by Jeff Lowe

Grade 1 winner Great Hunter has joined the list of American horses pointing for the $6-million Dubai World Cup (UAE-G1) on March 29.

Great Hunter finished eighth in the Santa Anita Handicap (G1) on March 1. He is unplaced in four starts at Santa Anita Park this winter, and his connections hope he will rebound with a return to conventional dirt in the World Cup at Nad al Sheba racecourse. Great Hunter’s most recent victory came over the old dirt surface at Santa Anita last February in the Robert B. Lewis Stakes (G2).

Horse of the Year Curlin and Grade 2 winners A. P. Arrow and Well Armed are the other American-based horses slated for the World Cup.

Great Hunter’s owner, J. Paul Reddam, and trainer, Doug O’Neill, won the 2007 Godolphin Mile (UAE-G2) with Spring At Last. In 2006, Reddam’s Wilko finished third in the World Cup and was elevated to second with the disqualification of Brass Hat for a medication violation. A second-place finish in the World Cup is worth $1.2-million.

“I think it will be a short field, and obviously Curlin looks pretty darn good, but I think even running second or third would be outstanding,” said Dennis O’Neill, who assists his brother, Doug.

The O’Neills and Reddam also hope to receive an invitation to run multiple graded stakes winner Notional in the Dubai Duty Free (UAE-G1) on the World Cup card. Notional finished third, beaten a neck, in the Daytona Handicap on February 17 at Santa Anita in his turf debut.

The other American horses scheduled to participate in the World Cup program are Barbecue Eddie, Benny the Bull, Bushwacker, Esperamos, and Idiot Proof in the Dubai Golden Shaheen (UAE-G1), Barcola and Diamond Stripes in the Godolphin Mile, Massive Drama in the United Arab Emirates Derby (UAE-G2), and Better Talk Now and Spring House in the Dubai Sheema Classic (UAE-G1). Separate flights will depart from Fort Lauderdale, Florida, and Los Angeles on March 18.

Jeff Lowe is a Thoroughbred Times staff writer