DUBAI, United Arab Emirates - The top-rated horse in America will break from post 1 Saturday night at Meydan Racecourse, where Life Is Good can provide trainer Todd Pletcher with his first Dubai World Cup win. Life Is Good’s jockey, Irad Ortiz Jr., has one job in the World Cup – get his mount out of the gate. Life Is Good’s game is speed. He was going to the lead regardless of his draw. The rail just means there is no margin for error at the break. “It’s the shortest way around,” said Pletcher, whose top World Cup finish was Harlan’s Holiday’s second in 1999. Eleven were entered in the $12 million World Cup, the second-richest race in the world behind the $20 million Saudi Cup. Outside Life Is Good, the sure favorite, are Aero Trem (Vagner Leal), Chuwa Wizard (Yuga Kawada), Grocer Jack (Tom Marquand), Country Grammer (Frankie Dettori), Real World (Christophe Soumillon), Hot Rod Charlie (Flavien Prat), Midnight Bourbon (Jose Ortiz), Magny Cours (William Buick), Hypothetical (Mickael Barzalona), and Remorse (Tadgh O’Shea). Life Is Good comes to Dubai after authoritative wins in the Breeders’ Cup Dirt Mile and the 1 1/8-mile Pegasus World Cup. The Dubai World Cup will be his first try over a distance as far as 1 1/4 miles. A sharp start will be essential. Life Is Good has good gate behavior and generally starts well. “His first step is okay. Second, third, and fourth are outstanding,” Pletcher said. :: For the first time ever, our premium past performances are free! Get free Formulator now! Hot Rod Charlie and Midnight Bourbon are, like Life Is Good, 4-year-olds proven on the big stage. Hot Rod Charlie has been in Dubai since late January, easily winning the Al Maktoum Challenge Round 2 on Feb. 4 in his World Cup prep. “Very happy how he’s been,” said Leandro Mora, assistant to trainer Doug O’Neill. “Now he has to prove it.” Midnight Bourbon finished third in the Feb. 26 Saudi Cup and flew from there to Dubai. Carlos Rosas, who rides Midnight Bourbon in training and has been with the horse since he shipped to the Middle East, said post 8 suited the horse. “I think it’s good,” Rosas said. “He’s training really well. Hopefully he breaks good and gets a good position.” Only two posts, 5 and 11 remained, when Jimmy Barnes, assistant to trainer Bob Baffert, went to the stage at the Dubai Opera House to draw a post for Country Grammer. Post 11 would have been challenging, but post 5 is a favorable draw for a horse with a serious chance to upset Life Is Good. Country Grammer returned from a nine-month layoff with an excellent second-place finish in the $20 million Saudi Cup. “It’s not often you can run in a $20 million prep race for a $12 million race,” Barnes said. “He really showed up last time and all signs are good for this. I really believe he is a mile and a quarter horse.” :: Get Daily Racing Form Past Performances – the exclusive home of Beyer Speed Figures * Yibir, the Breeders’ Cup Turf winner, drew post 12 and will have 13 opponents in a strong renewal of the $6 million Sheema Classic. Post position in this grass race over about 1 1/2 miles is less important in than in the World Cup, but Yibir faces serious competition from various quarters - four Japanese horses, headed by Authority (post 9), Shahryar (post 8), and Glory Vase (post 6), and the England-based Alenquer (post 9). * Post is not meaningless in the $5 million Dubai Turf but the one-turn race at about 1 1/8 miles has a very long run down the backstretch giving horses and jockeys ample time to find position. Sixteen were entered and the Japanese horse Schnell Meister (post 4) is an underlaid standout. * There are 14 in the $2 million Golden Shaheen, a dirt sprint historically dominated by American runners. Dr. Schivel, who just missed winning the 2021 Breeders’ Cup Sprint, breaks from post 9; Drain the Clock, trained by Saffie Joseph Jr., has post 3; Wondrwherecraigis, trainer Brittany Russell’s first Dubai runner, has post 11. * Casa Creed, an American with a chance, drew well in post 15 for the $1.5 million Al Quoz Sprint, a straight-course six-furlong race where paths nearer the outside fence than the inside are preferred.