In her final breeze at Fair Grounds Race Course & Slots in preparation for the March 31 $10 million Dubai World Cup Sponsored by Emirates Airline (G1), reigning champion older mare Forever Unbridled drilled five furlongs in :59 3/5 March 15 for trainer Dallas Stewart.
The 6-year-old daughter of Unbridled's Song recorded fractions of :12 1/5, :22 2/5, :36 3/5, and :48 1/5 and galloped out to six furlongs in 1:12 3/5. Stewart kept her on a steady work schedule, typically working her every Friday morning, but this time he decided to send her to the track earlier than usual.
"That finishes up our works here," Stewart said. "Maybe we'll go over there and work an easy half-mile. I moved it up because she's just been doing great. She's been tearing the barn down, bucking and kicking in the afternoons. We just moved her up so she can have an extra day of galloping here. It was a great work, just like she's been going. She stepped out nicely the last quarter."
In Stewart's 21 years of training Thoroughbreds, Forever Unbridled will be the first he's saddled in Dubai.
"I've always wanted to go, but you got to have a good enough horse," Stewart said. "It's a long way, and it's a great race. We're thankful that they invited us, and hopefully we'll meet the challenge."
Owned and bred by Charles Fipke, Forever Unbridled has proven to be well-traveled in her 17-race career, with eight victories, all at different racetracks. She has won four grade 1 races, including the 2017 Longines Breeders' Cup Distaff (G1) at Del Mar, which capped a perfect three-for-three campaign.
Forever Unbridled is scheduled to ship to Dubai on March 19.
