Hoppertunity to Prepare for Dubai World Cup
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Photo: Anne M. Eberhardt
Hoppertunity (left) finished 2nd in the Clark on Nov. 27.
Trainer Bob Baffert told Churchill Downs officials Nov. 28 that Hoppertunity would be prepared for a start in the $10 million Dubai World Cup (UAE-I) March 26 next year.
Karl Watson, Mike Pegram, and Paul Weitman's Hoppertunity exited Friday's Clark Handicap Presented by Norton Healthcare (gr. I) in "good shape" after a runner-up effort behind Effinex. Hoppertunity, who won last year's Clark, has finished second in three straight races, all grade I or grade II stakes.
NOVAK: Effinex Lands Grade I in Clark Handicap
"That's our long-term goal," Baffert said of the World Cup via telephone Saturday morning. "He'll go back to California and we'll start getting him ready for Dubai."
Baffert assistant Jimmy Barnes, who saddled the horse in Friday's race, was pleased with the son of Any Given Saturday's performance.
"I think that he ran well, considering that the track was a little bit speed-biased," Barnes said. "It was kind of hard to make up any ground on it. Had it been a normal racetrack, I think we would've beaten (Effinex)."