Why Dubai has become a favourite training ground for international horses
More international racehorse men are trying to make Dubai their mare’s winter stud. A top source said the number of applications to train in the emirate as part of the Dubai Racing Carnival jumped more than 60 per cent, over 2023.
"This year we had 190 entries for foreign-bound horses," Ali Al Ali, Dubai Racing Club CEO and board member, said. “This year we had 310. The numbers are up but so too are the horses who want to come here. About 40 per cent of the applications are ranked 110 and up. That’s not so shabby, given that last year’s winner Laurel River had 128. And you have really nice horses.’
The carnival which kicked off on November 8 will run till March, with the end right before the Dubai World Cup match on April 5. The international programme was revamped last year, merging the local and international seasons into one large season.
Dubai Racing Carnival
This, Ali explained, consists of. "This year we added two more feature race nights," he said. "There is Emirates Super Saturday, and then there’s the Festival Friday which is supported by Emaar, and then we have the Fashion Friday night in January which is supported by Longines".
On December 20, Festive Friday race, a first big feature of eight races including G2 Makoum Mile race that has a Dh1 million purse on offer. There will be Dh5 million in total prize money on offer at the race.
The new carnival layout, an "experiment", which Ali conceded was not for everyone, has gone down well, and the carnival has already sprung a winner this season — Heart of Honor who beat the British trainer Jamie Osborne earlier this month. Osborne is among a group of trainers who are housed in Dubai over the entire winter, along with Lucie Botti and Norwegian champion trainer Niels Petersen.
Attractions
Ali said that these horse breeders come to Dubai for training. ‘There are a lot of horses who travel the world, especially in the UK and Europe and Asia, November to April is just basically quiet time for them,’ he said. "And that’s where we come in and start to take those international horses. We have the exposure, we have a great racing reputation, big money, we have beautiful grandstands and we have premium infrastructure."
Hong Kong superstar Romantic Warrior — a three-time Hong Kong cup winner — is coming to Dubai next week to get ready for the Fashion Friday race on 24 January. It was more evidence, Ali told me, that Dubai really is an international city of horse racing.
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