Dubai Diaries: World Cup Day

Dubai World Cup day is incredibly exciting, and this is probably the most nervous I’ve ever been to cover a horse race. It’s such an honor just to be here, and I wanted to represent America’s Best Racing proudly at the crossroads of the world of Thoroughbred racing.
It should come as no surprise, then, that I had some wacky dreams in my restless eve of World Cup day. I had persistent visions of waking up with broken cameras all night, and I got up three times throughout the evening to check on the status of both of my babies since I was fully convinced that the nightmares were actually prophecies. Thankfully, they were just the anxious imaginings of an overexcited mind, and I boarded the media shuttle bus to Meydan (Dubai’s race course) with two cameras in perfect working order.
After arriving at the track and going through security, I settled in my spot in one of the many media rooms, got my workspace in order and snagged a program and an agenda for the day. I was delighted to see that the program’s cover boy for the 20th running of the Dubai World Cup was Curlin, one of my favorite racehorses of the modern era and the winner of the 2008 edition of the world’s richest horse race.

As soon as I was settled, I grabbed a beautiful lunch of hummus, fresh tomatoes and lamb biryani; then it was time to wander the racetrack and take in the sights. I am so glad I did – Meydan is massive, and they put on an amazing show for Dubai World Cup day. I saw performers galore; my absolute favorites were the life-size horse marionettes, which interacted with fans as they arrived. 

This lady almost got her fascinator eaten:

And this little boy had an interaction of a lifetime. I love the wonder on his face in the second photo:

There were dancers, both modern and traditional:

A juggler who was a whiz with soccer balls:

A saxophonist who looked (and sounded) like he was the third sibling of the Blues Brothers:

Some very talented stilt-walkers:

And some living gold statues:

That guy did not seem to trust the statue people at all.
There was also a duo in fabulous costumes posing with a gold horse. It was stunning to behold, and people were invited to take photos with them:

You know I got in there.

The fashion scene was also just unreal, there were hats so elaborate and outfits so spectacular that I had to remind myself to take photos instead of just gawking. I mean, I never knew I needed a feather Mohawk before now, but I have no idea how I’ve made it so long in this lifetime without one now that I’ve seen it.

Love her.
There were gentlemen in kilts:

This guy in his fashion-forward brocade-blazer-and-shorts combo:

These dapper fellows:

And this guy who was truly rocking a porkpie hat – not an easy feat.

Aside from my Mohawked obsession, I saw several fabulous ladies as well. From the (ahem) eye-catching:

To timeless chic racing attire:

To this amazing woman, who combines retro, classic and punk styles in a way I can only dream of:

Here is her hat and hair from behind:

So cool!
Another favorite hat of mine was this lady’s: it’s a replica of the Burj Khalifa (the world’s tallest building, located in the financial area of Dubai) and her version had a horse head coming out of the skyscraper – pretty much a perfect chapeau for World Cup Day!

Before I knew it, it was time for me to hurry to the main track since the races were about to begin. The first race of the day was a $1 million contest for Arabian horses aged five and over. I’m not too knowledgeable about the breed, but the animals were each beautiful and I enjoyed watching Manark win easily.

His owners had quite the hardware waiting for them at the presentation area!

Up next was the Godolphin Mile, and I was treated to a thrill of a horse race when Tamarkuz gutted out Sloane Avenue in a tremendous stretch battle.

Here’s Tamarkuz’s trainer Musaba Al Muhairi accepting his trophy with his son. Al Muhairi seems tickled, but I think his little boy was a little intimidated by the phalanx of photographers taking photos.

I don’t blame him, there were certainly a lot of us (but we’re a friendly bunch!)

It was soon time to swiftly move on to the Dubai Gold Cup, which is a really long race at about two miles on the turf. Meydan has a spectacular grass course, so it was a stunning sight as the Thoroughbreds rounded the turn for home with palm trees blowing gently in the background.

After two miles, it was the gorgeous Brown Panther (who’s owned by retired British soccer star Michael Owen) who won with daylight between him and his competitors.

Owen was there in person, and brought his family with him to accept his gorgeous gold trophy.

Seriously, that thing is huge. I can’t even imagine how you’d get it home. I would like to one day find out. (Please, Racing Gods? Pleeeeeease?) 

Up next was one of the most interesting races of the afternoon in my opinion: the UAE Derby. This race is a prep race for the Kentucky Derby, and the winner is assured a spot in the Run for the Roses since there are 100 points toward that race on the line. A friend of mine (Pat Cummings, who tweets as @DubaiRaceNight and is an expert on the racing here) had told me for ages that Mubtaahij was a monster, and I was so excited to see the storied horse in person.
I was not disappointed. Mubtaahij ran the lights out, and he also gave me my favorite photo of the day, when jockey Christophe Soumillon turned all the way around in his saddle mid-stretch to check just where the other horses in the race had gone:

Soumillon may be my new favorite jockey, because he really likes winning and celebrated like a boss.

It was a tremendous performance, and if he comes to Louisville on the first Saturday in May I’m going to keep my eye on him.
I was then treated to a very happy moment when I heard my name called and turned around to find the fabulous Zoe Cadman sitting on a beautiful steed! She was doing the post-race interviews from horseback, and she did them flawlessly.

It’s always a good time running into friends when you’re halfway around the world from home!
The next race was the Al Quoz Sprint, which is a very neat event since it’s a 5/8ths of a mile turf test that is run without any turns. I’ve never shot anything like that, so I was kindly warned by one of my fellow photographers that the winning horse could actually come from right next to the outside rail where we were standing. Well, that’s exactly what happened when Sole Power stole the show, and I was delighted for the hard-knocking horse. 

So was his jockey Richard Hughes, who gave the gelding an ear rub right after the finish line:

Then it was time for the Dubai Golden Shaheen, which had a strong American presence. I was rooting for Secret Circle, since I think his jockey Victor Espinoza is awesome.

So I was delighted when the team eked out a victory over a hard-trying Super Jockey in an exciting stretch battle. You can see Victor’s head turned to make sure he got to the wire first in the photo below. 

And win they did! Here’s Espinoza accepting his beautiful trophy after the race. Dare I say it, to the Victor went the spoils. (Sorry. Horrible pun.)

Up next was the Dubai Turf, which was a tough race with some seriously talented horses in it. I liked Euro Charline and Trade Storm going in, but to my disappointment it wasn’t a winning day for either of them. However, it was Solow’s time to shine, and he finished at the wire just how he was named: all alone. It was a truly impressive performance, and jockey Maxime Guyon put on a show just as impressive as his horse’s when he celebrated at the wire. 

The next race was one I was really excited for: the Dubai Sheema Classic. Main Sequence, who won Eclipse Awards honors as Champion Turf Horse and Champion Older Male for his 2014 season, was running, and I’m a huge fan of his. When he was heading onto the track, his jockey Rajiv Maragh looked calm and focused, but to me Main Sequence was a little worked up.

Unfortunately, I think I was right; because as soon as the starting gate opened for the race, Main Sequence reared up in the air instead of leaping forward, and the was pretty hard to overcome.

But it was the filly (a young female horse) from France who stole the show: Dolniya left her competition in the dust to take the $6 million Dubai Sheema Classic in great style. 

Finally, it was time for the main event: the Dubai World Cup. It’s the richest horse race on Earth, and fittingly there was a standing room only crowd gathered to see which of the international cast of Thoroughbreds would win. 

I, of course, was fully on Team America. California Chrome and Lea, our representatives. looked just amazing as they made their way to the track.

Anticipation mounted as the horses circled behind the starting gate, and the moment the gates sprung open and the horses surged onto the track the crowd behind me let out a roar.

The noise grew even louder as the horses swept past us for the first time, and when they swung into the homestretch the cries from the Grandstand gave me goosebumps. 

I thought for a moment that California Chrome was going to get to the finish line first, but Prince Bishop was the better horse on Saturday night.

As the hometown horse (his owner is His Highness Sheikh Hamdan Bin Mohammed al Maktoum, the Crown Prince of Dubai) he received a hero’s welcome back to the winner’s circle. Sheikh Mohammed (Ruler of Dubai) was there to help celebrate, and when he arrived at the trophy presentation podium he had this adorable (and extremely well-dressed) little guy with him. His Highness Sheikh Mohammed held the little fellow aloft so photographers could get their picture, which was a wonderful moment.

Sheikh Mohammed then gave his people a wave, which was met with thunderous applause.

Winning jockey William Buick was clearly loving the moment, holding up his trophy (which is a riding crop made of solid gold. I want one really, really badly.)

No, seriously: Buick was having a blast. It was so much fun to see him just soaking up the moment.

When the race was over and the trophies had all found new and loving homes, it was time for the entertainment portion of the evening to begin. There was a local singer (sadly I didn’t get his name) who was hugely popular and had back-up dancers who flipped their hair in sync throughout his entire song. This was both beautiful to watch and likely required the neck strength of a professional linebacker to accomplish. Needless to say, it was very impressive!

The singer even stopped to pose for selfies with fans after he was finished with his number.

Then came the most spectacular fireworks display I have ever seen. In fact, it set a world record, so it was the most spectacular fireworks display anyone has ever seen! There was everything from rockets to the Dubai flag to a replica of the logo for the 20th anniversary of the World Cup. It was breathtaking, a little over-the-top and perfectly unforgettable. Which, to me, is a bit like my time in Dubai.

Thank you so much for joining me throughout my Dubai adventure. It’s been absolutely amazing, and if you have any questions about the track or the races be sure to hit me up in the comments.