BEGINS
1996
The Dubai World Cup was run for the first time. Carrying a prize purse of $4m it burst onto horseracing’s international rich list. America’s champion racehorse, Cigar was on a 13-run winning streak
when he boarded a plane bound for Dubai. His trainer, Bill Mott likened the journey to a “trip to the
moon”. Yet Cigar’s owner, Allen Paulson, an aviation magnate was determined to take a brave step into
the unknown. His star galloper duly made the trip, accompanied by fellow US runners, Soul Of The
Matter and L’Carriere, both also destined for a berth in the Dubai World Cup starting gate. Cigar’s
historic victory under Jerry Bailey placed the Dubai World Cup on the global racing map.
1997
1997 was the year the rains came to Dubai. Torrential downpours waterlogged the track. Race after race
was lost under a curtain of water and hopes that the Dubai World Cup might be saved were dashed
when Sheikh Mohammed inspected the track and, in a now famous gesture, drew his hand across his
throat to signal the abandonment of the $4m race. Instead the race was rescheduled five days later and
Sheikh Mohammed ordered UAE Air Force helicopters to hover over the track to dry it out. His attention
to detail was rewarded when his horse, the Sir Michael Stoute-trained Singspiel, was first past the post
giving jockey, Jerry Bailey his second Dubai World Cup victory.
1998
The Dubai World Cup achieves Group 1 status.
Having come within three-quarters-of-a-length of America’s coveted Triple Crown Silver Charm, the
Kentucky Derby and Preakness Stakes star, was already a headline horse when he contested the 1998
Dubai World Cup. The trip was to be the first time the grey colt would leave the USA. The same was also
true of his silver-haired trainer, Bob Baffert who, despite being one of his country’s foremost horsemen,
does not possess a passport. Fast-track travel documents were duly prepared for horse and human.
Chief among Silver Charm’s opposition was the brilliant Swain, representing Godolphin. Trained by
Saeed Bin Suroor and ridden by Mick Kinane, Swain had landed the King George VI and Queen Elizabeth
Stakes at Ascot the previous season after sweeping all before him on the turf tracks of France. Silver
Charm prevailed under Gary Stevens by a short head from Swain in the epic duel that ensued.
1999
Prize money for the Dubai World Cup was boosted from $4m to $5m.
After coming second with Swain the previous year, Godolphin trainer, Saeed Bin Suroor brings home the
goods with Almutawakel in the colours of Sheikh Hamdan Bin Rashid Al Maktoum. The owner’s longtime jockey, Richard Hills was in the irons, landing one of the biggest wins of his 15-year career as Sheikh
Hamdan’s first rider. This represents the first of Bin Suroor’s record six Dubai World Cup victories.
While the Dubai World Cup was played out before the watching world, just a few kilometres up the
road, a classy colt by the name of Dubai Millennium was lounging in his box. He’d won his only two-yearold start by five lengths and was about to embark on a three-year-old career that would see him win five
more times before coming back to Dubai for the 2000 Dubai World Cup.
2000
Prize money was increased from $5m to $6m, to mark the fifth anniversary of the race day.
“He is the best horse we have ever had. He is a true Champion and I have never seen or owned a horse like
him, the way he trains, the way he looks. He is quite outstanding. There is no horse like this horse."
So said Sheikh Mohammed Bin Rashid Al Maktoum, Vice President and Prime Minister of the UAE and Ruler
of Dubai in 1999, a year before Dubai Millennium claimed the race he was christened to win.
It was the victory that was meant to be. From the moment he is hand-picked by the far-seeing Sheikh
Mohammed to bear his historic name, Dubai Millennium lives up to his promise. His trainer, Saeed bin
Suroor, describes him as the most perfect racehorse he’s ever seen, his owner declares him ‘better than
Daylami’ and Dubai Millennium’s first run as a two-year-old, a nine-length victory in a conditions stakes,
holds the promise of greater things to come. From the moment the gates went back at Nad Al Sheba,
Dubai Millennium and his jockey, Frankie Dettori dominated the Dubai World Cup. The Saeed Bin
Suroor-trained star set a blistering pace, pulling away from the challenging Behrens and Public Purse off
the final bend to cruise to a facile six-length victory in a course record time.
2001
In its six renewals up to this point the Dubai World Cup had been won by US-trained horses twice. 2001
saw US star, Captain Steve redress this balance, adding one more to the US tally and another trophy to
the Dubai World Cup collections of three-time winner Jerry Bailey and Bob Baffert who had been
responsible for Silver Charm’s 1998 victory.
2002
For the fourth time since the Dubai World Cup began, a Godolphin-trained horse landed the world’s
richest race. Jerry Bailey was once again in the plate as Street Cry recorded a four-and-a-half length win
over Saudi Arabian-trained Sei Mei. In fact, the seventh running of the famous race was a huge success
for Middle Eastern-based horses with the first five over the line coming from either the UAE or Saudi
Arabia. Japan’s Agnes Digital, finishing sixth, was the best of the rest.
2003
Godolphin jockey, Frankie Dettori, having opted for the wrong one in 2002 when he finished third on
Sakhee gifting Jerry Bailey the winning ride on Street Cry by default, made sure he was on the right
horse in 2003. Moon Ballad, trained by Saeed Bin Suroor, was an impressive five-length winner, giving
Dettori his second Dubai World Cup and his trainer a record fifth. Moon Ballad’s victory took Godolphin
within three wins of the magical 100 Group 1 victories mark – an achievement which arrived when that
year’s Dubai Sheema Classic winner, Sulamani triumphed in the Arlington Million that August.
2004
The Dubai International Racing Carnival, now known as the Dubai World Cup Carnival, was launched.
Such was the reputation that arrived with 2004 Dubai World Cup contenders, Pleasantly Perfect and
Medaglia D'Oro that not even the 2003 UAE Derby winner and Maktoum Challenge champion Victory
Moon, nor Japan Cup Dirt winner Fleetstreet Dancer or Japan's finest dirt runner, Admire Don, factored
a great deal in pre-race predictions. Race fans expected a repeat of the epic Breeder’s Cup Classic duel
four months earlier in which Pleasantly Perfect ultimately triumphed. And the US superstars did not
disappoint. The Richard Mandella-trained Pleasantly Perfect, under Alex Solis once again got the better
of Medaglia D’Oro in the resulting contest, which went down as one of the best battles in Dubai World
Cup history.
2005
The tenth running of the Dubai World Cup coincided with the second Dubai International Racing
Carnival. A crack field of Thoroughbreds assembled at Nad Al Sheba, including Roses in May. The Dubai
World Cup was to be run without a Godolphin representative for first time after the withdrawal of
injury-hit Grand Hombre on the eve of the race. Roses in May had been unbeaten in his three-year-old
season until he met Ghostzapper in the Breeder’s Cup Classic. He came to Dubai having finished second
in the Donn Handicap and immediately became the most talked-about horse that year. And with good
reason; Roses in May ran home the three-length winner under John Velazquez for trainer Dale Romans.
2006
After the withdrawal of Grand Hombre the year before, Godolphin were due a good showing in the
Dubai World Cup. And that was provided by their runner, Electrocutionist. The son of Red Ransom had
emulated previous Godolphin World Cup winners, Dubai Millennium and Street Cry in landing the
official prep race, the Al Maktoum Challenge R3 over course and distance. On the day the Saeed Bin
Suroor-trained galloper came home one-and-a-half lengths ahead of Brass Hat giving Bin Suroor a sixth
Dubai World Cup and jockey Frankie Dettori a third. The race was to make headlines a second time
when Brass Hat provided a positive swab and was later disqualified.
2007
Plans are announced for the construction of Meydan, set to be the biggest racecourse in the world.
The 2007 Dubai World Cup saw the two giants of UAE racing, Godolphin and Sheikh Hamdan Bin Rashid
Al Maktoum face off with their charges, Discreet Cat and the Argentine-bred, Invasor. Discreet Cat had
been the runaway winner of the UAE Derby in 2006, beating Invasor into fourth. Back in the US, both
Invasor and Discreet Cat had swept all before them, Discreet Cat stringing together three victories
including the G1 Cigar Mile, while Invasor was crowned Horse of the Year after remaining unbeaten in
five G1 outings, including the Breeder’s Cup Classic. On the day it was the Kiaran McLaughlin-trained
Invasor under Fernando Jara who got the better of the Frankie Dettori-ridden Discreet Cat, to become
the second Dubai World Cup winner to cross the line in the colours of Sheikh Hamdan.
2008
Curlin, the 2007 and later the 2008 US Horse of the Year, dominated the lead-up to the 2008 Dubai
World Cup. His performance in his prep race, a facile canter to victory in a course and distance handicap
at the end of February had most people believing they had seen the Dubai World Cup winner in action.
In fact Curlin’s win in the world’s richest race was easier than even his biggest fans could have predicted.
The Steve Asmussen-trained colt led from two furlongs out under Robbie Albarado and won going away
from the field with the record books showing a seven-three-quarter length victory margin.
2009
This was the final year that the Dubai World Cup was to be held at Nad Al Sheba. Demolition work was
to begin the day after the conclusion of the race to make way for the new Meydan Racecourse. But
before any of that could happen there was the small matter of a race worth US$6m to be decided. In the
event, the US runner, Well Armed, third in the 2008 Dubai World Cup, closed out Nad Al Sheba in style,
putting an international field to the sword and winning by a record 14 lengths. Aaron Gryder was in the
saddle for trainer, Eoin Harty giving the US an eighth winner in the famous race.
2010
The Dubai World Cup was run on a synthetic surface for the first time.
Prize money for the Dubai World Cup was increased to US$10m
The first Dubai World Cup to be held at Meydan Racecourse was claimed by Brazilian runner, Gloria De
Campeao under jockey, Tiago Pereira. Trained by Frenchman, Pascal Bary, Gloria de Campeao had
finished runner up to Well Armed on the dirt in 2009 and proved himself just as comfortable on the
synthetic surface a year later. Gloria De Campeao had made the first move off the home turn and
streaked ahead of the field, only to be joined by the Mike De Kock-trained Lizard’s Desire on the line.
The judges ruled that Gloria De Campeao had won the resulting photo finish by a nose – one of the
tightest finishes in Dubai World Cup history.
2011
The year Japan won the Dubai World Cup will go down in history as the most emotional. Japan, one of
the world’s great racing jurisdictions, had been fielding Dubai World Cup contenders since the race’s
inception in 1996, but was yet to score a winner, having come closest in 2001 with To The Victory’s
second place. The preparations for the world’s richest race were set against a backdrop of the
devastating March 11 earthquake, which triggered the tsunami that killed more than 15,000. The
Japanese contingent in Dubai wore black polo shirts all week with the word “hope” emblazoned on the
sleeve and the date of the tsunami on the back. Despite the upheaval in their home country, Japan still
fielded three runners in the Dubai World Cup - Victoire Pisa, Transcend and Buena Vista. Victoire Pisa
was Japan’s top three-year old in 2010, yet it was his jockey, Mirco Demuro who won him the race.
Pulling Victoire Pisa wide at the halfway mark to circumvent an idling field, Demuro went for home,
overcoming the challenge of Transcend at the finish to give Japan a famous 1-2 result. The parade ring
erupted as Katsuhiko Sumii’s galloper crossed the line, and Sheikh Mohammed was not left out of the
celebrations, receiving a tearful bear hug from Manami Ichikawa, the daughter of Victoire Pisa’s owner,
Yoshimi Ichikawa.
2012
The Dubai International Racing Carnival was renamed Dubai World Cup Carnival
Godolphin had experienced a few fallow years at the Dubai World Cup, but all that was to change in
2012. Monterosso had claimed third spot the previous year behind Japanese runners, Victoire Pisa and
Transcend but was back to have a second shot at the $10m race. Nine of that year’s 13 runners were
Group 1 winners with an average pre-race rating of 119, making this one of the strongest runnings of
the Dubai World Cup. As Japan had scored a 1-2 result in 2011, so the UAE claimed the first two past
the post in 2012, with Monterosso under Mickael Barzalona leading home Ahmed Ajtebi on Capponi.
Barzalona incurred a fine from Emirates Racing Authority stewards for rising high in his stirrups to
celebrate his three-length victory before crossing the line yet in the process the young Frenchman
provided one of the most enduring images of a jockey celebrating a Dubai World Cup win.
2013
If the Dubai World Cup is the most international race in the world, then the 2013 winner, Animal
Kingdom is its most international winner. Animal Kingdom was trained in the USA by an Englishman,
ridden by a jockey from the Dominican Republic and, by the time he entered the starting gate for the
Dubai World Cup, owned by Australian and US connections. USA-based runners had drawn a blank since
the shift to Meydan, yet trainer, Graham Motion’s chestnut star was to reverse that trend. With Joel
Rosario in the saddle, Animal Kingdom made his move to the front from just after the first turn to show
his dominance ahead of British-trained stars Red Cadeaux and Planteur.
2014
Following the conclusion of the 2014 Dubai World Cup it is announced that a new dirt surface will be
installed at Meydan Racecourse.
African Story, the 2012 Godolphin Mile and dual Burj Nahaar winner had finished fifth in the 2013 Dubai
World Cup. In his 2014 Dubai World Cup Carnival season he’d come second in the Al Maktoum Challenge
R2 and finished eighth in the third round of the official Dubai World Cup prep race. For that reason, he
did not dominate the pre-race discussions for many fans. Yet on the day the Saeed Bin Suroor charge
beat out top-class gallopers including the William Haggas-trained Mukhadram, Hong Kong’s Akeed
Mofeed, 2013 Dubai World Cup runner-up, Red Cadeaux, and Japanese stars, Belshazzar and Hokko
Tarumae. African Story became the seventh Godolphin-trained Dubai World Cup winner*.
*Almutawakel in 1999 ran in Sheikh Hamdan’s colours but was trained by Godolphin’s Saeed Bin Suroor)
ENDS