Running his hand down the sloping shoulder of the young bay colt, Sheikh Mohammed bin Rashid al Maktoum was struck by his broad chest, his muscled hindquarters, and the flame in his eyes.

The sheikh had a vision on that day in France in 1998 as he studied the two-year-old son of Seeking the Gold. This was a horse who could win the Dubai World Cup (UAE-G1) for him, not a horse who should retain his registered name Yaazer, an Arabic personal appellation with a similar meaning and commonality to Joe in English.

This was a horse who could blaze through the millennium to come. Hence Sheikh Mohammed decided to rename him Dubai Millennium.

In the cool desert evening of March 25 before a crowd of about 30,000 at Nad al Sheba Racecourse, Dubai Millennium fulfilled that prophecy in a manner so stunning that it electrified even Sheikh Mohammed.

After leading nearly every step of the 1 1/4 miles, and pricking his ears much of the way, Dubai Millennium sneered at the challenge of America's best, Behrens, and the rest of the 13-horse field and rocketed to a six-length victory in a track-record 1:59.50.

Standing in the royal box surrounded by his family, Sheikh Mohammed flung his racing program high in the air as Dubai Millennium crossed the finish line, inspiring others around him to follow suit. A hailstorm of programs cascaded down as dozens of Maktoums embraced.

"This horse, with this name, winning here today has given me the best race of of my life," Sheikh Mohammed, Dubai's crown prince, said after accepting the solid gold trophy for the world's richest race, which he created to promote his nation and racing in the United Arab Emirates. "I cannot begin to tell you how I feel inside.

"When I changed his name, I knew he was a good horse. I was hoping he would go all the way to this day, and he has not let me down. ... This is the best horse I have ever seen."

Some racing fans who viewed the World Cup might agree with the sheikh, who bred the four-year-old colt out of the Shareef Dancer mare Colorado Dancer (Ire). The triumph in the $6-million event-$3.6-million in purse money for the Godolphin Racing stable Sheikh Mohammed directs for his family-was especially impressive in that it was just the second start on dirt for Dubai Millennium. In his first, on March 2 at Nad al Sheba, he set the previous record for the distance.

Dubai Millennium now boasts a lifetime record of eight wins in nine starts and earnings of $4,235,520. He suffered his only loss in the Epsom Derby (Eng-G1) last year, finishing ninth behind winner Oath after losing his composure in the saddling area.

For the future, Sheikh Mohammed said he will point Dubai Millennium at more of the major events in Europe and North America that are part of the Emirates World Series Racing Championship. The World Cup is the first leg of that series, which this year includes 11 races around the planet, and also was created in large part by Sheikh Mohammed, with financial sponsorship from Emirates Airlines.

The Breeders' Cup Classic (G1), the $5-million race to be run this year at Churchill Downs, could be the culmination of Dubai Millennium's 2000 campaign.

No shroud of secrecy

Godolphin is renowned for the tight veil of privacy it maintains over its worldwide operations, yet no one in the organization could hide the enthusiasm bubbling for Dubai Millennium. Two days before the fifth running of the World Cup, Sheikh Mohammed told a gathering of international racing journalists that he was "willing to put my head on the block" and his heart on his sleeve while praising the abilities of the horse he called his favorite.

Trainer Saeed bin Suroor also said he was confident, yet after the race he admitted that he had been awestruck by the performance.

"We expected him to win easily, but not like this," said Suroor, who had diligently schooled Dubai Millennium in the Nad al Sheba paddock several times before the World Cup in hopes of avoiding a repeat of the colt's Epsom meltdown. Dubai Millennium was completely professional on World Cup night, despite a teeming crowd of people and horses in the small walking ring. The 13 entries, including five from the United States following the scratch of the Richard Mandella-trained Malek (Chi), were the most ever in a World Cup.

Simon Crisford, racing manager for Godolphin, also was amazed by Dubai Millennium, the 1999 English Free Handicap highweight from 7-to-9 1/2 furlongs, whom British bookmakers made an odds-on World Cup favorite. There is no betting in the Islamic emirates.

"When he was in front early, I was a bit worried because he was setting a lethal pace," said Crisford. "But he's got a serious engine."

No fractional times are released at Nad al Sheba, but officials said that deficiency would be corrected next year.

Jockey Frankie Dettori, who has been Godolphin's chief rider for five years, enjoyed the most intimate perspective of the World Cup. Dubai Millennium, who had drawn what Crisford said was the somewhat undesirable number two post position between Behrens on his inside and 1999 Super Derby (G1) winner Ecton Park on his other flank, jumped out of the starting gate like a tiger.

"He's got a mind of his own, and today he said, 'Let's go,' " Dettori related. "I said, 'Okay, let's go.' "

Pressed from the inside in the early going by stablemate Worldly Manner, the Riverman colt Godolphin purchased for a reported $5-million to contest last year's Kentucky Derby (G1), and from the outside by California-based Saint's Honor, Dubai Millennium appeared nonetheless to be loping along on an easy stroll.

After skimming around the far turn of the triangular-shaped course and with only about a furlong remaining, Dettori heard the sound of the crowd roaring with delight. Behrens and jockey Jorge Chavez had tried to come after Dubai Millennium from the outside but found their attack quickly repulsed.

When he heard the crowd, Dettori said, "I thought I could afford to have a look (to see who was in second). I nearly broke my neck because I couldn't see anybody.

"I had tears in my eyes," exclaimed the 29-year-old Italian-born rider who also has piloted such brilliant Maktoum stars as 1995 Prix de l'Arc de Triomphe winner Lammtarra and 1999 Breeders' Cup Turf (G1) winner and Emirates World Series champion Daylami (Ire). "No words can describe this performance tonight. He's the best that I have ridden.

"Even you guys could have won this one tonight," he added to reporters. "That's no bull."

Challenge for the future

There was no disgrace in losing for William Clifton Jr.'s and Rudlein Stable's Behrens, who entered the race off a facile victory in the Gulfstream Park Handicap (G1) on February 26. Trainer H. James Bond had said the six-year-old Pleasant Colony horse, who finished fifth in the 1998 World Cup won by Silver Charm, had shipped well and was in superb shape.

After the race, Bond praised Dubai Millennium but issued a challenge.

"I would love to have a rematch in the Breeders' Cup Classic," Bond said. "The sheikh has got himself a great horse, and I would love to meet him again at Churchill Downs. I am up for the challenge."

Although losing, Behrens celebrated the largest payday of his four-year career, earning $1.2-million for second and upping his lifetime earnings to $4,259,000.

Chavez said he and Behrens could not get close to Dubai Millennium, although they were clearly superior to the rest of the field, finishing 5 1/2 lengths in front of Juddmonte Farms' Public Purse, the Bobby Frankel-trained son of Private Account making his first start on dirt.

"He ran great," Chavez said of Behrens, "but the winner was much the best. I looked at him and I said, 'Not today; I'm not going to beat him,' but I was happy with the way my horse ran."

Public Purse, close up in the early going, was not helped by the race being his f