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Dubai worldcup, Nad Al Sheba Racecourse, Dubai, UAE
March 27th 2010
As 11 of the
world’s leading thoroughbreds stepped onto Dubai’s refurbished Nad
Al-Sheba racecourse on 27 March 1996, one of racing’s most ambitious
dreams came true. The brainchild of HH Sheikh Mohammed bin Rashid Al
Maktoum, UAE Vice President, Prime Minister and Ruler of Dubai, the
Dubai World Cup is a fitting tribute to his love of horses and of
horseracing.
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For more than two decades, horse owners and breeders from the
Arab world have worked to establish the Arab presence in
international thoroughbred racing, not only by winning top
trophies in the United States, Great Britain, France and Japan,
among others, but also by bringing world-class racing and
breeding back to the Arabian Peninsula, the home of the
thoroughbred’s renowned ancestor, the Arabian.
Horse racing began in the Emirate in October 1981, when the
dusty Camel Track hosted the first thoroughbred. The race
meeting consisted of three races - a sprint, a mile and a mile
and a half. Just over a decade later in 1992, the now
world-famous racing stable Godolphin began, followed by the
inaugural Dubai World Cup meeting in 1996.
The initial Dubai World Cup racemeeting put the United Arab
Emirates on the map, as it has become the home of one of the
world’s top racing challenges, and has drawn the attention of
millions of enthusiasts around the globe.
The standard was set and history was made by the American
‘wonder horse’ Cigar, when he claimed the first Dubai World Cup.
Cigar appeared to be in trouble when from last came Soul of the
Matter who began to cut into Cigar’s lead. Like all true
champions, Cigar called upon extra reserves and defied his rival
in the final 200m. Described as a heroic battle, this encounter
indeed set the benchmark for all future renewals.
With the establishment of the annual invitation-only Dubai World
Cup, the United Arab Emirates became the home of one of the
world’s top racing challenges, and drew the attention of
millions of enthusiasts around the globe. Among the horses
entered in the inaugural race was a 13-time winner from
Australia, a seven-race winner from Great Britain, the ‘dirt
horse’ champion from Japan, and Cigar, North America’s ‘Horse of
the Year’ for 1995.
Reflective of the overwhelming generosity of the UAE and
embodying the warmth of traditional Arabian hospitality,
contenders for the purses are flown in from all corners of the
world, such as North and South America, South Africa, South East
Asia, Australasia and Europe, and horsemen enjoy generous travel
subsidies for their support of racing in the UAE.
To celebrate the 15th renewal of the Dubai World Cup and opening
of the iconic Meydan Grandstand and Racecourse an extension of
the programme was recently announced, and the Dubai World Cup
meeting will now stage eight races, with the addition of the
Group 3 Al Quoz Sprint, a 1200m turf race worth US$1 million.
The meeting, traditionally taking place at the end of March is
now worth a staggering US$26.25 million, is not just about the
world’s richest race, as the rest of the eight-race card is also
stacked with quality.
The Dubai World Cup, now worth US$10 million, is classified as a
‘Group 1 Flat Race’ previously run on dirt for four-year-old
thoroughbreds and above, and spans a distance of 2000m (one
mile, two furlongs). 2010 marks the first year this race will be
run on Tapeta.
Chief supporting races are the US$5 million Dubai Duty Free and
the US$5 million Dubai Sheema Classic - the two richest races
run on turf, anywhere in the world. The newest addition to the
card is the Group 3 Al Quoz Sprint, worth US$1 million, to be
run over 1200m on turf. Also on the card are the Dubai Golden
Shaheen and UAE Derby, both worth US$2 million, and the US$1
million Godolphin Mile, while the evening kicks off with the
Group 1 Dubai Kahayla Classic for Purebred Arabians.
Perhaps part of the Dubai World Cup’s success is not only due to
the state-of-the-art race track, but the burgeoning status of
Dubai as an international crossroads and global transport hub,
and of course a first-class tourist destination, evidenced by
more than 50,000 racegoers attending the Dubai World Cup meeting
each year.
HISTORY
The Dubai WorldCup is a
Thoroughbred horserace event held annually since 1996 at the Nad Al Sheba
Racecourse, 10 minutes away from the city centre of Dubai, United Arab
Emirates. The race was the creation of HH Sheikh Maktoum bin Rashid Al
Maktoum, Ruler of Dubai, who owns Darley Stud, one of the world's leading
Thoroughbred breeding and racing operations. It is the world's richest
horse race, with a purse of USD 6 million since 2004.
The race's first winner was the future United States Hall of Fame
Thoroughbred, Cigar, owned by Allen E. Paulson.
Due to its importance in racing, in 2006, the Dubai WorldCup was
broadcast live on TVG and HRTV and taped later for showing on ABC. It was
the first time ever that the race was shown on National TV in the United
States.
Dubai WorldCup winners
- 1996 - Cigar (United
States)
- 1997 - Singspiel
(Ireland)
- 1998 - Silver Charm
(United States)
- 1999 - Almutawakel
(United Kingdom)
- 2000 - Dubai
Millennium (United Kingdom)
- 2001 - Captain Steve
(United States)
- 2002 - Street Cry
(Ireland)
- 2003 - Moon Ballad
(Ireland)
- 2004 - Pleasantly
Perfect (United States)
- 2005 - Roses in May
(United States)
- 2006 -
Electrocutionist (United Arab Emirates)
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