There will be some celebration if Heartbreak City wins for his Irish owners on Saturday.

Dubai World Cup night has seen its share of special celebrations over the years but things will reach a new level of bedlam on Saturday if Heartbreak City (FR) wins the Dubai Gold Cup sponsored by Al Tayer Motors.

New York-based Aidan Shiels has been the exuberant public face of Irish owners, the Here For The Craic Partnership, and his lost-in-the-moment mauling of a bewildered Australian TV reporter in the immediate aftermath of Heartbreak City’s narrow defeat in the Melbourne Cup quickly developed into a social media smash.

Trainer Tony Martin is fuelling optimism something similar could eventuate at Meydan on Saturday with a positive bulletin about his seven-year-old gelding, on paper one of the main chances in arguably the most competitive race of the meeting.

Heartbreak City has been in Dubai for around three weeks in preparation for his Gold Cup bid and his preparation has gone without a hitch.

“The lads are flying in for the race. It would be great to give them something more to celebrate,” said Martin. “I flew from Ireland to see him gallop in Dubai under Tadhg O’Shea a week ago last Sunday and I was happy with that work. Reports are that he is continuing to thrive in the sunshine so I am hopeful he will run well.”

The Dubai Gold Cup is ranked a Group 2 but undoubtedly has attracted a Group 1 line-up. Heartbreak City is joint-top-rated in the field on a mark of 118 along with Sheikhzayedroad (GB), the winner of the British Champions Long Distance Cup at Ascot in October.

Successful in this race a year ago, Vazirabad (FR) is among three horses rated 117 – Big Orange (GB) and Quest For More (IRE) are the others – and is one of two horses that Martin is most wary of.

“It is a good race but the two I would be most fear are Vazirabad because he won last year and I would say he would improve a lot for his first run back and also Kingfisher (IRE) because I have so much respect for

Aidan O’Brien.

Martin added: “If you take a line through the Melbourne Cup form he has finished a good bit in front of Big Orange and Beautiful Romance (GB) and he meets those horses again. Beautiful Romance beat Vazirabad during the carnival so there is not much between the group as a whole.”

Heartbreak City will be reunited with Hong Kong’s champion jockey Joao Moreira, who was on board for that head defeat at Flemington last November. In the past few weeks the gifted Brazilian has partnered a record eight winners on one day at Sha Tin and he is fresh from a five-timer including a win in the Hong Kong Derby at the weekend.

“It made sense to call on Joao Moreira again. The fact that he already has experience on the horse in a big race will help and you can’t say he’s not riding well. Overall we are hopeful of another big run from Heartbreak City,” the trainer concluded.

Photo: Dubai Racing Club