TALENTED More Than Ready son Better Be The One (ex Common Interest) will add an Australian flavour to Saturday’s Dubai World Cup meeting with the expat set to line up in one of the World Cup co-features.

Better Be The One was a high class 2YO in the Lee Freedman camp winning the Listed VRC Festival Of Racing (1000m) by 4.5-lens for a group of high profile owners including Arrowfield Stud.

“We purchased Common Interest – as he was then known – as a stallion prospect” Arrofield chief John Messara explained.
“He was a very sharp two year old but he got very colty whilst he was at the Freedman’s Melbourne stable so the owners collectively decided that the best decision was to geld him.
“With the prospect of a stallion career gone we took the option of sending the horse to Michael (Freedman) in Singapore where in addition to the turf we also had the All-Weather.”

Common Interest had a name change while in Singapore and now races as Better Be The One.
His four starts since arriving in Singapore have yielded three wins (by a collective margin of 9.1-lens) and a third placing.
His latest start over 1200m on February 6th in the Kranji Stakes witnessed another easy 2.8 length victory and pushed the gelding’s lifetime career stats to 8 wins and two placings from 16 starts.

“The horse is proving himself as one of Singapore’s better sprinters,” says Messara.

“One of the syndicate members suggested we bring the horse to Dubai for the World Cup Meeting. The 1000m Sprint – the Al Quoz – looked suitable so we did some work on the ratings. Better Be The One came up competitive so we elected to go ahead.”

Having lost some weight on the trip, Better Be The One had race jockey Danny Beasley aboard for a canter up the straight track today, conditions he will experience on Saturday evening.

Better Be The One has drawn barrier four in his race, a draw that is “neither here nor there” according to trainer Michael Freedman.

“Just so long as there is enough pace on down on the inside where we have drawn that we can follow up and bring us into the race, that’s what we’ll be hoping for,” Freedman told ANZ Bloodstock.

“What I can gather talking to a few of the locals here there doesn’t seem to be much of a difference between the inside and the outside.

“It’s a nice enough draw that gives Danny a few options to decide where we want to be. It would be fair to say that over 1000m we would not want to be too far away.

“He’s won twice up the straight course already. I think it’s a help rather than a hindrance. Obviously this is a different ballgame with the size of the grandstand and all that, but the fact that he’s had two wins up the straight is a positive.”

Freedman said Better Be The One would head into Saturday night’s race a little below his winning weights in Singapore, but he’s happy with the condition of the horse.

“He lost a little bit (of weight) on the way over which I was expecting, but he’s had some fluids put into him since he got here,” said Freedman.

“The most important aspect for me is that he gets onto his feed and onto his water and he’s certainly been doing that over the last couple of days and we’ve still got another three or four days through to the race.

He’s settled in pretty well. He’s on his feed, he’s on his water and his body weight is improving a little bit each day.

“I’m happy with him.”