1) Awardee 99-1
2) North America 5-1
3) Gunnevera 24-1
4) Furia Cruzada 99-1
5) Mubtaahij 13-1
6) Forever Unbridled 13-1
7) Talismanic 6-1
8) Pavel 13-1
9) West Coast 5/2
10) Thunder Snow 6-1

WEST COAST (9) is obviously the horse to beat in the World Cup, and perhaps I'm underestimating his true win chances. From a speed figure standpoint, he's clearly the fastest horse in the race; from a connections standpoint (Baffert/Castellano), he deserves to be the heavy favorite. At odds-on, he's just a bit uninteresting to me.

My "pick" in the race is North America, simply based on the way the main track has played for the majority of the race meet at Meydan (part of the reason I think Mind Your Biscuits' performance in the Golden Shaheen was exceptional). He's listed currently as 10-1 in our pools, and that's very fair.

If you're looking for a big price, why not THUNDER SNOW (10)? Thunder Snow defeated North America two starts back before being defeated by him in their most recent start, but the most recent start must be taken with a grain of salt; the track was intensely speed-friendly on March 10, and Thunder Snow essentially had no chance. With a forward ride today pressing the pace from the outside, I think Thunder Snow has a big chance; he's 16-1 with 13 MTP.