| 8th Dubai World Cup | |
| Horse Race: | Dubai World Cup |
| Location: | Nad Al Sheba |
| Date: | 29 March 2003 |
| Winning Horse: | Moon Ballad (IRE) |
| Winning Jockey: | Frankie Dettori |
| Winning Trainer: | Saeed bin Suroor (GB/UAE) |
| Winning Owner: | Godolphin |
| Previous: | 2002 |
| Next: | 2004 |
The 2003 Dubai World Cup was a horse race held at Nad Al Sheba Racecourse on Saturday 29 March 2003. It was the 8th running of the Dubai World Cup.
The winner was Godolphin's Moon Ballad, a four-year-old chestnut horse trained in Dubai by Saeed bin Suroor and ridden by Frankie Dettori. Moon Ballad's's victory was the second in the race for Dettori, the fourth for bin Suroor and the third for Godolphin.
Moon Ballad was originally trained in England by David Loder before being transferred to Saeed bin Suroor's stable in 2002. As a three-year-old he won the Dante Stakes and the Select Stakes as well as finishing third in the Epsom Derby and second in the Champion Stakes. He prepared for the World Cup by winning the second round of the Al Maktoum Challenge in February. In the 2003 Dubai World Cup he started the 11/4 second favourite and won by five lengths from the American challenger Harlan's Holiday with the 11/8 favourite Nayef a length away in third place.[1]
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| Pos. | Marg. | Horse (bred) | Age | Jockey | Trainer (Country) | Odds | |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | Moon Ballad (IRE) | 4 | Frankie Dettori | Saeed bin Suroor (GB/UAE) | 11/4 | ||
| 2 | 5 | Harlan's Holiday (USA) | 4 | John R. Velazquez | Todd Pletcher (USA) | 11/2 | |
| 3 | 1 | Nayef (USA) | 5 | Richard Hills | Marcus Tregoning (GB) | 11/8 fav | |
| 4 | shd | Grandera (IRE) | 5 | Jamie Spencer | Saeed bin Suroor (GB/UAE) | 5/1 | |
| 5 | 3 | State Shinto (USA) | 7 | Johnny Murtagh | John D. Sadler (UAE) | 100/1 | |
| 6 | nk | Grundlefoot (USA) | 6 | Sebastian Madrid | Kevin McAuliffe (USA) | 20/1 | |
| 7 | 6¾ | Blue Burner (USA) | 6 | Kent Desormeaux | Bill Mott (USA) | 66/1 | |
| 8 | 2¼ | Sei Mi (ARG) | 7 | J. A. Velez | Jerry Barton (KSA) | 50/1 | |
| 9 | 2¾ | Aquarelliste (FR) | 5 | Dominique Boeuf | Élie Lellouche (FR) | 15/2 | |
| 10 | 7¾ | Crimson Quest (IRE) | 6 | Alex Solis | Jerry Barton (KSA) | 100/1 | |
| 11 | ½ | Hans Anderson (USA) | 5 | Wigberto Ramos | A. Mishreff (KSA) | 66/1 |
Further details of the winner, Moon Ballad