Story highlights
- California Chrome wins Dubai World Cup
- World's richest horse race -- $6m to winner
- Ridden by Victor Espinoza
- 2014 Kentucky Derby winner
(CNN)California Chrome justified his status as joint favorite by landing the Dubai World Cup Saturday with a perfectly timed run under jockey Victor Espinoza.
The 2014 Kentucky Derby and Preakness Stakes winner was produced on the outside to score a four-length victory to win the richest prize in thoroughbred racing -- $6 million.
The massive payout makes five-year-old California Chrome America's all-time highest-earning racehorse with $12.4 million, surpassing the mark of Curlin, winner of the Dubai World Cup in 2008.
The convincing victory also makes up for the disappointment of being beaten into second place in the 2015 edition by Irish-bred Prince Bishop, and matches the prediction of 78-year-old trainer Art Sherman, who said his horse would be five lengths better this year .
Dubai World Cup: This is the richest race in the world 01:37
The race was the finale to a lucrative nine-race card at Meydan Racecourse, with $30m at stake in total.
California Chrome, so close to the famed 'Triple Crown' in 2014, had been preparing under Sherman in Dubai for over five weeks even taking part and winning a handicap race last month.
He was a fitting winner of a race which came of age with its 21st staging, a massive crowd enjoying the top quality racing and the thriving social scene at Meydan.
16-1 shot Mubtaahij ran fine race to come second with Hoppertunity at 25-1 in third.
Frosted, runner-up at the 2015 Belmont Stakes as the great American Pharoah, ridden by Espinoza, completed the Triple Crown last year, disappointed after being sent off joint 15-8 favorite with California Chrome.
The prestigious penultimate race, the Dubai Sheema Classic, went to favorite Postponed (4/5), from second favorite Duramente by two lengths.
After taking the lead at the final corner, last year's King George winner never looked like being caught and racked up a fourth victory in a row.
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World's richest race – Last year the Dubai World Cup was scooped by William Buick on eight-year-old Prince Bishop, who retired after the career win.
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Jockey Buick and owner Sheikh Rashid Al Maktoum, the late Crown Prince of Dubai, were visibly thrilled with the $6 million first place prize.
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Punctuated by lavish parties, the month-long equine carnival attracts an international crowd of spectators, some sporting statement head wear.
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Meanwhile the festival's coveted prize fund attracts horses, jockeys and owners from around the world -- but only the strongest horses can cope with the physical and mental demands of international competitions.
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Trainers like England's Roger Varian have to consider the turf conditions and distance of each race, as well as a horse's disposition. Dubai's Meydan racecourse was returned to a dirt track in 2014 after the synthetic surface proved unpopular with US owners.
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Pictured at his Newmarket stables, Varian gets to know each of his horses "like children" to select the right one for each race. He looks for "a strong neck and shoulder, well proportioned limbs, a deep middle and a well-developed backside."
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For races as important as Dubai, the trainer singles out horses five to six months in advance, based on their domestic success.
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Dubai's hot and dusty climate is is a world away from the chilly gallops in Newmarket. Varian has chosen three runners this year for the UAE -- Five-year-olds Battersea and top-ranked Postponed, plus four-year-old Intilaaq.
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Newmarket has strong connections to Dubai -- this hero stallion Pivotal, stabled at Cheveley Park stud farm, has sired 25 Group One winners, including African Story, the Dubai World Cup winner in 2014.
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Brazilian jockey Silvestre De Sousa rode African Story to win the race at Meydan in 2014.
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The stallion was also owned by the Sheikh Al Maktoum, who died of an unexpected heart attack in September 2015.
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