Reflections on Dubai

Friday night, I was invited to dine with the Kinsale King family, whom I had only recently met. Dr. Sheehy and his family were kind enough to take me along with them on their pre-race celebration in the restaurant in the top of the Burj al Arab Hotel (the one that looks like a sailboat.) Security is so tight, you're not allowed past the guard post without a reservation number (no curious tourists allowed.) The hotel is as mad a thing as you have ever seen in your life.

Burj al Arab. jumeirah.com photo.

If you read my post about the Arabian nights party last week, you'll guess what happened at dinner...fireworks. I have a theory that every meal in Dubai has to contain hummus and fireworks, but it's not very often that you see the fireworks below you (though I did have dinner at Windows on the World on July 4th once, so it wasn't the first time I've seen them from above.)

Dr. Sheehy is an MD from County Cork, Ireland whose profession has enabled him to indulge in his love of horses, a passion of many Irishmen, but I'd wager none are more passionate about it than Dr. Sheehy's family.

The fact that they were kind enough to invite me out knowing that their horse was experiencing discomfort from allergic reactions spoke volumes about their sportsmanship and general goodwill. Carl O'Callaghan stayed behind to make sure Kinsale King was doing well.

A fantastic evening.

Kinsale King. Michael J Marten photo.

Saturday saw more hummus at the breakfast buffet at the Ritz Carlton (no fireworks this time) with Olly Tait. More hummus, and another buffet (there is a buffet at every meal in Dubai) with Bill Nader at the Royal Meridien. No fireworks, again.

Then I headed out to Meydan for my second year at the new racecourse.

A couple of things struck me on the trip out. You hear that construction has come to a halt in Dubai, and you expect to find the city abandoned. I did see a number of buildings on which construction appeared to have stopped, but an equal or greater number that are being worked on.

The hotel I stayed in is in the process of doubling in size, and there's another hotel being built next door on the beach. Yes, there are projects which have stopped, but there is plenty going on.

Just as I saw last year in the hotel, it was filled with a very international clientele, but more than I remember, an amazing amount of Russians. My hotel was a family hotel, a beach property with a great pool, and the number of Russian families was remarkable. I wondered if there were anyone left in Moscow this week.

Driving to the track, I remarked upon the fact that while the same number of people were attending, last year's really bad traffic had been totally alleviated this year, with far more roadways having been constructed.

Thankfully, I had worn comfortable shoes, because I decided to take in the whole experience of the racetrack. I walked from the international officials suite at the top of the stretch to the John Ferguson/Darley executive suite (thank you for the hospitality), which is situated right above the paddock on the sixth level and which provides an amazing view.

Meydan. Horsephotos photo.

Next, I walked the building from the performance stage to the top of the stretch through the apron hospitality/champagne bar. It was wall-to-wall people, sitting on couches, standing around cocktail tables, drinking champagne, beer and wine, having an amazing time out in the most pleasant weather on a beautiful night (with a little sandstorm thrown in for local flavor.)

The Falcon hospitality area was past the wire, toward the hotel. There, I ran into my old friend Harry Herbert, who has been enlisted to help with the hospitality, and his beautiful wife, Chica.

I ran into Princess Haya in the paddock. She was with her daughter, Shaikha al Jaleela Bint Mohammed bin Rashid al Maktoum, who was holding the Dubai flag and a handful of flowers and wearing a decorative yellow dress. All I could think of was how much I missed my little girl who was the same age, and how we are both introducing our daughters to racing (Juliette Weisbord will be at Keeneland Blue Grass weekend.)

I don't think there could be a greater facility anywhere that could accommodate 50 - 60,000 people in the style they do in that building--the food, the hospitality the service, the half-time show, and more.

And of course, there were fireworks at the half-time show, and more fireworks when the races ended.

It is a spectacle that is almost beyond description. I couldn't imagine any place could have been more successful in pulling it off. Tremendously great job.

I ended my day with a ride back to the hotel for a shower and a trip back to the Dubai airport for the famous international flight departures. It is amazing to be in an airport with wall-to-wall people shopping at 1 in the morning--flying anywhere in the world from this international hub.

Aidan O'Brien was on my plane back to Heathrow. I thought it was great that he brought some horses and was thrilled to see them run very well.

I hope there will be a lot more of that in the future. Having him and his owners show up in Dubai can only be good for racing.

-- Barry Weisbord

Ah, Dubai World Cup Day!

Ah, Dubai World Cup day! As the annual 13-hour-plus adventure unfolds at the TDN office, it brings back many memories of the inaugural event held on a Thursday at Nad al Sheba in 1996. I was just 18 months out of college at the time and working at Banker’s Trust, which was across the street from the World Trade Center. After telling my then-boss that I had a dentist appointment, I bolted from our building at 130 Liberty St. to the OTB over on John St. That establishment had a healthy crowd at 10 a.m. and, as happy as I was to see Cigar triumph over Soul of the Matter, I was even more thrilled that L’Carriere held on for third to complete my all-American trifecta.

There’s no Cigar entered in the races tonight, but there’s plenty of good stories. I do hope Buena Vista can win the World Cup for Japan and, in the process, become the richest racehorse of all time. And who doesn’t appreciate Gio Ponti?

Can the New Zealand-bred Beauty Flash bring home the Duty Free for Hong Kong? Is there any chance Kinsale King will double up in the Golden Shaheen? And will Rewilding follow in the hoofprints of his half-sister Dar Re Mi in the Sheema Classic? Stay tuned...

(update at 10:46 a.m.) What a race! There have been some thrilling stretch runs already, but the one in the UAE Derby was a beauty. Godolphin wound up taking another trophy in the race, this time with the first filly ever to triumph in Khawlah. Master of Hounds--my pick in last year's Breeders' Cup Juvenile Turf--put up a brave fight on the rail, but he couldn't fend off the filly.

(update 11:57 a.m) Third time's the charm! Presvis went through the gaps, and the 7-year-old got up to defeat the classy South African mare River Jetez. Presvis was second in the 2009 Duty Free, Presvis was up the track last year, but showed real determination to get the trophy here. Kudos to trainer Luca Cumani!

(update 1:30 p.m.) Well done by Rewilding to take the Sheema Classic, but now a sandstorm is affecting the video on the TVs. DRF.com is able to provide audio; hopefully this will get sorted out in the next 4 minutes...

(update 1:46 p.m.) Live coverage came back on just in time for the World Cup! After setting a glacial pace, Transcend did his best to hang on, only to find countrymate Victoire Pisa just a little bit too good for him. Bravo, Japan, for the one-two finish!

That's it from Dubai...and now, we can look forward to today's Kentucky Derby preps at Fair Grounds and Turfway ;-)

--Marie Kizenko

KONG HAS BEEN KING--AT TIMES--IN DUBAI

I have been a fan and devotee of Hong Kong racing for a little over a decade now, ever since I first traveled (circuitously, I might add) for the 2000 International Races meeting. After seeing the legendary Sunline and Fairy King Prawn come to settle the Hong Kong Mile, I was hooked. Since then, I have been able to apply my knowledge of Hong Kong racing and horses on the world stage, on occasion, and never more so than on World Cup night over the past few years.

The great Fairy King Prawn registered the first overseas victory by a Hong Kong-based horse when he took the Yasuda Kinen in Japan in 2000, and I had the honor of seeing Hong Kong’s favorite son take on Australasian legend Sunline in the Hong Kong Mile, the most exciting race I’ve ever witnessed personally and maybe the best ever staged in Hong Kong. Those two rivals would square off again four months later in the desert in the Duty Free S. Fairy King Prawn, ridden too quietly by Robbie Fradd that evening, finished ahead of the great Sunline, but both were trumped by the globetrotting Jim and Tonic in one of the most stirring finishes in the history of that race.

But, despite that smattering of world-class performances, many regard the brand of racing in Hong Kong as substandard and provincial. Vengeance of Rain came to Dubai in 2007 as a winner of the [locally] prestigious Hong Kong Derby and Hong Kong Cup in 2005. He was supposed to strut his stuff on the international stage in Dubai the following March, but was sidelined with a potentially career-threatening heart arrhythmia. He made it back to the races, and his third-place effort in defense of his Hong Kong Cup title in December 2006 suggested he’d lost little of his ability.

His desert debut awaited in the Sheema Classic against a field including reigning Epsom Derby hero Sir Percy, Breeders’ Cup Turf upsetter Red Rocks and Melbourne Cup runner-up Pop Rock. Vengeance was sent off at 10-1, with my money on his nose (finally a chance to bet him!), and he always traveled like a winner for Anthony Delpech, coming home 1 1/4 lengths ahead of the Mike de Kock-trained Oracle West. Hong Kong would be represented by the Sheema favorite in 2008 in the form of Viva Pataca. While I was thrilled to have a shot to invest in him (at a little more than 2-1), I was committed to the exacta with Sun Classique (15-2), an Australian-bred mare who miraculously got out of jail in her Sheema prep and figured to be right there in the big race. Well, Viva drew 12 and always had to cover ground, but came into the stretch with a chance to win.

Dynamic Blitz

That was short-lived, as Sun Classique ran right back to her Balanchine S. score and cleared off by about three. In 2010, the unheralded Joy and Fun upset the Al Quoz Sprint at odds of 18-1, while One World ran a place in the Golden Shaheen at 11-1. This time around, Dynamic Blitz owns an upset in the Al Shindagha Sprint--a pointer to the Shaheen--and Beauty Flash, the reigning Hong Kong Mile hero, is as tough as nails and should give a good account of himself in the Duty Free.

I’m not here to say that I’ll be emptying the pockets this weekend or that there’s a ‘banker’ in the bunch, but I’m certain the Hong Kong horses will hold their own.

--Alan Carasso

Arabian Nights

Last night, I boarded the bus at the Royal Meridien to go to Sheikh Mohammed's desert party, and drew the good straw. The front of the bus was filled with an international congregation of folks I didn't know, so, eyeing another group in the back, I headed to the back of the bus to take my seat in the kids' section. I was soon lucky enough to discover the kids' section was made up of this year's Flying Start graduating class.

Each year, I give a dinner to the Flying Starters during their first year in the course (which is quickly approaching on Bluegrass weekend), but this year, I got to double my yearly Flying Start pleasure, spending what could have been a fairly tedious hour-long ride out to the party arena engaged, instead, in a very spirited discussion with a group of very engaging, very talented young people who are hoping to make our Thoroughbred world their professional world. There were a lot of questions and discussion on just about any and every topic you could think about.

They invited me to continue the discussion, and sit at the kids' table during dinner.

(c) Horsephotos

(c) Horsephotos

For those of you who haven't been, the annual Dubai World Cup desert party has morphed from a celebration of the Arab bedouin culture, done in tents with guests sitting on pillows and indigenous rugs and eating favorite dishes--lamb, chicken, hummus and kabobs that are often referred to as Lebanese cuisine in America--and a display of Arabian horsemanship, Arabian dancing (men only) and music. It has now grown into a party held in an egg-shaped permanent ampitheater with 10 tiers encircling the performance area. Each tier has tables which, while low, no longer have you seated on the ground, but which are complete with pillows and permanent tables. It has the same feel as the rustic tradition, but everyone now has a good view and a great seat. Beer and wine are served, along with a buffet of the native cuisine, delivered at the top of the amphitheater in each section. The evening starts off with skydivers coming down in the night, landing precisely on the right spot in the performance area, and carrying flags of the countries represented in the weekend of racing.

(c) Horsephotos

The party is attended by Sheikh Mohammed and his entourage, who weave their way through the crowd. There is a display of amazing horsemanship and stunt riding, dancing horses, horses jumping through fire, horses with their bodies lit up like electronic light shows in the night.

And, of course, the performance has to end with fireworks--as everything seems to in Dubai. When the fireworks come out, everyone freezes to watch them, guests and workers alike. We think of them as an American Fourth of July tradition, but of course, they have a great following in many cultures, this one among them.

Gio Ponti - (c) Horsephotos

Other sights and sounds: I spent a few minutes with Christophe Clement where Lee and Ramona Bass and children were enjoying the festivities for the first time. Who is more enthuiastic about being a racehorse owner than Ramona Bass? Maybe her son. Having been an enthusiastic financial backer of Gio Ponti against Zenyatta and thinking I was a winner at the eighth pole, and then seeing him bravely cut back in distance only to run into Goldikova on one of the greatest afternoons a horse could have, I would love to see Gio Ponti run great. Maybe Saturday will be his day.

--Barry Weisbord

Thoughts on the Dubai World Cup

-- Bill Oppenheim

My maiden voyage in the blogosphere. Hello.

The Dubai World Cup is this Saturday, and the field for the $10-million G1 Dubai World Cup itself is interesting: three for Godolphin, three for Japan, two for Sheikh Mohammed’s cousin, Sheikh Mohammed bin Khalifa al Maktoum (trained by South African Mike de Kock), one more (Richard’s Kid) for Sheikh Mohammed’s son, Sheikh Rashid, plus Cape Blanco, Twice Over, Gitano Hernando, and Fly Over and Gio Ponti from the U.S.

Buena Vista - (c) Horsephotos

I think the Japanese horses have a big shot, particularly the four-year-old Victoire Pisa and the five-year-old mare Buena Vista, who were one-two by a nose in a Group 1 in Japan last month. Victoire Pisa is unbeaten at up to 10 furlongs, Buena Vista has never been out of the first three in 14 starts (including a second to Da Re Mi in the G1 Sheema Classic last year) and has earned $12-million (both are by sons of Sunday Silence).

Gio Ponti - (c) Horsephotos

But I actually fancy Gio Ponti to win. He was second to Zenyatta at Santa Anita in the Breeders’ Cup Classic in 2009, and second to Goldikova in the Breeders’ Cup Mile last year. He’s the forgotten horse. Last year, ridden by Brazilian jockey T.J.Pereira and trained by Pascal Bary, the Brazilian-bred Gloria de Campeao crawled on the lead and turned the world’s first $10-million race into a paceless farce; Gio Ponti was fourth, beaten by tactics and not beaten far. So that’s my three-horse Exacta and Trifecta box: Gio Ponti, Victoire Pisa, Buena Vista. Maybe throw in ultra-consistent Twice Over too.

Meydan Grandstand - (c) Horsephotos

Here’s my other great bet of the week … April 9, Aintree, on the Grand National undercard: Peddler’s Cross, who lost his unbeaten record when second to Hurricane Fly in the Champion Hurdle at Cheltenham, steps up to 2 ½ miles for the G1 Aintree Hurdle. It will be a double-tough spot, but no Hurricane Fly, so I think he’ll win.