Group One wins by last year’s Melbourne Cup winner Cross Counter (Dubai Gold Cup) and his Charlie Appleby-trained stablemates Blue Point (Al Quoz Sprint) and Old Persian (Sheema Classic) added to a superb night for Sheikh Mohammed’s global racing stable.

They shared the spotlight with Japanese superstar filly Almond Eye who validated her challenge to Winx as the world’s best on turf by remaining unbeaten with her victory in the G1 Dubai Turf.

The Saeed bin Suroor-trained Thunder Snow, by the Australian sire Helmet, became the first dual victor of the G1 Dubai World Cup and a winner at the Meydan feature meeting for the third straight year.

With Christophe Soumillon aboard Thunder Snow dug deep late to beat the gallant Gronkowski, also by an Australian sire Lonhro, in a photo finish for the fourth G1 win of his career that have been achieved in Dubai and France.

Saeed bin Suroor has now won the Dubai World Cup nine times in 23 runnings for Sheikh Mohammed.

Gronkowski was the first of the leading pack to commit turning for home, overtaking a tiring North America and looking for a few strides like a probable winner.

However Thunder Snow put in a big finish over the final 200m with the pair matching strides to the line with Gunnevera making up considerable ground for third ahead of Pavel, Audible, Yoshida and North America.

“He is a such a brave horse,” said bin Suroor.

“I wasn’t sure if he had won, but we had the best jockey in the world on board and he knows him so well. They are a great team.

“I think this is my 191st Group 1 winner but it ranks very highly, probably with Dubai Millennium in 2000 when he won this race.”

The win elevated Thunder Snow’s earnings in UK pounds to £12,275,245 and puts him within striking distance of Arrogate’s world record of £13,671,322, a figure that can also be overtaken by Winx (£13,219,716) if she wins the Queen Elizabeth Stakes at Randwick on April 13.

Suroor is keen to avenge Thunder’s Snow narrow loss in last year’s Breeders’ Cup Classic and indicated a return to the US later this year was on the cards.

“I would like it if he could run in America again. Maybe in New York at Saratoga with the final plan being the Breeders’ Cup Classic at Santa Anita,” he said.