A real carnival atmosphere
Two countries, two series of outstanding racing and plenty to look forward to for horseracing fans in the coming weeks
Racing carnivals, or festivals, have become increasingly popular in recent years and offer racegoers the chance to watch several races of the very highest class, all on the same day.
As the Dubai World Cup Carnival reaches it crescendo the Sydney Autumn Carnival, is just getting into full swing and both offer rich rewards for their equine superstars, both homegrown and from further afield.
The Dubai World Cup Carnival – the brainchild of Sheikh Mohammed, founder of Godolphin, kicks off each January and sees horses from all over the world compete at Meydan racecourse across a ten-meeting series that culminates in the world’s richest evening of racing, Dubai World Cup night.
The dress rehearsal for the Dubai World Cup meeting is Super Saturday - on 10 March. There are six Stakes contests up for grabs, including two at G1 level, the nine-furlong Jebel Hatta on the turf and the Al Maktoum Challenge R3 on the dirt. The latter has proved an excellent trial for the G1 Dubai World Cup, with four winners to date going on to victory on the big night itself, including none other than Dubai Millennium.
Dubai World Cup night is a true spectacle, with no fewer than eight G1 and G2 thoroughbred races on the card, complemented by a dazzling halftime show and a concert after racing which has previously featured some of the world’s most famous performers.
Each contest carries a purse of a million US dollars or more, with the G1 Dubai Turf and G1 Dubai Sheema Classic each offering US$6m, while the Dubai World Cup is worth no less than $10m in total.
The Dubai World Cup has been won by some of the best-known names in horseracing, from Cigar in its inaugural running back in 1996 to World Champion Arrogate last year.
Godolphin has two possible contenders for this year’s Dubai World Cup in Breeders’ Cup hero Talismanic and multiple G1 winner Thunder Snow.
Meanwhile, in Australia, the Sydney Autumn Carnival starts on Saturday, 3 March and over the following six weeks, offers a superb series that includes 45 Group races and over A$33m in prize money. Racing takes place at Rosehill Gardens, in west Sydney, and across the city at Royal Randwick, known as ‘the jewel in the crown of Sydney racing’.
The first G1 up for grabs is the Chipping Norton Stakes on the opening weekend of the carnival and should see Street Cry's superstar mare and Champion, Winx, bid for a third straight win in the one-mile contest.
After the Randwick Guineas, the action shifts to Rosehill, where, on Saturday, 24 March, the best of Australia’s juveniles will line up in a bid to win the world’s richest two-year-old race, the G1 Golden Slipper.
The Slipper was first run in 1957, when it was won by the now legendary Todman, who was the first of five consecutive winners of the race sired by Star Kingdom, a truly extraordinary achievement.
Racing at Rosehill concludes with the G1 BMW, which takes place on the same day as the Dubai World Cup and is another race with a rich history and won two years ago by the aforementioned Hartnell. Other winners of the race include the fantastic racemare and three-time Melbourne Cup winner Makybe Diva, plus late Darley stallion Octagonal, who won the race in both 1996 and 1997.
On Saturday, 7 April, racing switches back to Royal Randwick for the Championships Day One. There are two feature races on the day, firstly the G1 Australian Derby, considered by many as the most important race of the year for three-year-olds on the southern hemisphere racing calendar. The other is the world’s richest mile handicap, the A$3m G1 Doncaster Handicap, won last year by Godolphin runner It’s Somewhat.
Day two of the Championships follows a week later and the highlight of this meeting is undoubtedly the G1 Queen Elizabeth Stakes, now worth A$4m. Originally named the Queen’s Plate and first run in 1851, this prestigious race was given its current name following a visit to Randwick from The Queen in 1954. It was won last year by superstar mare Winx, as part of her outstanding run of 22 consecutive Stakes-race victories, and counting.
The Autumn Carnival concludes on Saturday, 21 April with the All Aged Stakes Day, headed by a race of the same name which, as it suggests, is open to horses of any age, including two-year-olds.
There is also a G1 contest exclusively for juveniles, the one-mile Champagne Stakes. His Highness Sheikh Mohammed has owned several winners of this race in recent years. They include Helmet, who was adding a second victory at the highest level to his two-year-old record, before he went on to take the G1 Caulfield Guineas in record time at three, plus the impeccably-bred filly Guelph – another who would go on to further glory the following season.
By the time the Autumn Carnival finishes, spring will have well and truly sprung in many parts of the northern hemisphere and the focus will switch back to Europe and the US, with the promise that all the fun of the racing fair will continue for many more months to come.
