Many would say there is nowhere in the world quite like Dubai for glamour and glitz. Just coming in to land here gets the adrenalin flowing as the planes fly low over the millions of twinkling lights on all the beautiful and unique buildings that make up the city. It makes for the most perfect setting for one of the worlds biggest race meetings, Dubai World Cup Night.
In the days leading up to that most memorable of occasions jockeys from countries around the world will jet in to take part in this prestiges event.
The fashion or dress sense of jockeys can at times leave a little to be desired but here in Dubai, most especially at Meydan we have nothing to complain about. Its all about high end style. Being of fairly small and slim stature they can’t generally find clothes that fit properly in high street stores, therefore a lot of the jocks wait until their winter sojourns in Dubai to restock their wardrobe with bespoke attire for the following year. There are many top quality tailors here that stock a huge selection of beautiful materials which the boys love to have their suits made from. Smart suits are an absolute must for these guys who are riding at the big race meetings across the world. Appearances always count for a lot and they do not let us down.
My son James Doyle has always dressed well with his style evolving as he has grown older. He says “ an old trainer I worked for once told me to always look well turned out - polished shoes and ironed shirts make all the difference.” Sound advice indeed though I do believe that the “old “trainer” was in fact me, his Mother ! Nice to know he listened to my advice.
James also notes that “most of my clothes tend to be blue, especially my suits. Because I have a slim build, I wear skinny or slim styles or get pieces tailor made.”
I have personally watched my son James and his close jockey colleagues, many of whom used to spend a lot of time in our family home when they were first starting out on their career paths, develop their own personal sense of style as they grew in stature both physically and professionally. William Buick is one who always stood out as a snappy dresser. Aged just 18 he announced “ I love Prada”, even though at that time he could not afford to buy it.!
As should be expected, the earning capacity of the individual by and large controls where each jockey shops for their clothes. Those not so high up the ladder will find suitably sized items in the high street chain Top Man and if in Ireland possibly Dunnes Stores. Next is popular at this level too. As they progress up the ladder of success they might advance to Ted Baker, another purveyor of smaller sizes in smart up to date styles. Generally the next rung of the proverbial ladder would be to having clothes tailor made in Dubai. Amazingly there are actually some very reasonably priced tailors to be found here in the UAE and word of mouth will steer our Jockey ‘s in their direction. I have seen some exceptional suits and long coats of exquisite materials being worn back home that I know have come from Dubai. The stand out detail is that the jackets are lined in wonderful colours and designs often with pocket hankies to match.
Going on up that ladder a bit more and the Jockeys shop at a range of world famous stores, the likes of Reiss, Massimo Dutti, Hermes, Prada and Armani plus other mainly Italian designers whose style and fit is small enough for their their slightly built frames.
Shirts are also on the list of garments that they have custom made for them here. It does surprise me just how many different designs a man’s shirt can be made in.
Ties are to jockeys like shoes are to women with most owning dozens of them and one or two matching tie to sock colour for special days. Salvatore Ferragamo is a firm favourite for ties.
Shoes are of as greater interest to some jockeys as they are to us ladies. A shoemaker in India, Shyam has been making unbelievable shoes in an array of materials, colours and designs to rival Jimmy Choo, for many years and I have seen suitcases arrive back from India with nothing but shoes in them, with a lot of jockeys racing and riding out boots too. Shyam has supplied our most famous riders for most of their careers. Prada loafers are an absolute “must have”, and in every possible colour and seude as well as leather.
Riding out aka “work clothing” is very personal to a lot of riders too. While some just wear whatever is falling out of the cupboard others give great consideration to their garments. Under armour - in conjunction with Godolphin - have designed a super range of tops and jackets in materials that are at the same time , cool, warm and waterproof. The Godolphin retained jockeys have helped in the development of this range over the last couple of years, trialling all the clothes and giving valuable feedback until everyone was satisfied with the finished designs.
When you are watching the Jockeys arrive for the Dubai World Cup night remember to have a close look at what they are wearing, you will be impressed. William Buick and James Doyle probably lead the way in the style stakes closely followed by Andrea Atzeni and Oisin Murphy with Chris Hayes fast closing the gap on the leaders.
