All is set for the Dubai World Cup and the climax of the UAE season. Meydan will host the most expensive race for a second time and the absolute quality of the racing matched by the terrific atmosphere is guaranteed to make this the best race meeting of the year. All through the Carnival every winner is hoping to get one of the prized invitations to the big night and now those entries have been unveiled we cannot wait to see all the questions answered.
It has been a privilege covering this season so far and the standard of racing is very high so there will be a strong local challenge on Saturday and this shows the wellbeing of racing in the UAE. Many local yards have big chances with the Godolphin Stables and the Ali Rashid Al Raihe teams at the fore. Every locally trained winner will be celebrated by the enthusiastic crowds even more than the international winners who have watched these horses progress through the season.
The last time I attended the Dubai World Cup meeting was in 2002 and that was the year Street Cry won the big race. It is a sign of the progress in UAE racing that this years World Cup night has upgraded most of the races in that time and moved to the biggest racecourse in the world. It is definitely a meeting that all trainers in the world want to run at. Trainers such as Henry Cecil, Aiden O’Brien and Mike de Kock having a presence this year showing the worldwide appeal. Meydan is the perfect home for the world’s biggest race and it will be great so many people will be able to witness the glorious spectacle of these top horses competing for the Championship races.
There are to be some great live performers by two world famous acts at the Dubai World Cup and they should add to the carnival atmosphere of the world’s richest horserace. Jessie J and DJ Seb Fontaine definitely will wow the crowds. On 7 January 2011 Jessie J came top of the BBC's Sound of 2011 list. She followed this in February by receiving Critics' Choice at the 2011 BRIT Awards. Fontaine originally worked at various clubs in London (Subteranea, Billion Dollar Babes), and he eventually became a resident DJ at one of the UK's largest club nights at Cream, and also went on to feature at its Ibiza nights. In 2000, he joined BBC Radio 1 as a specialist dance DJ, hosting a weekly show, as well as broadcasts from Radio 1 outside broadcasts in Ibiza, leaving in 2003. He has also released a number of records, predominantly mix albums. Not only will these two provide entertainment for existing racegoers but they will also bring in new faces to racing.If you are new to racing and enjoying your first night at the races do not hesitate to ask questions as the more you ask the more you learn and understand the better the racing is.
I had the pleasure of watching some jockeys playing football in Michael Dickinson’s football match. Jockeys are very fit and it was great to see them showing off skills in another field. Richard Mullen was the captain of one side who was defeated by a more international side including Jesus Rosales, Carlos Sanchez, Frankie Dettori and Man of the Match Carlos Sandoval. It is important for the jockeys to keep fit and fortunately there were no injuries but it showed that the jockeys are talented in all spheres. Michael Dickinson still shows a fierce turn of foot and was more than holding his own in this great occasion. Due to his height many of the flat jockeys nicknamed him Peter Crouch after the Tottenham Hotspur striker.
Last week I was in the UK attending the Cheltenham Festival which is the highlight of the jumping season. The Cheltenham Gold Cup was won by Long Run who was ridden by an amateur jockey in the form of owner Robert Waley-Cohen’s son Sam. Sam runs a dental company as his main job but he rides in races as his hobby. He won an epic renewal of the Blue Ribbon race on the Nicky Henderson trained six year old seeing off two previous winners in Denman and Kauto Star. Other highlights of the week included Big Bucks winning his third World Hurdle, Ruby Walsh winning his first Champion Hurdle on Hurricane Fly and Sizing Europe winning the Queen Mother Champion Chase. The Irish team had a great Festival winning a record number of races but the English trainers just managed to beat them by one race.
Last week I mentioned that Henry Cecil, Twice Over’s trainer, was to have his first runner at Cheltenham in the Charity Race. As tipped it won sure enough and now we look forward to Saturday to see if he can achieve a unique double.
While in the UK I also paid a quick trip to the National Horseracing Museum in Newmarket. This museum is a must for any horseracing fan as it has many beautiful artworks as well as important artefacts from racing’s past. Eclipse’s skeleton is fascinating as well as seeing the tiny saddle that Willie Carson used when winning the Epsom Derby on Sheikh Hamdan bin Rashid Al Maktoum’s Nayef. I enjoyed seeing a rare Stubbs sculpture as well as many other wonderful pieces of memorabilia. At the end of my tour I had a quick ride on the equicisor which not only proved how unfit I was but was an exhilarating way to get the feel of raceriding. The Museum is currently based in Newmarket High Street but they are currently raising funds to move the collection to Palace House Stables. For more information visit www.nhrm.co.uk – it is definitely worth a visit.
I hope you all enjoy a great night on Dubai World Cup night and look forward to seeing you at the races.
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