(Photo from Dubai Racing Club, Neville Hopwood)
By Joseph Hammond
The world’s richest horse race and the most lucrative sporting event in the Muslim world marked its 20th anniversary in style on 18 March. In the main event, Prince Bishop, ridden by Danish-British jockey William Buick, won a surprising victory over two favoured American horses, Lea and California Chrome, in the $10m Dubai World Cup race.
While California Chrome was favoured in the race, it was 15-1 underdog Prince Bishop who prevailed by some 2 ¾ lengths over his American rivals.
None were more shocked by the long shot victory than Buick himself. “I feel a bit numb at the moment, but I’m sure when I get home and relax it will all sink in,” he explained in comments following the race.
Just out of the starting gate, Japanese dirt champion Hokko Tarumae set a strong pace for the race. Yet down the stretch, California Chrome, Lea and Prince Bishop showed their form.
The 50,000 racing fans in attendance were treated to an amazing finish, as the eight-year-old Prince Bishop blew past California Chrome down the final 300 metres of the race.
Buick came out of his saddle and punched the air as his horse easily finished the race. Prince Bishop was followed across the finish line by California Chrome and Lea. Hokko Tarumae finished a distant 6th in the nine horse event. Prince Bishop had fallen short in four previous attempts, and is trained by Saeed bin Suroor in the Emirates. The 26-year-old Buick had previously won races in seven countries.
Prince Bishop is part of the Godolphin Racing stable, which was founded by Mohammed bin Rashid Al Maktoum, the Vice President and Prime Minister of the United Arab Emirates (UAE), and the ruler of Dubai, where the race was held. His son, Sheikh Hamdan, was the proud owner of Prince Bishop. Hamdan has announced that the $6m won by Prince Bishop on Saturday will be donated to the Dubai Autism Centre.
In the UAE Derby, another key race of the evening, Mubtaahij proved victorious. Mubtaahij, ridden by jockey Christophe Soumillon and trained by Mike De Kock, proved he is a legitimate contender for the Kentucky Derby, the premiere event for three-year-old horses in the United States. Last year, that race was won by California Chrome. California Chrome’s owners have announced that their horse will leave Dubai for London, where he will prepare to compete in the Ascot race, the United Kingdom’s marquee horse race, this June.
The Dubai World Cup is an annual event that features nine races and some of the world’s best horses and jockeys. The final race of the night the Dubai World Cup itself is valued at $10m, part of a total card in which some $30m is held.
In the build-up to this year’s race, Frank Gabriel Jr., the Dubai Racing Club’s (DRC) Vice President of Racing, credited horse racing’s contribution to the growth in tourism in Dubai, stating that the Dubai World Cup managed “to create an awareness of what Dubai is; today we can confidently say that we have at least a 30% jump in tourism due to the horse racing”.
