Feature
Cup day features a nine-race card, including five Group One races, with total prize money for the day of $27.25m. Aside from the World Cup, the race day will feature two of the other most valuable contests in racing, namely the $5m Dubai Sheema Classic and the $5 million Dubai Duty Free. Te other meetings in the Carnival, which was established in 2004, have often served as a springboard for future entry into races on World Cup day. Te big race, which takes place on an all-
weather track over 2km, which equates to around 10 furlongs, has never been won by the same horse twice, highlighting the high-stakes competitiveness of the event. Te Godolphin team, the private stable of the Al Maktoum family – one of the most powerful ruling families in the UAE – has proven the most successful in the event, with five winners in all.
It was Godolphin Racing owner Sheikh
Mohammed bin Rashid Al Maktoum, Vice President and Prime Minister of the UAE and Ruler of Dubai, who created the World Cup in 1996. It wasn’t long after last year’s World Cup that 11 horses from the Godolphin stable tested positive for anabolic steroids and were banned from racing, in an incident described as “the biggest doping scandal in racing history”. Te controversy is unlikely to hinder the stable’s future success however, with Godolphin already enjoying a prosperous start to the Carnival. Godolphin won three of the seven races on the card on the opening evening of racing at the World Cup Carnival. Shuruq, ridden by Brazilian jockey Silvestre de Sousa, was the standout success in the Al Maktoum challenge, raising the prospects of more prominent success to follow. Mickael Barzalona, who rode 2012
Dubai World Cup winner Monterosso, was also successful on Ahtoug and Fulbright. No British-owned horse has ever been successful in the race, with Richard Hills the only British jockey to claim first place, riding Almutawakel, a 44-1 outsider, in 1999. Speaking to the media in the Middle East, two-time British champion jockey Richard Hughes highlighted the lucrative nature of racing in Dubai. Te Dublin man said: “Te racing at the Dubai World Cup Carnival is second to none and there’s no doubt that come March this is where you want to be. Riding a winner in the Carnival is like riding 100 winners in the UK, so I’ve decided to have a five-week stint here this season. I’d love to ride a winner on Dubai World Cup day.” A number of travel packages are available
for those wishing to attend the Dubai World Cup. Dubai has become firmly established with British travellers, both as a major hub for those travelling to Asia and Australasia, and as a significant destination in its own right. Emirates, which serves six UK airports in all, operates six daily flights from Manchester Airport.
For further information visit
www.dubaiworldcup.com
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