By Sam Turner -
The inaugural Fashion Friday fixture staged at Meydan Racecourse, featuring a card packed with Group race events, has been crowned a huge success. The meeting, which saw style and elegance go hand-in-hand with equine brilliance, was created specifically to assist both local and international trainers with the campaigning of their horses in the Middle East. Dubai’s iconic venue played host to three Group 1 events and five other Group races on a night where more than AED 10million in prize money was up for grabs.
In addition to the race prize money, three winners on the evening; Measured Time, Kabirkhan and Mendelssohn Bay are all now in line for a 10 per cent bonus if they can repeat Friday’s successes on Dubai World Cup night. Major General Dr Mohammed Essa Al Adhab, Member of the Board of Directors and Executive Director of the Dubai Horse Racing Club, confirmed that the great success achieved by Fashion Friday evening confirms the club, led by Sheikh Rashed bin Dalmook Al Maktoum, is on the right path and that the restructuring of the Dubai Racing Carnival has begun to bear fruit.
Dr Al Adhab said: “When we set out the vision for the Dubai Racing Carnival in its new form our idea, as an organising committee, was to overcome all obstacles facing the participants.
MAKING EVERYONE COMFORTABLE
“We wanted to set dates that would enable everyone to participate comfortably and prepare optimally, leading to the grand event, the evening of the Dubai World Cup, which is the destination for horse lovers from around the world.
“Today’s evening provided prize money exceeding ten million and included races granting a ticket for direct participation on the Dubai World Cup evening. “In addition, there were additional incentives for horses that achieve victory in the qualifying race and the target race on Dubai World Cup evening.
“Friday was one of three opportunities to take advantage of our new Dubai World Cup Bonus Scheme and we are delighted to introduce these incentives to support owners and participants who bring their best horses to Dubai to participate in the new Carnival. Dr Al Adhab added: “We are delighted to received plenty of positive feedback regarding the restructuring of the Carnival as we believe the positive reactions represent an important testimony from those horsemen and horsewomen who participate and work in the world of horse racing.” Patrick Aoun, Regional Director of Longines, who presented the Fashion Friday evening, said: “Our sponsorship is special because it is linked to this event, which witnesses fashion events in addition to the high-profile races in which we enjoyed the excitement and fierce competition. “We are pleased with the Dubai Racing Carnival in its new form as it features a group of the strongest horses coming from around the world to compete in Dubai.” Responsible for one of those horses, charged with competing with the best in the world, is UK trainer Richard Fahey who ran Spirit Dancer in the Group 1 Jebel Hatta (Presented by Longines).
A winner of the Bahrain International Trophy in the colours of legendary Manchester United manager Sir Alex Ferguson, Spirit Dancer was a highly creditable fourth in the 1800m feature and will return to Dubai for a possible tilt at the Longines Dubai Sheema Classic following an assignment in Saudi Arabia. “I was pleased enough with his (Spirit Dancer) run in the Jebel Hatta as I had backed off him a little after his trip to Bahrain,” said Fahey. “The plan is to take him to Saudi for the Neom Turf Cup before perhaps trying him over a mile-and-a-half on Dubai World Cup night. “He has come out of the race really well and we can look forward with him now.”
FAHEY BACK AFTER ABSENCE
Fahey has not campaigned horses in Dubai for five years but attributes the absence to a lack of fire power. “It has been in my mind to bring Spirit Dancer to the Middle East for a while now and we’re probably a year later than we planned as he suffered a little setback after a run a York a while back, so I had to shelve plans for a year. “For an Irishman training in England, it’s like looking in a sweet shop when you look at the Dubai programme book as there is some great races and great prize money on offer, but you just need the right horse. I firmly believe Spirit Dancer is the right type of horse. “The bar in Dubai is high and if you bring a horse here and he’s not competitive, you end up coming for the sunshine. “Fair play to the Middle East though as they have put their heads together and have made it simpler for us foreign travellers.” And what of Spirit Dancer’s famous owner, will we see Sir Alex in Dubai in the weeks which follow?
FERGIE KEEN ON DUBAI TRAVEL
Fahey added: “Sir Alex Ferguson was very disappointed not to be here as he was very keen to come, but I’m afraid he had a prior engagement. If the race had been a day later, he would have been here, but that’s just how things fell. He is very keen to travel and watch this horse as he had a great trip to Bahrain, and he would love a trip to Dubai.”
International rider Saffie Osborne is another to set her sights on achieving her only slice of racing history at the revamped Carnival. “It would be massive to become the first female rider to win out here at Meydan. I’ve been very lucky to ride here since I was an apprentice and I’m now going into my fourth year riding,” she said. “It’s been pretty frustrating not to have ridden a winner here yet as we’ve come very close, but it’s an honour to ride here, while being part of the action on Emirates Super Saturday and Dubai World Cup night is incredible.” The final word goes to Carnival veteran Jamie Osborne, father of Saffie, who has already enjoyed success at Meydan since the turn of the year with the much-loved Ouzo. “The hardest thing for us is to find horses good enough to run at the Carnival,” said Osborne.
“It is something that I enjoy very much, and my clients enjoy very much. It breaks up a long, horrible English winter and we have brought horses to Dubai for a lot of years. “Our team that we have this year are a little more advanced in years than some, but these are horses which have been bought specifically to run at the Carnival. They will need a bit of management because of their age, and we aren’t likely to improve them, but it will be good to maintain their form when they’re here. “We are very grateful to Dubai for structuring the programme in a way that there is a pathway for these horses to go from here to Saudi or to Qatar then back to compete here. That is a big plus for the restructuring of the programme.”
