Hit Show capped off a night of stunning upsets at Meydan Racecourse with the biggest surprise of all, leading an American-trained 1-2 finish in the $12 million Dubai World Cup (G1) with the massive favorite, Forever Young, relegated to third.
Florent Geroux booted the winner home with a ground-gobbling late rally for trainer Brad Cox, denying the Doug O'Neill-trained Mixto and jockey Frankie Dettori by a half-length. Forever Young, winner of the $20 million Saudi Cup (G1) in February, was another 1 1/2 lengths adrift in third.
Hit Show raced well back in the field through most of the 2,000 meters (about 1 1/4 miles) but found a huge gap between rivals midway down the stretch. He quickly picked up when asked but Geroux said he wasn't sure there was time to catch Mixto, who had raced forwardly through the race and opened up a daylight lead in the late going.
"About 100 meters," Geroux said when asked when he thought he could get the win, admitting his prerace expectation for the World Cup did not extend to victory.
"To be honest with you," he said, "I was looking for a placing. And he gave me more."
Cox, who stayed behind in the United States to tend to his Kentucky Derby (G1) aspirants, seemed equally surprised.
"I still can't quite believe it," he said by phone to Dubai officials. "It's unbelievable. I would have loved to be there but just with so much going on with these 3-year-olds and trying to get to the (Kentucky) Derby, I couldn't make it."
Dettori looked to have wrapped up a record fifth World Cup win and his second win of the day for O'Neill after scoring in the Godolphin Mile (G2) with odds-on favorite Raging Torrent. But Mixto, whose previous high point was a big upset win in the 2024 Pacific Classic Stakes (G1), ran out of gas in the final strides.
"He ran superb," Dettori said. "I had the perfect trip. I couldn't complain. It's just a shame he got beaten on the line."
While the result looked American as apple pie, the winning owner, Wathnan Racing, is a 3-year-old venture headed by the Emir of Qatar. And Geroux is a native of France.
Forever Young, the odds-on favorite in the international wagering, ran evenly behind the early speed but couldn't find his usual extra gear in the final 200 meters. The 4-year-old son of Real Steel had used that late kick to win the 2024 UAE Derby (G2) over the same Meydan surface, post a photo-finish third in the 2024 Kentucky Derby, and to edge Hong Kong superstar Romantic Warrior in the Saudi Cup.
The Saudi Cup may have taken some starch out of both of those runners as Romantic Warrior was defeated by the narrowest of margins by Soul Rush two races before the World Cup.
Forever Young's rider, Ryusei Sakai, said his colt "ran a great race in Saudi and I expected him to win if he ran his race ... It was tough and we did our best. He wasn't traveling at all. It wasn't an easy race and (it's) hard to keep winning."
While most handicappers were hard pressed to nominate any long shot likely to go with Forever Young in Dubai, Hit Show would have been well down even on even those lists. Although he was an eight-time winner coming into the race, Hit Show had never won at the grade/group 1 level.
He was prominent on the 2023 Triple Crown trail, winning the Withers Stakes (G3) before finishing second in that year's Wood Memorial Stakes (G1), fifth in the Kentucky Derby (G1), fourth in the Belmont Stakes (G1), and fifth in the Jim Dandy Stakes (G2) at Saratoga Race Course.
Hit Show, a 5-year-old by Candy Ride , ran for his breeders, Gary and Mary West, until he was sold privately to Wathnan after winning the West Virginia Governor's Stakes (G3) at Mountaineer Casino Racetrack & Resort Aug. 4, 2024.
He proved a good investment even before the Dubai shocker, winning the Lukas Classic Stakes (G2) at Churchill Downs in September and the Fayette Stakes (G2) at Keeneland a month later. He reported third in the Clark Stakes (G2) in November but was disqualified to fifth.
He started 2025 with a victory in the Louisiana Stakes (G3) at Fair Grounds Race Course & Slots and finished third in the Santa Anita Handicap (G1) before shipping to the Middle East.
Hit Show is the first top-level winner of the year for sire Candy Ride, who stands at Lane's End in 2025 for a fee of $75,000. He is one of three winners from four starters out of the grade 2-winning Tapit mare Actress.
The World Cup this year was added to the roster of Breeders' Cup Challenge Series races, affording Hit Show a fees-paid, automatic spot in the Breeders' Cup Classic (G1) Nov. 1 at Del Mar.
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