Godolphin Racing will not have a runner in a bid for a fifth Dubai World Cup (UAE-I) win in the 2005 renewal when, as feared, Grande Hombre was ruled out on Friday with the bruised foot he suffered on Tuesday morning. A grade III winner in the U.S., the 5-year-old son of Grand Slam has only run once since finishing fourth in the race last year. Quoted at around the 16-1 odds mark for the race, his departure improves the chances of American runners Roses in May, Congrats, Lundy's Liability, and Choctaw Nation.
Elsewhere on the card, Mike De Kock's Grand Emporium, favorite for the Godolphin Mile (UAE-II), will run in the colors of H E Sheikh Rashid, Sheikh Mohammed's son and perennial local champion owner, after he purchased the 5-year-old gelded son of National Assembly privately. A group I winner in his native South Africa, he won the Maktoum Challenge I on his UAE debut and was second, while conceding weight, to World Cup hopeful Jack Sullivan in the Burj Nahaar prep race for the Godolphin Mile.