Dubai: Meydan’s newly installed dirt track received ringing endorsements from leading riders and officials on Thursday, as it came through a testing night’s scrutiny on Thursday with flying colours.
The surface, which replaces the Tapeta synthetic track that hosted five seasons of racing, is made up of 88 per cent desert sand, reportedly sourced from the Hatta region, and 12 per cent silt and clay,
Zabeel Stables’ Richard Mullen and Satish Seemar combined to score a double while Musabah Al Muhairi found a useful ally in Silvestre De Sousa to also win a pair of races as all eyes were on the track that was being used for the first time.
De Sousa, who on his last visit to Meydan in March won the $10 million (Dh36.7 million) Dubai World Cup (G1) aboard African Story on the Tapeta, was full of praise for the new surface.
“It rides a bit deeper but I would say that after a couple of weeks it will settle,” said De Sousa who was the most successful jockey at Meydan last season with 13 wins.
“It just fresh and new, like a juvenile track, you’ve got to give it a little time to bed in. It’s riding well and we could not be happier.”
De Sousa scored an effortless four and a half length victory aboard Muhtaram in the Arabian Adventures Handicap over 1,600 metres sealing his opening night double with an even easier success aboard Shaishee in the concluding 1,400 metre Emirates Airline Handicap,
Another Dubai regular Royston Ffrench also sampled success on the new track and described it as a “consistent” surface.
“Obviously it’s a bit on the slow side, but the track is riding very consistently,” he said after partnering Street Act to win the 1,400 metre Emirates Holidays Handicap for his boss of 11 years, Ali Rashid Al Raihe.
“Its a great surface which will only get better with time.”
Martin Talty, the Dubai Racing Club’s International Manager, made some far-sighted comments while noting the surface will suit most of the horse population in America where they race predominaltly on dirt.
“It will certainly open up the market, particularly in North America,” he said. “I was at the Breeders’ Cup last weekend and there was a lot of interest in our track.
“Its going to back to the good old days of Nad Al Sheba when you were getting the top horses from America.
“The connections of Toast of New York, Bayern and California Chrome, who finished in that order in the Breeders’ Cup Classic, have all indicated that they are keen to race in Dubai. Fingers crossed, at the moment if the World Cup was tomorrow they’ll all be here and there are a few other who are looking at Dubai, not just the World Cup but other races like the [$5 million] Sheema Classic and the [$1 million] Godolphin Mile,” he added.
“Unfortunately in this day and age you can’t have a surface that suits everyone but if you want to get the top non-turf horses to race here then you’ve got to have a track that suits American horses.”
Talty also indicated that while the emphasis was on wooing the best American dirt population to Dubai, connections in other jurisdications, like Australia, also had their eye on Dubai.
“From an Australian point of view, the way the Australia dollar is on the market the Dubai Duty Free (G1) and Dubai Sheema Classic (G1) are worth Aus$7 million, which is more than the Melbourne Cup [Aus$6 million] and they’re just as attractive on a known surface,” he said.
“So in general, I think we are going to see a lot more horses finding their way to Dubai for the World Cup meeting and perhaps even the Carnival.”
Earlier this year, American trainer Dale Romans, who won the 2005 Dubai World Cup with Roses in May, describe Meydan’s switch to dirt as a “good decision”.
“I’m pretty much a traditionalist in racing. I don’t like change, and I think horses are born to race on grass or dirt. Not rubber,” he said. “So I think it’s great news for racing.”