Dubai Turf

The Dubai Turf, known as Dubai Duty Free 1996 to 2014. is a Group 1 flat horse race in the United Arab Emirates for four-year-old and above thoroughbreds run over a distance of 1,800 metres (1 mile 1 furlong) on the turf at Meydan Racecourse in Dubai during the Dubai World Cup Night in March.^[1]

Dubai Turf

Group One race
Location	Meydan Racecourse Dubai, United Arab Emirates
Inaugurated	1996
Race type	Thoroughbred – Flat racing
Website	Dubai World Cup
Race information
Distance	1,800 metres
Surface	Turf
Track	Left-handed
Qualification	Northern Hemisphere 4yo+ & Southern Hemisphere 3yo+
Weight	SH 3yo: 54.5kg. NH & SH 4yo+: 57kg. Allowance fillies and mares 2kg
Purse	US$6 million

It was first run in 1996 on dirt, with a distance of 2,000 metres (1 mile 2 furlongs). It was transferred to turf, and a distance of 1,777 metres, in 2000. The race attained Group 1 status in 2002. The name of the race is taken from its sponsors, Dubai Duty Free. Between 1996 and 2009 it was run at Nad Al Sheba Racecourse. Since 2010 it has been run in Meydan, where it is run at 1,800 metres.

In 2006, the race became the second leg of the four race Asian Mile Challenge.

The race currently offers a purse of US$5 million, which places it and the Dubai Sheema Classic among the richest races on turf in the world.^[2][3]

From 2015, DP World Signs sponsorship with Meydan Group, the race name renamed to Dubai Turf.^[4]

Records

Speed record: (at current distance of 1,800 metres and Meydan Racecourse)

• 1:45.52 – Just A Way (2014)

Most wins:

• 3 - Lord North (2021, 2022, 2023)

Most wins by a jockey:

• 4 – Frankie Dettori (1997, 2021, 2022, 2023)

Most wins by a trainer:

• 6 – Saeed bin Suroor (1997, 1998, 1999, 2000, 2013, 2018)

Most wins by an owner:

• 4 – Godolphin Racing (1997, 1998, 2013, 2018)

Winners

Year	Winner	Age	Jockey	Trainer	Owner	Time
1996	Key of Luck	5	Gary Stevens	Kiaran McLaughlin	Saeed bin Maktoum Al Maktoum	2:03.77
1997	Tamayaz	5	Frankie Dettori	Saeed bin Suroor	Godolphin Racing	2:02.20
1998	Annus Mirabilis	6	Gary Stevens	Saeed bin Suroor	Godolphin Racing	2:04.32
1999	Altibr	4	Richard Hills	Saeed bin Suroor	Hamdan Al Maktoum	2:00.79
2000	Rhythm Band	4	Ted Durcan	Saeed bin Suroor	Rashid Al Maktoum	1:48.60
2001	Jim And Tonic	7	Gerald Mosse	François Doumen	John D. Martin & Roger Barby	1:47.83
2002	Terre a Terre	5	Christophe Soumillon	Eric Libaud	Mmes H. Devin & B. Ashbrooke	1:48.75
2003	Ipi Tombe	4	Kevin Shea	Mike de Kock	Team Valor et al.	1:47.61
2004	Right Approach (dh) Paolini (dh)	5 7	Weichong Marwing Eduard Pedroza	Mike de Kock Andreas Wöhler	Bernard Kantor et al. Carde Ostermann-Richter	1:49.36
2005	Elvstroem	5	Nash Rawiller	Tony Vasil	Elvstroem Syndicate	1:50.54
2006	David Junior	4	Jamie Spencer	Brian J. Meehan	Roldvale Ltd & Gold Group Int'l	1:49.65
2007	Admire Moon	4	Yutaka Take	Hiroyoshi Matsuda	Riichi Kondo	1:47.94
2008	Jay Peg	5	Anton Marcus	Herman Brown	M. Shirtliff et al.	1:46:20
2009	Gladiatorus	4	Ahmed Ajtebi	Mubarak bin Shafya	Mansoor Al Maktoum	1:46.92
2010	Al Shemali	6	Royston Ffrench	Ali Rashid Al Raihe	Mansoor Al Maktoum	1:50.84
2011	Presvis	7	Ryan Moore	Luca Cumani	Leonidas Marinopoulous	1:50.21
2012	Cityscape	6	James Doyle	Roger Charlton	Khalid Abdullah	1:48.65
2013	Sajjhaa	6	Silvestre de Sousa	Saeed bin Suroor	Godolphin Racing	1:47.93
2014	Just A Way	5	Yuichi Fukunaga	Naosuke Sugai	Akatsuki Yamatoya	1:45.52
2015	Solow	5	Maxime Guyon	Freddy Head	Wertheimer et Frère	1:47.76
2016	Real Steel	4	Ryan Moore	Yoshito Yahagi	Sunday Racing Co Ltd	1:47.13
2017	Vivlos	4	João Moreira	Yasuo Tomomichi	Kazuhiro Sasaki	1:50.20
2018	Benbatl	4	Oisin Murphy	Saeed Bin Suroor	Godolphin Racing	1:46.08
2019	Almond Eye	4	Christophe Lemaire	Sakae Kunieda	Silk Racing	1:46.78
2020	Cancelled due to the COVID-19 pandemic.
2021	Lord North	5	Frankie Dettori	John Gosden	Zayed bin Mohammed	1:46.46
2022	Lord North (dh) Panthalassa (dh)	6 5	Frankie Dettori Yutaka Yoshida	John & Thady Gosden Yoshito Yahagi	Zayed bin Mohammed Hiroo Race Co Ltd	1:45.77
2023	Lord North	7	Frankie Dettori	John & Thady Gosden	Zayed bin Mohammed	1:47.39
2024	Facteur Cheval	5	Maxime Guyon	Jerome Reynier	Team Valor International, Gary Barber	1:45.91

Incidents

• 2024: Catnip (USA) broke down in the final furlong and had to be euthanized on the track. Jockey Christophe Lemaire was hospitalized.^[5]

See also

• List of United Arab Emirates horse races

References

1. "Dubai Turf | Past Winners | Results | United Arab Emirates". www.racingandsports.com.au. 30 March 2024. Retrieved 4 September 2024.
2. "In pictures: The Dubai World Cup, one of the richest events in horse racing". CNN. 2 April 2024.
3. Freeman, Ben (4 April 2020). "Dubai's Big Prize. The World's Richest Horse Race is the Dubai World Cup". Beau Monde Traveler.
4. Emmet, James (16 January 2015). "DP World signs five-year racing deal". SportsPro. Retrieved 4 September 2024.
5. "Facteur Cheval hangs on for upset in Dubai Turf". www.drf.com. Retrieved 27 May 2024.

• Racing Post:
  • 1996, 1997, 1998, 1999, 2000, 2001, 2002, 2003, 2004, 2005
  • 2006, 2007, 2008, 2009, 2010, 2011, 2012, 2013, 2014, 2015
  • 2016, 2017, 2018, 2019, 2021, 2022, 2023, 2024

External links

• Dubai World Cup press release regarding Asian Mile Challenge