Rockingham Ranch Front and Center on World Cup Night

Rockingham Ranch's willingness to send horses around the world in recent years has a function—and also some residual benefits.

The U.S. racing operation of Southern California real estate developer Gary Hartunian has players capable of competing on the world stage, and exploring the world with those horses is a fine side effect.

"Being able to travel and see the world with our horses—it gives us a pretty good excuse," said Rockingham racing manager Brian Trump, who first ventured outside the U.S. with Rockingham's bright blue and black silks with X Y Jet in the 2016 Dubai Golden Shaheen Sponsored By Gulf News (G1).

The Kantharos  gelding—co-owned by Ivan Rodriguez Gelfenstein—came up just a neck short behind Muarrab in 2016, but the seed was planted. It wasn't just the positive experience of competing on one of the world's most important days of racing that drew them back, but also the fact that the taste of victory was so close on that maiden voyage.

Fast forward two years and Rockingham is front and center in two races on Dubai World Cup night, with a pair of entries in the Al Quoz Sprint Sponsored By Azizi Developments (G1) and the Golden Shaheen.

X Y Jet, trained by Jorge Navarro, is back for the $2 million Golden Shaheen but—despite his experience at Meydan—is not the favorite. That distinction for the 1,200-meter (about six furlongs) dirt sprint lands on U.S. champion sprinter Roy H.

Trained by Peter Miller and co-owned by Rockingham and David Bernsen, the More Than Ready  gelding was practically unbeatable in 2017. The only thing that stopped him was when Drefong unseated jockey Mike Smith and got loose in the Bing Crosby Stakes (G1) at Del Mar, likely costing Roy H a chance at victory and an undefeated campaign. Other than the Bing Crosby, where he still finished second despite the unexpected trouble, Roy H went five-for-five and capped his championship season with a score in the TwinSpires Breeders' Cup Sprint (G1). His 2018 debut couldn't have gone much smoother, either, as he toyed with a short field to take the Feb. 3 Palos Verdes Stakes (G2) at Santa Anita.

BALAN: Roy H Cruises to Palos Verdes Victory

"Both are at their peaks right now, and both trainers wanted to go, so we wanted to go," Trump said. "We feel we have two of the best sprinters in the world, and we want to prove that."

Both Rockingham horses will have to contend with defending Golden Shaheen winner Mind Your Biscuits.

The odds may favor Roy H, but Mind Your Biscuits' trainer, Chad Summers, feels X Y Jet is the horse to beat. A speedy gray who returned to racing in December following surgery to remove a knee chip, X Y Jet has won all three of his starts since his return but has yet to face top-level competition during those three contests in Florida.

BALAN: X Y Jet Aces Dubai Prep in Pelican Stakes at Tampa

"X Y jet is the horse to beat," Summers said. "Schematically, he's the fastest horse in the race, and I have a lot of respect for Jorge Navarro. What he's been able to do, and I've watched all three of his races this year—he's been getting better and better."

X Y Jet will break from post 2 in a field of eight—Muarrab was expected to run but did not enter, and Shillong was scratched after the draw—with Mind Your Biscuits on the rail. Roy H is ideally drawn for his off-the-pace style in post 6.

"The good news for us is we have options," Summers said. "Maybe we elect to send and go with  X Y Jet early and force the issue from the start. Or maybe we sit on the 'golden rail,' follow the rail, and see what develops in front of us.

"The good thing is they'll both have Rockingham silks, so if we come from behind we know we'll have to pass both of them."

While the Rockingham representatives in the Golden Shaheen are clear favorites, in the Al Quoz Sprint, Stormy Liberal and Richard's Boy are significant longshots. The first two finishers in the 2017 Breeders' Cup Turf Sprint (G1T) may be top turf sprinters stateside, but they'll be up against it taking on the top Godolphin pair of multiple group winner Blue Point and recent Al Fahidi Fort Sponsored By DP World-UAE Region (G2) winner Jungle Cat, who has won both his starts at Meydan this season for trainer Charlie Appleby.

Even Miller stablemate Conquest Tsunami, who is owned by Gary Barber, is more fancied in European racebooks (he's from 14-1 to 16-1, compared to Stormy Liberal and Richard's Boy, who sit from 20-1 to 33-1).

But the Al Quoz presents a unique opportunity for U.S. turf sprinters, in that the $1 million purse and group 1 status blows away any other opportunities stateside. The $1 million Breeders' Cup Turf Sprint (G1T) is the only grade 1 sprint on the grass in the U.S.

"With these horses, older geldings, we have to seek out races," said Trump, who also traveled to Hong Kong with Stormy Liberal to watch the Stormy Atlantic  gelding run in the Dec. 10 Longines Hong Kong Sprint (G1) at Sha Tin (he finished 11th). Richard's Boy came in fifth in last year's Al Quoz Sprint.

"As a stable and with Pete's guidance, we are looking for spots for these horses worldwide, or else we're just sitting around. (Running in lower-stakes) races (domestically) is OK, but why not make a trip out of it?"