Qatar set to make its mark in Dubai

Very Nice Name, who races in the colours of Umm Qarn, remained unbeaten during his stint in Qatar and also won the richly endowed HH The Emir Trophy.

By Chris Hoover/Dubai

Today, the Meydan racecourse in Dubai will be the setting for the most eagerly anticipated weekend of the year. For the first time ever, Qatari owned horses will be competing in four of the big races of the day during the world’s richest racing programme. A total prize money of US $ 27 million is at stake for the winners in the nine event card.

The battle to be crowned the world’s greatest can only be contested in the greatest of races, which is why the world’s elite Thoroughbreds will be on their marks for the start of the US $ 10 million Dubai World Cup with one goal in mind — to run the race of their life and finish ahead of the field over a mile-and-a-quarter trip.

The 18th edition of the World Cup has attracted a strong field of 13 runners. The prospect for Qatar looks very promising with HE Sheikh Joaan bin Hamad bin Khalifa al-Thani owned Planteur going into the race with a huge reputation and an opportunity to better his third finish in last year’s race.

The six-year-old son of Danehill Dancer, Planteur matched his career best performance when finishing third in last year’s Dubai World Cup, when he finished on strongly from the rear in a modestly run race. But his recent Lingfield Winter Derby triumph was gained in front-running style, since connections were keen to explore how he would perform if ridden more aggressively.

Asked whether Planteur could replicate those tactics in Dubai, trainer Marco Botti said. “That could happen, but we would be just as happy to sit behind the pace if it is decent and honest. Planteur is coming into the race in good shape and we hope he can run a bit faster this year.”

Apart from Planteur, Qatari owners have runners in the Dubai Sheema Classic and Duty Free, which carry a purse of US $ five million each.

Umm Qarn’s French Fifteen will be part of the line-up in the Dubai Duty Free. The France based chestnut colt has won six races in his short career and finished third thrice. Trained by Nicholas Clement, French Fifteen, who finished a close second to Camelot in the Newmarket 2000 Guineas last year, seems in good form.

HH Sheikh Abdullah bin Khalifa al-Thani owned Very Nice Name and HE Sheikh Fahad bin Abdullah bin Khalifa al-Thani’s Dunaden will be in the fray in the Dubai Sheema Classic.

Melbourne Cup and Jong Kong Vase winner Dunaden has already put his travelling behind him and looks better than he did in Hong Kong. He will go into the race as a serious contender.

The Alban de Mueille-trained four-year-old Very Nice Name was a revelation since migrating from France to Qatar in October. The colt, who races in the colours of Umm Qarn, remained unbeaten during his stint in Qatar and also won the richly endowed HH The Emir Trophy under Peslier.

“It is good to get an invitation to take part in the Dubai Sheema Classic. Very Nice Name has proved his caliber with his amazing performance in Qatar this season. We hope he will do well in Dubai as well,” trainer Mieulle told the Gulf Times.

“It is going to be a new challenge for Very Nice Name who is going to Dubai with a rating of 114. He will be taking on horses with a rating of over 120. It will be interesting to see this race as he is a young horse. There are quite a few Group I winners in this race. It will be a challenge and I think he is capable of matching strides with the best.”

“This has proved that the quality of racing has improved in Qatar and that is the reason that we have been invited to race there. It is important that we have top class racing in Qatar. If we get to compete against top class horses, the rating is sure to go up and we will be ready to compete with the best in the international races,” Mieulle explained.

“For this to happen, Qatar has to ensure that they increase the prize money for the International races and get more international participation which will eventually see us organising more Group races. We are doing well at the moment, but we can do much better. We are already looked upon as a country that breeds top class Pure Arabians, but it is time to improve our status as a major racing centre in the world,” Mieulle said.

Qatar Racing and Equestrian Club general manager Sami Jassim al-Boenain expressed delight with more participation of Qatari owned horses during the Dubai World Cup weekend.

“It is great to see Qatari owned horses taking part in four of the nine races today. I wish them the very best and we hope that we will do well here. We have won the Kahayla Classic two times earlier and I believe that we have the horses that can do it again. Planteur, Dunaden, Very Nice Name and French Fifteen are also capable of making their mark. This is going to be an exciting day of racing.”