Trebles suit Watson and Al Raihe just fine

Last week’s Dubai International Racing Carnival Double Header continued to show the world the high class racing we all enjoy. It was particularly good for two local yards and no one could have envied their success. Ali Rashid Al Raihe and his team were the stars of Thursday night and he thinks Green Beret is going to have a go in the Golden Shaheen. Now the four year old is pinging out of the stalls he looks a live contender.

On the same night as Green Beret was advertising his claims, in the United States, the globetrotting Kinsale King confirmed he is now on course for a return to Dubai to try and defend his Golden Shaheen Title. Trained by the enthusiastic Carl O’Callaghan for owner Patrick Sheeny, Kinsale King won a six-furlong allowance race by three-quarters of a length over Shudacudawudya easily with Mike Smith only really steering and never having to get serious with the horse. This allowance race was Kinsale King’s first start since a slightly disappointing seventh in the Breeders’ Cup Sprint at Churchill Downs last November. “I thought that was a nice prep,” O’Callaghan said on Thursday after the race and continue: “I’m so confident now. We’ve got him back in gear. Mike (Smith, Jockey) said he did it very easy. He opened up, and that was it.”

Perhaps Derbaas was the most impressive Al Raihe winner of the night and vindicated Richard Hills’s decision to stick with him rather than ride the Jebel Ali Mile winner in Snaafy. A cunning ride started to confirm that last week at Meydan whoever made the first move and stole an early march generally ended up victorious.

It is amazing what one winner can do for a yard, but the three that Doug Watson’s team enjoyed on Friday night will go a long way to what has been a season of nearlys and oh so closes. He has thirteen winners now this season, but has also recorded nineteen seconds and a remarkable thirty two third place horses. With horses so often in the frame this season it was clearly a relief for the genial American to be back in the big time.  Watson commented: "We knew the horses were in good form and tonight they have performed like they should have done. They have been in good form, just not winning so it's super to get some winners on the board."

Mike de Kock remains the top trainer at the Carnival with thirteen winners but the next four trainers are all locally based and that is brilliant for racing in Dubai. It is great that the home team horses prosper and they are more than holding their own.

The Meydan Masters Jockey competition provided some extra interest to the high class racing and all was to play for going in to the final leg. Calvin Borel, the US based multiple Kentucky Derby winning jockey, managed to maintain his lead to win this coveted title. Borel was thrilled with the victory: “It feels great to win this event against some of the best riders in the world. This is different to winning a big race, it's a lot more fun. Right from the banter in the jockey's room to the race itself, it's like you're having an adventure." He was so right and it was so exciting to see so many of the best jockeys in the world in the races.

After Golden Sword had won the last race on Friday night he had left trainer Mike de Kock with the possible luxury of having three runners in the Dubai World Cup. Golden Sword could join Bold Silvano and Musir to form a powerful team for the South African maestro. He said: “The Dubai World Cup is obviously a consideration and this horse has been a revelation this year. It is a very pleasing conclusion to the night,”

The de Kock team also tasted big success in the Balanchine with River Jetez who impressively saw off stablemate Reem and left the south African team with another quandary: ““We were very hopeful of a big run but another 1-2 is a great result. I am not sure where we will go with River Jetez as she has plenty of options.”

It is amazing the position horses hold in Dubai. Nowhere else in the world would a vehicle be afforded a police blue beacon but all the horseboxes have these fitted at standard in Dubai. This is definitely the country of the horse.

I met a really interesting artist and an author recently at Meydan and they were working on a new book out later this year called “The Majesty of the Horse”.  Author Tamsin Pickeral has written about ninety breeds of horses and ponies around the world and photographer Astrid Harrisson has been tasked with photographing them. Harrisson commented “being back in Dubai and photographing the beautiful Purebred Arabians and gorgeous Thoroughbreds is such a relief and a difference from some of our missions such as photographing the Mongolian ponies in sub zero temperatures.” I look forward to seeing the finished product later in the year. I am currently reading Rod Simpson’s autobiography “Rodders of Arabia” and it is a great read I can recommend to anyone who wants to see how a trainer goes about it in his own inimitable and often unorthodox style to produce top results.

I am delighted to see yet another new leader of the Dubai Racing Channel “Race to the Dubai World Cup” in Andrew Stewart, who’s wife is a syndicate member in the Emirates Entertainment Racing Club. The lead has changed more or less every week but with three meetings to go who is going to end up winning the prize?

See you at the races.