DUBAI, United Arab Emirates, March 31 (UPI) -- African Story, owned by Godolphin and ridden by Frankie Dettori, kicked off Dubai World Cup night with a handy victory in the $1 million Godolphin Mile.
Both Dettori, who won his seventh Godolphin Mile, and trainer Saeed bin Suroor, who picked up his 10th, identified African Story as their best chance of the evening and they were not proved wrong.
The 5-year-old son of Pivotal tracked the pace into the turn, advanced through the early stretch run and drew off powerfully to win by 4 lengths over Vicount Nelson. The latter is trained by South African Mike de Kock, who, like Godolphin, Suroor and Dettori, is a perennial World Cup night winner.
Red Jazz finished third as the 1 mile on the all-weather Tapeta surface went in 1:37.5. Western Aristocrat, a British-based horse who last raced in California, was pulled up on the turn but walked into the horse ambulance on his own power.
African Story, now 5-for-12, raced last summer in Europe and is likely to return there. He won two of his three prep races at Meydan Race Course leading up to the Godolphin Mile.
