Dubai: The wait is over.
The 2018 Dubai World Cup Carnival, the most-anticipated flat-racing extravaganza to hit the UAE, is finally here.
Comprising 10 unparalleled race meetings worth a total prize fund of $10.8 million (Dh39.65 million) it offers an enduring storyline that will culminate in the ultimate horse race, the $30 million (Dh110 million) Dubai World Cup meeting on March 31.
First held in 2004, when it was called the Dubai International Racing Carnival, the Carnival’s principal objective is to help connections unearth genuine contenders for the big prizes on World Cup day.
And the first clues will be uncovered as early as Thursday, when Meydan Racecourse hosts a glittering seven-race card sponsored by Pillar Partner, Longines, and highlighted by the first rounds of the Al Maktoum Challenge for both Thoroughbreds and Purebred Arabians. Both races are run over 1,600 metres on dirt and have been known to offer the first of many pointers to the $10m Dubai World Cup and the $250,000 Dubai Kahayla Classic, the two major races for thoroughbreds and Arabians respectively, run on Dubai World Cup day.
- Saeed Bin Surour » on Thunder Snow who runs in the Al Maktoum Challenge
Saeed Bin Surour, Godolphin’s most prolific and longest-serving handler, has won the Dubai World Cup seven times in the past and is dually represented in the Group 2 Al Maktoum Challenge by Thunder Snow, his principal hope to win an eighth trophy this year, and former Meydan scorer Confrontation.
A winner of the $2m Group 2 UAE Derby in 2017, regally bred Thunder Snow contested all the major Classic generation races in Europe where he was a notable runner-up in the Irish 2,000 Guineas (G1) and third in the St. James’s Palace Stakes (G1) at Royal Ascot. He also won the Prix Jean Prat (G1) at Chantilly before taking third place in the Jacq le Marois (G1) at Deauville, two key three-year-old races in France.
“This race has always been the plan,” said Bin Surour ahead of the Al Maktoum Challenge. “We gave him a break after his last run in the QE II Stakes in October, which was run on far from favourable ground (soft).
“We know he likes the surface at Meydan so the return to dirt will not be a problem. He has the action of a genuine dirt horse and we hope he runs well and tell us where we would like to go after this.
“It’s still just the start of the year, but Thunder Snow has class and we would like to believe that he is a much better horse this year and can win some nice races for us as we go along.”
Thunder Snow, the mount of multiple French champion Christophe Soumillon, is as low as 6/1 with British bookmakers, Coral, to win the 2018 Dubai World Cup, a market that is headed by the Bon Baffert-trained West Coast, an impressive winner of last season’s Travers Stakes (G1) and Pennsylvania Derby (G1).
Thunder Snow and Confrontation face six rivals in the Al Maktoum Challenge with 2017 Al Maktoum Challenge Round 3 victor Long River and Meydan Group 3 winners North America and Heavy Metal in the mix.
- Salem Bin Ghadayer » commenting on his Al Maktoum Challenge contenders
In-form trainer Salem Bin Ghadayer trains both Heavy Metal and Long River while Satish Seemar is responsible for North America.
Royston Ffrench takes the ride on Long River with Godolphin’s French rider Mickael Barzalona opting to ride Heavy Metal.
Bin Ghadayer said: “Both are in great form and proven under these conditions. Heavy Metal has had the benefit of a run, which he won, this season and Long River is fresh and well after a nice break.”
Seemar sampled success in the Al Maktoum Challenge in 2015 with Surfer in 2015, and trained North America to score four consecutive victories during last year’s Carnival.
Assistant trainer Bhupat Seemar said: “We have the widest draw, which is not ideal, but we are hoping he can build on what he achieved last year and he is training well.”
