From Disaster to Euphoria                                      

Last month's Newbury Racecourse meets were flooded out and the popular Dubai International Arabian Race Day was one of weather's casualties.  Newbury's sprint went to Goodwood and organisers scrambled to find a suitable replacement date for the DIARD.

They took a risk on the August Bank Holiday Sunday which did not have the lead in of two prominent July race dates to the Arabian horse races on the weekend. 

Fortunately, sponsors and exhibitors remained loyal and accepted decreased corporate exposure of one day only instead of three.

Weather provided her best--temperate warmth and a sunny glow--for a day where one could enter a happy dream world of free goodie bags, prizes, carnival treats, picnics, exotic foods, Middle Eastern body painting, celebrities, beautiful horses, serious betting and championship Arab horse racing.  

Racegoers rewarded organisers with a record turnout of 16,503 for the free-entry event.  That was just short of Newbury's major race, the Hennessy, which pulled 18,000 last November.

Mark Kershaw, Managing Director of Newbury, said "We have staged this meeting since 1997 and this is our biggest-ever crowd....It's great to see so many young people and I hope they will return."

Racegoers called it "the best race day of the year" and urged that racecourses learn from Newbury's example.

Well-known television presenter at the event, Derek 'Tommo' Thompson, was floored by the numbers and said they might look at the Bank Holiday again for next year's date.

In the end, it was about beautiful Arabian horses and championship racing of the founding breed of thoroughbred horses. 

The Arabians are slightly smaller than thoroughbreds, mature a little later, are trained differently and are not quite as fast except for the best of them.  They are very intelligent and have stronger personalities than most thoroughbreds which makes training trickier.  Their charm, loyalty and endurance ability is unquestionable.

Thompson doesn't think most people see much of a difference between the Arabian and thoroughbred horses when it comes to racing.  They are just horses. 

The Newbury crowd are smart bettors and know their horses according to The Tote.

The racing industry is finally catching up with the public in recognising and accepting the Arabian racing breed which is being promoted by the Arabian Racing Organisation headquartered at Newbury.

Dubai TV devoted five broadcast hours in Dubai covering all seven races.  

Nothing could impress the international racing establishment more than the extraordinary calibre of race entries from all over the Middle East and Europe to compete for generous purses.

The first of seven races, the Emirates Horse Breeders Society Handicap Stakes, was won by Mr and Mrs D Spencer-Butler's eyecatching four-year-old Shuhood who beat Sheikh Mohammed's stunning grey CS Charma by 2-1/2 lengths in 7f.

The Al Hai Group Zabeel International Stakes (Group 1), 6f, was won by Himself, Dahess, for the third year in a row.  Qatar's hero is a handsome, muscular grey, a crowd favourite at 4.11 odds, owned by Sheikh Abdullah and beat his rivals by an easy four lengths.

Dahess was the first of three victories for French trainers.

Sadly, this eight-year-old champion will be sold later this year and most of us could never afford to buy him.

One of the most touching winners was the classy five-year-old mare, Quassila Thabet (Fr), in the NBD Hatta International Stakes (Group 1), lm2f, who saw off her rivals by 6 lengths. 

Leave it to a romantic Frenchman!  She is owned by the adoring C Attal who repeatedly nuzzled, kissed and bowed before his mare, oblivious to onlookers in the Winners Circle.  She can have no doubts she is loved.

The Silver Anniversary of  the Shadwell Dubai International Stakes (Group 1), 1m 2f, was the highlight of the day with DIARD's Patron, H H Sheikh Hamdan bin Rashid al Maktoum, celebrating a popular tenth victory in the race.

His smashing five-year-old homebred colt, No Risk Al Maury ( by Monsieur Al Maury standing at Shadwell Stud), was ridden by leading jockey, Richard Hills, to an easy l-1/4 length win as 4.5 favourite.

Sheikh Hamdan said No Risk had been a bit immature and slow to hand in training, but feels he is ready to compete in the Dubai World Cup races next March with all credit due to British trainer extraordinaire Gill Duffield.  This was No Risk's fifth victory out of six runs (placed second once) under heavy handicap.

As if Sheikh Hamdan does not have enough Arabian horses, he surprised many when he skipped the Doncaster Sales to attend Ascot's Arab Sales two days later.  He bought at both.

Not to be outdone by his cousin, Sheikh Monsour bin Zayed al Nahyan's three-year-old Barag (Fr) trounced Sheikh Hamdan's Shohrah (Fr) by 2 lengths in the Jumeirah International Stakes (Group 2), 7f.   

The sheikhs are cousins not the horses.

Though Barag's trainer Robert Litt is one of the most successful on French flat, the real treat of the day was 
emergence of the most dangerous threat to Frankie Dettori's charismatic supremacy--Jean-Bernard Eyquem.

He didn't do a flying leap off the horse, but his exhuberant good looks and love for the horse magically lifted the day as only a 'Frankie' can do.

Eyquem even managed to outshine Netherlands' eye-candy trainer, Karen Van Den Bos, whose horses failed to do better than place on the day.  Compensation is that she may have sold on some of her fine horses.

Britain's Duffield won her second race for Sheikh Hamdan with a first and second, Aljaareh and Taabeer (ridden by Martin Dwyer and Richard Hills respectively), in the Jebel Ali Racecourse Premier Handicap Stakes, lm5f , and managed a second with Mutafanen in the final race, Emirates Horse Breeders Society Handicap Stakes, lm.

The winner, Angel Picamer, was trained by William M Smith and owned by Mrs Z P Angel.

Jockey Martin Dwyer's delightful wife, Claire, was the official judge of the day and chose the top-hatted and best-dressed winners with playful help from her friends, 'Tommo' and course presenter Philip Brannan of Sportsguide Limited.

The prizes were to die for with sponsors adding extras as the success of the day inspired even more generosity.

Dr Hussein al Reda, who founded the international Arab race days in Europe (in Germany), predicts similar races in either Chantilly or Deauville next year augmenting the German and English championships.

He expressed gratitude to Sheikh Hamdan as Patron of the races; they could never have reached the success they have without him and the support of his Office as Deputy Ruler of Dubai and UAE Minister for Trade, Commerce and Industry.

Rumours also abound that Royal Ascot will add an Arabian race to its fixture next year. 

The public is so taken with the success of this event that it is beginning to pressure the establishment to open up racing even more.

DIARD's organising team is already talking about next year at Newbury.  Whatever day they choose, you won't want to miss it.