Hot Rod Charlie was en route to Dubai Jan. 17 for the Dubai World Cup Sponsored by Emirates Airline (G1) on March 26 at Meydan Racecourse. The 4-year-old Oxbow colt is scheduled to have a prep race there on Feb. 4 ahead of his $12 million target.
The Doug O'Neill trainee had his final workout at Santa Anita Park Saturday for the 1 1/4-mile Dubai World Cup, going five furlongs in 1:01 1/5. His first race overseas will be the $350,000 Al Maktoum Challenge Round 2 (G2) run at 1 3/16 miles.
Flight time from Los Angeles to Dubai is approximately 16 hours, covering some 8,300 miles.
"He's a good shipper," O'Neill said. "He absolutely loves it. He loves traveling. He went fantastic in his breeze here and we're super optimistic. We're going one day at a time, but as we speak, he's doing really well. He'll be surrounded by all his normal people from our staff, and Dubai's racing department has been great with us in the past. We're really looking forward to getting over there and experiencing it again."
Hot Rod Charlie won the 2021 Secretariat Vox Populi Award following a season in which he won the Pennsylvania Derby (G1) for Boat Racing, Gainesway Stable, Roadrunner Racing, and William Strauss. The dual classic-placed colt finished the year with a fourth in the Longines Breeders' Cup Classic (G1) and a second in the San Antonio Stakes (G2).
