(MENAFN- Khaleej Times) Godolphin jockey James Doyle felt that the stables' Thunder Snow could be a strong contender at this year's Dubai World Cup and hoped to have a few rides on World Cup night.
The 23rd renewal of the Dubai World Cup will be held at the Meydan Racecourse on March 31 and is again set to attract a stellar field from all around the planet for the richest night in horse racing.
And Doyle, who races in the royal blue silks of His Highness Sheikh Mohammed bin Rashid Al Maktoum, Vice President and Prime Minister of the UAE and Ruler of Dubai, said that Thunder Snow, trained by Saeed bin Suroor, looks good for the world's richest race.
"Thunder Snow is favourite for the Dubai World Cup so he would be an obvious stand out for the race," said Doyle.
Thunder Snow, the four-year-old from Helmet, has had seven wins in 17 starts. The mount of Christophe Soumillon, Thunder Snow won Round 2 of the Al Maktoum Challenge ahead of Satish Seemar's North America, in the Dubai World Cup Carnival at the Meydan Racecourse last weekend.
He had finished second to Salem bin Ghadayer's Heavy Metal in Round 1 of the Al Maktoum Challenge in January.
Doyle was the first to ride Thunder Snow in 2016 and he had finished fourth on debut. Doyle rode Thunder Snow three times with his best result being second at Doncaster in 2016, where he lost out by a head to Rivet.
Doyle was unsure about the rides he may have on World Cup night but said that trainer Charlie Appleby will have something lined up for him.
"I don't know if I'm going to have many rides there. As we know, the international runners are very thin on the ground this season, for whatever reason. So, if I get a ride at the World Cup night, I would be pretty pleased. But we will have to see what happens," he said.
"If I was riding an international horse, I would have known by now. So, there are not too many spare rides going for World Cup night. Hopefully, Charlie will run a couple in one race and William will obviously ride the first string and hopefully I will pick up the ride in the second string," added the 29-year-old.
As for his targets this season, he hoped to ride as many winners as he can.
"You just have to see how the season unfolds but I guess the target is to ride as many winners as I can and do the best I can for Godolphin and the other people that employ me. I think you can't set targets because, as you know, horses aren't machines. Anything can happen so, you just have to take each week as it comes," Doyle said.
The Briton is eager to win the Epsom Derby and the Arc de Triomphe. "I would like to win the Derby and the Arc de Triomphe. These are two of the oldest sort of Group 1 races from around the world. The Derby is obviously the pinnacle of our season. It is a huge test and been fortunate enough to ride in it a few times. But not done any good yet but hopefully we can get a nice ride soon. The Arc is an amazing race and brings the best horses from around Europe," he said.
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