi-trained colt became Timeform’s highest-rated dirt horse in the world (131) after his Saudi Cup heroics and he also leads the Longines World Rankings (128).

This impressive son of Real Steel will surely take all the beating at Meydan, seeking a third consecutive win at Group 1 level.

His only two defeats both came in 2024, going down by a nose in the Kentucky Derby at Churchill Downs and finishing third in the Breeders’ Cup Classic at Del Mar.

WATCH: Forever Young Beats Romantic Warrior In Sensational Saudi Cup

Bhupat Seemar Saddles Two Runners In Imperial Emperor & Walk Of Stars

As expected Forever Young forms the majority of the market here but the two names in behind him are both trained by Bhupat Seemar – Imperial Emperor and Walk Of Stars.

British and Irish horse racing fans will be familiar with both horses – the pair spent around two years each in Charlie Appleby’s Newmarket stable for powerful owners Godolphin.

Since making the switch to the United Arab Emirates, Imperial Emperor has three wins from four runs and is fairly unexposed in open company having done most of his racing in handicaps.

Walk Of Stars got the better of Imperial Emperor when they met for the first time in the Al Maktoum Challenge at Meydan in January, taking the spoils by 2½ lengths.

On RPRs though, Imperial Emperor improved 7lbs to 119 in his next run in the Al Maktoum Classic at the start of March, cantering to victory by 8½ lengths.

Whereas Walk Of Stars appeared to go backwards in his next run in the Saudi Cup, disappointing massively by finishing 29½ lengths behind Forever Young after being sent off a 7/1 chance.

Imperial Emperor’s best RPR is 1lb higher than that of his stablemate’s and the betting suggests the former holds a better hand with odds of 11/2 versus 8/1.

Seemar’s stable jockey Tadhg O’Shea was handed the choice of either and opted for Imperial Emperor, leaving Mickael Barzalona to pick up the ride on Walk Of Stars.

Neither look capable of laying a glove on Forever Young but that won’t be too much of a concern as finishing second or third can secure a $2.4 million or $1.2 million payout.

WATCH: Walk Of Stars Beats Imperial Emperor In 2025 Al Maktoum Challenge

2023 Winner Ushba Tesoro Returns For Another Crack At Dubai World Cup Glory

Noboru Takagi’s Ushba Tesoro is a well-known staple in races of this nature, winning it on his first attempt in 2023 before following up with a runner-up finish in 2024.

The eight-year-old was last seen in the Saudi Cup in February taking third place, over ten lengths behind Forever Young and the favourite looks to comfortably have his beating on that form.

Ushba Tesoro finished 5½ lengths adrift Forever Young in the Tokyo Daishoten in December and the gap was around 12 in the Breeders’ Cup Classic a month prior.

Something would likely have to go badly wrong for the market leader for Ushba Tesoro to turn the tables here but racing is known to throw up surprises.

WATCH: Ushba Tesoro Lands 2023 Dubai World Cup

Dubai World Cup Runners 2025

Dubai World Cup Past 10 Winners

Dubai World Cup 2025 Race Details

📅 Date: Saturday, 5th April 2025
⌚ Time: 6:30pm
🏇 Racecourse: Meydan
🔄 Trip: 1m 2f
💷 Winning Purse: $6.96 million
📺 TV: Racing TV

WATCH: Juddmonte’s Laurel River Wins Dubai World Cup 2024