What happens to a rock star after the spotlight moves on? He makes special appearances. California Chrome, the incredibly popular winner of the 2014 Kentucky Derby and Preakness Stakes, has only raced four times since being named American Horse of the Year. One of those outings earned him a cool $2 million just for finishing second to Prince Bishop at the 2015 Dubai World Cup, the richest thoroughbred race in the world.
This Saturday, California Chrome will take another shot at the $6 million prize for first. He's one of 12 horses in the field for this year's Dubai World Cup, and he's the +160 favorite at press time. However, Wednesday's draw saw the Art Sherman-trained stallion placed on the outside in Post 11. “There's nothing you can do about it,” Sherman told reporters after the draw. “But he's got tactical speed. I'm not worried about it.”
Night Moves
At least California Chrome will be better prepared for Saturday's race than he was last year, when he made his first-ever appearance at Meydan Racecourse after a 15-hour plane ride to the United Arab Emirates. Having to run at night without Lasix was a challenge, too. This time, California Chrome should be ready for the Dubai World Cup after winning a handicap race at Meydan on February 25, running the same 1 1/4 miles (2000 meters, to be exact) over the dirt track that he'll run on Saturday.
California Chrome's top competition should come from second favorite Frosted (+225), a 4-year-old colt trained by Kiaran McLaughlin who finished second to American Pharoah at last year's Belmont Stakes. Frosted also made an early trip to Meydan this year, winning the Grade 2 Al Maktoum Challenge (Round 2) over 1 3/16 miles on February 4. He will be in Post 9 on Saturday, the same position California Chrome had in 2015.
From Kentucky With Love
The Dubai World Cup is open to 3-year-olds and up bred in the Southern Hemisphere, and 4-year-olds and up from the Northern Hemisphere, so it's common to see familiar horses from the Kentucky Derby make the trip overseas. In addition to California Chrome and Frosted (who finished fourth at last year's Derby), Saturday's field includes Candy Boy (13th in 2014 Kentucky Derby), Keen Ice (seventh in 2015 Kentucky Derby), Mubtaahij (eighth in 2015 Derby), and Hoppertunity, who was the second-favorite behind California Chrome two years ago before becoming a late scratch.
Here are the 12 horses entered in the 2016 Dubai World Cup listed by post position, including the jockey, the trainer, and the odds at press time. Post time for Saturday's race is 1 PM ET.
| Post Position | Horse | Jockey | Trainer | Odds |
| 1 | Keen Ice | Moore | Romans | 1600 |
| 2 | Mshawish | Dettori | Pletcher | 1000 |
| 3 | Gun Pit | Moreira | Fownes | 3300 |
| 4 | Mubtaahij | Soumillon | De Kock | 1600 |
| 5 | Special Fighter | Jara | Al Muhairi | 1400 |
| 6 | Candy Boy | Dobbs | Watson | 5000 |
| 7 | Vadamos | Cheminaud | Fabre | 2000 |
| 8 | Hokko Tarumae | Miyuki | Nishiura | 2000 |
| 9 | Frosted | Buick | Mclaughlin | 225 |
| 10 | Hoppertunity | Prat | Baffert | 1200 |
| 11 | California Chrome | Espinoza | Sherman | 135 |
| 12 | Teletext | De Sousa | Al Harabi | 3300 |
*Odds as of March 24, 2016