Dubai World Cup

Much is being made of the fact that Electrocutionist, a hot favourite for Saturday's Dubai World Cup at Nad Al Sheba, has been allocated the outside draw.

Personally, in a field of eleven, and bearing in mind how well the five-year-old travels in his races, I really cannot envisage him being unduly inconvenienced by this and, although a top-priced 11/10 with totesport isn't exactly a price to salivate over, to my mind backing him is like buying money - quite literally.

The boys in blue of Godolphin didn't have a great deal of luck with their acquisitions last season - i.e. horses that they bought out of other stables as opposed to home breds - but in Electrocutionist, who was previously trained in Italy, they appear to have purchased a potential superstar.

Indeed, having just had nine races in his career, the son of Red Ransom has very miles on the clock for a horse of his age, and is just the type that Godolphin excel with - remember the improvement they conjured out of the likes of Fantastic Light and Daylami?

On his first start in the royal blue silks, and his first start on dirt, Electrocutionist strongly hinted that he would deliver Godolphin their fifth win in the Dubai World Cup since its inauguration a decade ago.

Always cruising in the leaders' slipstream, Frankie Dettori sent his mount about his business two furlongs out and he duly pulled clear to beat Chiquitin by seven lengths, but looking value for the double the actual winning margin.

That form is nothing special. To put it into perspective, the runner-up is a top-priced 50/1 for Saturday's race, but Electrocutionist could only beat what was put in front of him, and he is entitled to come on a great deal for that reappearance pipe-opener.

Not that he is short in quality form. On the contrary, he failed by a short nose to reel in Shirocco in the Italian Derby as a three-year-old - that winner landed the Breeders' Cup Turf in November - and he proved himself a class act last term, during a campaign which saw him prove too strong for Japan's horse of the year, Zenno Rob Roy, in the Juddmonte International Stakes at York's Ebor meeting.

It is a Japanese raider, Kane Hekili, who looks the main threat on Saturday.

The four-year-old, the mount of Japan's top jockey Yutaka Take, is the undisputed No 1 on dirt in his home country, and he is a versatile sort, proving equally effective over a mile as he is over a mile and a quarter.

A winner of eight of his twelve career starts, Kane Hekili is out of the top drawer, as he proved when landing the Japan Cup Dirt in Tokyo last November, and he looks sure to make his presence felt.

US raiders have a good record in this race and Brass Hat merits plenty of respect, but the UK-trained challenger, Maraahel, whose handler Sir Michael Stoute won this race in 1997, looks to have plenty to find on all known form.