Dubai: Leading Purebred Arabian trainer Gillian Duffield paid tribute to the untiring efforts of her backroom team after saddling three winners, including Al Hibaab in the feature race, at the 33rd Dubai International Race Day at Newbury, England, on Sunday.
A long-serving trainer to Shaikh Hamdan Bin Rashid Al Maktoum, Deputy Ruler of Dubai and Minister of Finance, who is the driving force behind the promotion of Arabian racing around the world, Duffield described her stable staff at Newmarket’s Eve Lodge as ‘superb’.
“It’s a team effort and I’m sure every trainer who wins races will say the same about their staff,” she told Gulf News. “Each and every one of them has played a significant part in our success and I’m absolutely delighted to win the Shadwell Dubai International Stakes again for Shaikh Hamdan.
“This is why he is the sport, this is why we all are in it. It’s a real honour.”
Ted Durcan, the six-time UAE champion jockey, teamed up with Duffield to boot home all three of her winners on a beautiful afternoon at the picturesque Berkshire racecourse.
Durcan won the 1,400m Emirates Equestrian Federation International Stakes with Salaama, followed it up by winning the 50,000 Shadwell Stud Dubai International Stakes (Group 1 PA) with Al Hibaab and then sealed the hat-trick when delivering a canny ride aboard Azizi in the 2,400m Rotana Hotels and Resorts Premier Handicap Stakes.
Former UAE-based Arabian handler Julian Smart, who now trains out of Qatar, scored a Group 1 double with Taraf in the Emirates NBD International and Djainka Des Forges in the Shadwell Arabian Stallions Hatta International Stakes.
However, there was no denying the brilliance of the Duffield-Durcan pairing at a fiercely competitive race meeting that featured three Group 1 contests, a Group 2 and four other strong supporting races.
Newmarket-based Durcan was at his peak of his powers in a race that was always going to be decided by tactical superiority, from both rider and horse, in a bid to outsmart their three rivals.
“Al Hibaab isn’t the easiest horse to train as he’s got some muscle problems, but the ability was always there,” she said. “I thought he would run well and would have been happy just to have got second or third, but to win, is something else. It’s such a wonderful feeling.”
Duffield was completing a 12th success in the race and only the first since No Risk Al Maury triumphed in the colours of Shaikh Hamdan in 2008.
“I think this win is extra special because Al Hibaab is on the second Shadwell homebred to win this race after Juyish in 2002. It is so very well deserved for the people at Shadwell because they put so much into breeding the best racehorses,” she said.
“Shadwell are having a great thoroughbred season with Taghrooda and Mukhadram, and I’m just so glad that the Arab horses are coming back and showing that they can do it as well.
“We’ve had a couple of quiet years but this is fantastic to win again.”
Duffield is perhaps best remembered for her success with top Arabian horses such as UAE Triple Crown and the UAE Arabian Derby winner Eau Royal, the President Cup hero Monsieur Al Maury, winner of the Emirates Championship with Juyish.
She also saddled the great Bengali D’Albret to win 16 of his 24 starts and Kaolino became her first victory in the Dubai Kahayla Classic in 2004. Other notable success came with Madjani, who won three Kahayla Classics (2005, 2006, 2007).
No Risk Al Maury was her first winner at Meydan Racecourse in 2010 when successful in the Al Maktoum Challenge Round 1.
