Gibson backs Doctor Dino for top crown

Richard Gibson believes a win for Doctor Dino in the Dubai Sheema Classic would see him lay a claim to being crowned the best international racehorse in the world.

The six-year-old won the Hong Kong Vase on his last start and secured the Man o’ War Stakes at Belmont back in September.

In between those two runs he finished third to Literato in the Champion Stakes at Newmarket and Gibson is confident of another big show.

He said: “There are not many horses who can claim to win three Group One races in three different parts of the world, and that’s what we aim to do in Dubai.

“A win would certainly cement Doctor Dino’s position as one of the best international horses in the world.

“You can never be too presumptuous in a world championship race of this calibre, but we are really looking forward to being part of such a quality field and expect him to be in with a winning chance.

“He is in fantastic shape and has been training really well since his six-week break after Hong Kong.”

However, one problem the Europeans have to overcome is the inclement weather at this time of year.

“We have struggled to find the fast ground to work on in Chantilly, which is what the horse prefers and obviously the natural biological clock of a horse in Europe is not geared to peaking at this time of year,” said Gibson.

“The prestige of the Dubai World Cup races are such that they attract the world’s best horses from Japan, Europe, America and the UAE.

“But we are very much looking forward to competing, and we’re certainly in with a shot.”