The Sands of Time Might Be Running Out on Silver Charm

He was upstaged by his stablemates and three American horses in most pre-race analyses, but Almutawakel was the fastest and grittiest on Sunday, holding off two United States-based challengers in the stretch to win the $5-million Dubai World Cup, the richest race ever run.

Malek, who traveled to the Persian Gulf from Santa Anita, and Victory Gallop, who came from Florida, threatened but couldn’t pass Almutawakel and jockey Richard Hills in the final strides. Silver Charm, the 1997 Kentucky Derby winner and winner of the Dubai race last year who also traveled from Santa Anita, finished a sluggish sixth in the eight-horse field.

In North America, Almutawakel went off at 44-1 and accounted for across-the-board mutuels of $91.30, $67.90 and $8.40. He ran 1 1/4 miles on the sandy dirt surface in 2:00 3/5, the fastest time in the four-race history of the Dubai and one-fifth of a second slower than the track record.

Silver Charm, ridden by Gary Stevens, has now been beaten three consecutive times for the first time in his career. Other than a last-place run at Del Mar last July, this was his worst finish in 23 races.

“He came out one foot off the ground, but after 50 yards we were all right,” Stevens said. “He was dull going into the gate, kind of quiet. I had to use him early to keep our position, and that wasn’t the old Silver Charm.

“At the five-furlong marker, he was empty. Maybe age has caught up with him, I don’t know. We were inside early, and I wasn’t happy with that, but in the old days, he would have pushed his way through. After the race, he was tired and blowing more than you would have thought for the effort he gave.”

Trainer Bob Baffert--unable to attend the race after being at Turfway Park in Florence, Ky., on Saturday--told the Associated Press that Silver Charm bled from the lungs and this may have contributed to his poor performance. Silver Charm, a 5-year-old, routinely runs on Lasix--a diuretic that discourages bleeding--in the United States, but horses in Dubai are prohibited from running on any medication.

While Silver Charm was struggling, Almutawakel moved from third place to take the lead at the top of the three-furlong stretch.

Almutawakel then held off Malek, who was fourth in last year’s race, by three-quarters of a length and finished another three-quarters of a length in front of Victory Gallop. Running Stag, the English hope, was seventh.

Almutawakel earned $3 million, which for the race sponsors is like moving the money from one pocket to the other. The 4-year-old English-bred races for Sheik Hamdan, the minister of finance for the United Arab Emirates. Sheik Hamdan’s brother, Sheik Mohammed, won the World Cup in 1996 with Singspiel.

Before Sunday, Almutawakel--whose name translated from Arabic means “in the hands of the gods”--had won three of eight starts, all on grass, and had never won going farther than 1 1/8 miles. Officially, he hadn’t run since October, but the four Maktoum brothers run their horses against one another in unlisted trial races, and recently Almutawakel had beaten his three World Cup stablemates.

Almutawakel is trained by Saeed bin Suroor, 32, a former policeman who began training in Dubai in 1994. Hills, the son of a British trainer, had ridden Almutawakel once before, winning a race at Newmarket in August 1997.

The Maktoum brothers, who rule the sheikdom of Dubai and started the World Cup, were represented by half of the field, but their more heralded horses could do no better than fourth. Central Park, who set the pace, finished fourth, while Daylami ran fifth and High Rise, last year’s Epsom Derby winner, came in last.

Horse Racing Notes

Richard Mandella, the Southern California-based trainer who saddled Malek, has had horses finish second in three of the four Dubai World Cups. “I’ll keep coming back,” Mandella said. “Then when I run out of horses, maybe they’ll give me a job in the parking lot.” . . . Almutawakel’s jockey, Richard Hills, won another race Sunday--the $500,000 Dubai Duty Free Stakes with Altibr, who is also owned by Sheik Hamdan. . . . After missing out with fourth-place finisher Straight Man in the $750,000 Gallery Furniture Stakes on Saturday at Turfway Park and Silver Charm in the Dubai World Cup, trainer Bob Baffert had something of a consolation prize Sunday at Santa Anita. Forestry, a $1.5 million yearling he trains for owners Aaron and Marie Jones, skimmed the rail under jockey David Flores and rallied to beat 20-1 shot Sea Twister by a little more than a length in the $83,025 San Pedro Stakes for 3-year-olds. Forestry, a son of Storm Cat who is not considered a Kentucky Derby prospect, paid $10.60 as he won for the second time in four starts. Love That Red, the 17-10 favorite, was fourth in the field of eight. He finished a neck behind Futural.

At the Fair Grounds in New Orleans, Lord Smith made it four consecutive wins for owners Michael Boich and David and Linda Kruse and trainer Bruce Jackson when he went wire to wire against 11 opponents in the $663,600 Explosive Bid Handicap. Three weeks after beating favored Hawksley Hill by a head in the Arcadia Handicap at Santa Anita, Lord Smith, a 7-1 shot, won by the same margin over that rival in 1:51 1/5 for the 1 1/8 miles on turf. Brave Act, the 3-1 second choice and another shipper from Southern California, finished fifth. Hawksley Hill, the 7-5 choice, lost in the final yards for the third time in his last four races, including a by a head in the Breeders’ Cup Mile on Nov. 7.

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Staff writer Bob Mieszerski contributed to this story.