Last Thursday the second Carnival meeting was held and as every race goes by the excitement of horses performances increases. The most exciting thing for Dubai Racing Fans is the strength of the local trainers. The true nature of the Dubai International Racing Carnival has been borne out by the fact that 42.5% of the runners being trained outside the UAE win 40% of the races. This close correlation is fascinating as the International horses are winning proportionately all the races they enter as they had no runners in the Purebred Arabian Al Maktoum Challenge Round 1. This shows the strength of racing in the UAE is in great health now with UAE trainers Saeed Bin Suroor, Mahmoud Al Zarooni and Ali Rashid Al Raihe all having more than one winner apiece at this year’s Carnival already.
Last week the biggest cheer of the night was for the locally trained Happy Dubai, ridden by Ahmad Ajtebi in the colours of Mr Ahmed Al Falasi, winning the Bab Al Shams Al Hadeerah Trophy. Local winners are popular and the crowd really celebrate. This winner came as no surprise to the locals as the horse was prepared by Ali Rashid Al Raihe. Al Raihe is an approachable warm man and really enjoys himself - when racing at Jebel Ali he can be regularly seen joining in with huge enthusiasm with the traditional Emirati dancers. However do not be fooled by this genial exterior as the reigning UAE Champion Trainer is a perfectionist and an innovative trainer. He leaves no stone unturned to ensure his horses are ready to perform with the best chance of winning. Before racing at the second Carnival meeting Al Raihe and his excellent assistant Gelarni Siddiqui could be seen educating two unraced three year olds in the paddock. By giving them a taste of things to come, he was making sure that their first run would not hold any surprises. These, as yet, unnamed horses will run later in the season and the paddock will hold no fears for them. The horses started a bit fresh and excited but soon settled and this is just an example of how professional Al Raihe and his team are in their constant pursuit of winners.
A few international trainers were disappointed to have their horses balloted out last week. Freddie Head was one and he said “races surely must be split at the Carnival to make sure all horses get a run”. However for those horses on the edge of a Carnival Rating I can highly recommend trainers consider running at the other UAE courses. Sharjah, Jebel Ali and Abu Dhabi all hold meetings during the Carnival season with excellent prizemoney, and a win there could help secure a run at the next Carnival Meeting. These courses all have good sound surfaces and top class competitive racing.
In the Bab Al Shams Cape Verdi (G2) we saw a fascinating race with the Frankie Dettori ridden Godolphin representative Aspectoflove seeing off a useful field. However the race was not to everyones liking and it left Deem’s trainer, Jerry Barton, frustrated by the slow early pace. “Our Mare really needs a strongly run race to be seen at her best” he reported. All is not lost and we will see her again running in the Ballanchine before a tilt at the Sheema Classic on Dubai World Cup night. It is likely that she will reoppose the game winner of this race there as the winning trainer Saeed Bin Suroor said of Aspectoflove "She's a much improved filly this year and she did it well under the circumstances. The plan is to bring her back for the Balanchine and take it from there."
I have marvelled at the skill of the Pick 7 players throughout the season. Finding it often hard enough to tick the right box for winners I am fascinated how the racing fans regularly register high numbers of winners or even perfect sheets in their pursuit of a bumper win. The knowledge of the UAE racegoer is indeed high. I have had a look at the first two meetings to see if there are any real trends emerging to help Pick 7 players moving forward. There are several trends emerging.
The first obvious points are to never ignore the Godolphin or Mike de Kock camps. Despite multiple runners they regularly win having won 10 of the 15 races so far (over 50%). However they have run multiple entries in many races and in four of the eight races these heavyweight teams have won they have had more than one runner and the horse in second or third string colours have won.
Only two horses have won from being in Gate 5 in the stalls or lower which dispels the myth of wide draws being in the graveyard. Over half of the winners at this years’ carnival have been drawn in stall 9 or wider. Only three horses have won on their last appearance and the average time since their last run is one hundred and fifty-five days so a long break is nothing to worry about when considering form.
While visiting the Middle East there is plenty to see and do. Ralph Beckett, for example, has gone to explore Muscat with his wife, and there is much to see and do in Dubai, but closer to home one place I can highly recommend a visit to is the Sheikh Mohammed Centre for Cultural Understanding. You can either enjoy an affordable Emirati Lunch or Breakfast at their headquarters in Bastakaya (Old Bur Dubai) or a tour around the Jumeirah Mosque giving you the opportunity to find out more about the history and traditions of the Country and ask any questions you may have. Visit www.cultures.ae for more information or call 04 3536666.
The “Carnival Race to the Dubai World Cup” Ten to Follow competition gets more and more competitive but the leader at present in none other than Al Adiyat’s Jason Ford, who also can be seen as a pundit on the Dubai Racing Channel. His list has set the early pace but if you feel that you can still beat him why not enter our competition. Its free and you can choose any horses you want and to enter please visit www.harrytregoning.com. Obviously when entering late you should take the view that all new entries start with a score of 0 so it is best to look for horses we have not yet seen or horses that look likely to improve on their last runs. I feel Bankable could be one to improve in his next run as he finished so strongly last time having encountered traffic problems.
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