And so, after the long winter wait and countless hours of speculation, the Dubai World Cup Carnival is finally underway. Yes, finally.

And has it been worth the wait and surfeit of anticipation?

Of course it has. Where else in the world will you get to see so many beautiful racehorses in action on two racing surfaces, dirt and turf, over an exhilarating 11-week period. With the exception of the annual two-day Breeders’ Cup meeting in North America, perhaps no venue can hold a candle to Meydan for the breathtaking show it puts on each year between January and March, weather wise two of the most pleasurable months in the UAE.

It’s not surprising that the Carnival shares this wonderful period of the year with top UAE sporting events such as the Abu Dhabi HSBC Golf Championships, the Standard Chartered Dubai Marathon, the Dubai Desert Classic Golf Championships and the Dubai Duty Free Tennis Championships.

And what a fantastic start it got off to on Thursday. There was so much enthusiasm and enjoyment in the air that it seemed easy to overlook what was a really chilly January night.

Even first time visitors, although they were only few and far between compared to the hoards of Meydan regulars, warmed to the event like a duck takes to water. Pick Six competition cards were being filled in voraciously at tables, on laps, against pillars and even on the floor — such was the passion on display.

I’m not sure how many of those hard at work had picked the pompously-named Bigg N Rich to win the opening race — the Al Maktoum Challenge for Purebred Arabians, but it did not really matter for at the end of the day, the sport was the winner.

Bahrain’s Fawzi Nass was the only international trainer to record a victory on the night, as six of the seven winners were horses who are schooled in Dubai, and it was heartwarming to see the reception that the winner, Hototo, received in the winner’s enclosure by his trainer and delighted connections from Bahrain.

Fawzi, whose calling card is his win with Krypton Factory in the 2013 Dubai Golden Shaheen, possess an effusive personality that adds a congenial touch, and much needed sporting spirit, to the Carnival.

He does not enjoy too many victories over here, nor attempts to, but just like when Asmar gave him his only Carnival success last season when winning the Listed Al Bastakiya, Fawzi seemed to be over the moon with his latest achievement since acquiring Hototo from Yorkshire man Kevin Ryan’s yard three seasons ago.

Similar moods prevailed when two long-serving UAE handlers, Doug Watson and Satish Seemar, visited the winner’s enclosure following wins by Faulkner and Surfer, two horses who hold so much promise for their respective stables during the course of the next ten weeks.

No Carnival winner’s enclosure seems complete without Godolphin’s Saeed Bin Surour and Charlie Appleby dropping in to welcome a victor. Bin Surour made two visits but it was on the second occasion, following True Story’s romp in the Singspiel Stakes, that there was a palpable sense of anticipation in the Godolphin camp.

Saeed is as tight-lipped as they come and hardly ever reveals future stable plans, but you did not need his endorsement to be told that True Story is going to be seen chasing the biggest prizes during the Carnival, including perhaps the biggest — the $10 million Dubai World Cup.

Till then more drama awaits, with the trials for the 1000 and 2000 Guineas at Meydan next Thursday. Be there.