Dubai

In this series, we will have a look at first-time starters entered for age-restricted maiden races on the week's main live program at Meydan Racecourse, focusing specifically on pedigree and/or performance in sales ring, both domestic and abroad. With the exception of Thursday, Dec. 1, Super Saturday, Mar. 4, and Dubai World Cup night Mar. 25, the main meeting at Meydan takes place on Fridays. Six meetings are to be staged at the UAE's flagship racecourse prior to the start of the Dubai World Cup Carnival Friday, Jan. 6, 2023....

Meydan's Nov. 25 card will be presented by Longines. Featuring the G2 Madjani S. Presented by Longines for Purebred Arabians, the remaining six races are for Thoroughbreds, anchored by a 1200-metre handicap worth AED105,000. The first post is 6 p.m. local time. Matthieu Baumgartner, Longines Vice-President Marketing said, "Longines is proud to be the Title Partner, Presenting Partner and Official Timekeeper of Meydan Racecourse. This partnership reinforces Longines' long-lasting dedication and commitment to the equestrian world, which dates back almost one century and half."

The 2023 Dubai Breeze-Up Sale in association with Goffs, organised by the Dubai Racing Club in cooperation with Goffs, will return to the sales calendar in 2023. Slated for Meydan Racecourse in the week leading up to Dubai World Cup night, just like the 2022 inaugural edition, the sale will be confined to a maximum of 69 juveniles carefully selected by the Goffs inspection team. Travel subsidies will be available to vendors and all entries will again undergo a full veterinary examination prior to departure to ensure full transparency and...

The 2022/2023 racing programme for Meydan Racecourse, as well as the enhanced $7.5-million Dubai World Cup Carnival programme, was revealed by the Dubai Racing Club (DRC) on Friday. The UAE's signature racecourse will kickstart its season on Nov. 4, the first of 21 meetings planned for the upcoming season. Next year marks the 20th edition of the DWCC, which starts on Jan. 6. Some tweaks to the programme include the addition of two new races: the $150,000 Thunder Snow Challenge over 2000 metres on dirt and the $150,000 Ipi Tombe...

Before the G1 Dubai World Cup, Country Grammer (Tonalist) was already a Grade l winner in North America, but that race that he won on May 31, 2021, the Gl Hollywood Gold Cup S. at Santa Anita, was worth only $180,000 to the winner. Since then, Country Grammer has made only two starts, both abroad and both fruitful: he was second in the G1 Saudi Cup, a $20-million race in Riyadh on Feb. 26, earning $3.5 million; and he won the $12-million Dubai World Cup Saturday, collecting almost $7 million,...

Of the eight races for Thoroughbreds on the $30.5-million Dubai World Cup night, five of them went to horses owned, bred, and trained in Japan. Granted, $5-million G1 Dubai Turf winner Panthalassa (Jpn) (Lord Kanaloa {Jpn}) had to share his victory with His Highness Sheikh Zayed bin Mohammed Racing's now-dual Turf hero Lord North (Ire) (Dubawi {Ire}), but that is cold comfort to other countries, who struggled to get near the winner's circle. The night started out in much the same fashion as the Saudi Cup card in Saudi Arabia...

DUBAI, UNITED ARAB EMIRATES -- In a Thursday morning presser at Meydan Racecourse, Hall of Fame trainer Todd Pletcher suggested that a good deal of the allure of running in a race like the G1 Dubai World Cup is that it brings together a smorgasbord of horses from a variety of jurisdictions with patriotic pride at play. "I think part of it is the international competition aspect of it," he offered. "I said this when Coal Front (Stay Thirsty) won the [G2 Godolphin] Mile [in 2019], it almost takes on...

WinStar Farm and China Horse Club's Life Is Good (Into Mischief), who won the GI Breeders' Cup Dirt Mile and GI Pegasus World Cup Invitational S. in dominating fashion, has drawn gate one in the $12-million G1 Dubai World Cup. The 4-year-old colt is six for seven, with five of his wins at the graded level. Elliott Walden, president and racing manager of co-owner WinStar Farm said, "It's an 11-horse field. He has enough time to get over, and has enough speed to put himself in a good position. It's...

Stakes winner Acklam Express (Ire) (Mehmas {Ire}), who is trained by Nigel Tinkler for MPS Racing and M B Spence, did not make the final field for the G1 Al Quoz Sprint at Meydan on Mar. 26. He ran third in the 2021 edition, and was most recently seventh in the G3 Nad Al Sheba Turf Sprint on Super Saturday, Mar. 5. Tinkler is keeping the 4-year-old gelding's options open, and did not indicate a firm plan for Acklam Express's next start. "We're obviously disappointed, but on the other hand...

DUBAI, UNITED ARAB EMIRATES -- In the spring of 2018, Bucchero (Kantharos) took the Ironhorse Racing Stable on the ride of a lifetime. Having burst onto the scene with an upset victory in Keeneland's GII Woodford S. the previous fall, the popular Indiana-bred finished fourth, beaten just one length, in the GI Breeders' Cup Turf Sprint. Behind him that afternoon were the likes of Lady Aurelia (Scat Daddy) and Marsha (Ire), both world-class turf sprinters, and it got IHR managing partner Harlan Malter's wheel's spinning. If Bucchero could mix it...

The likely fields for the nine group races (one Arabian and eight Thoroughbred) of the $30.5-million Dubai World Cup night card on Mar. 26, were revealed on Thursday. A total of 32 Group/Grade 1 winners will take part in the Meydan showpiece. Todd Pletcher trainee Life Is Good (Into Mischief), a winner of the GI Breeders' Cup Dirt Mile and GI Pegasus World Cup Invitational S., anchors the $12-million G1 Dubai World Cup Sponsored by Emirates Airlines. Fellow Americans joining him in the field are Grade I winners Hot Rod...

The Mar. 26 Dubai World Cup night, which features $30.5 million in purses spread across nine races, is expected to attract a full house of fans for the 26th edition. Since the COVID-19 pandemic began, race meetings have been conducted with restrictions placed on the number of people allowed to attend, but for the first time since 2019, there are no restrictions at a Meydan race day. Meydan Racecourse can hold up to 80,000 spectators. Sheikh Rashid bin Dalmook Al Maktoum, the Chairman of Dubai Racing Club, said, "We are...