Dubai: There was no pomp and ceremony, just business as usual as Dubai’s iconic Meydan Racecourse ushered in a new era in the UAE horse racing when it staged its first meeting of the 2014-15 season on the newly installed dirt track on Thursday evening.

Richard Mullen claimed the honour of riding the first winner on the surface, which was installed in record time, when delivering Cross Grain in the final furlong to land the Emirates Skycargo Handicap over 1,400m.

Former UAE champion trainer Satish Seemar, who prepared the winner at his Zabeel Stables, gave the track the thumbs up, saying: “This is only the beginning of the season but I’m really impressed with how the track is performing.

“I think the officials have done a wonderful job getting the track up and running in such a short span of time. Some jockeys might feel it’s a little slow, that’s understandable as it’s still new. But it’s a natural surface, which will take its time to come in, but I don’t think it will take too long.”

Seemar said he kept a close eye on how the horses reacted to the surface, which is a mix of desert sand, silt and clay, and said he ‘liked what he saw’.

“I’m a horseman so I like to listen to the sound of the horses running and also to watch their movements, which are an accurate indicator of how comfortable they are, and believe me they were. I really liked what I saw and I think we’re in for a good season,” he said.

The new 1,750-metre surface runs inside the 2,400-metre turf track and is a throw-back salute to conventional dirt tracks. It was designed by Joe King, who was responsible for installing the old synthetic and existing turf track when Meydan was built in 2010.

However, the Dubai Racing Club’s (DRC) decision to replace the synthetic track is seen as a strategic step to addressing issues concerning its inconsistencies. It also represents a positive move to improve track conditions and to make racing at Meydan more appealing to dirt course specialists, mostly from North America.

DRC Executive Director Frank Gabriel Jr., who looked a happy man after the first race yesterday, said he did not expect the new track to show speed during the first weeks of racing but was confident that it will progressively get quicker.