"The Maktoums"
[An Excerpt From
HORSING AROUND: A GUIDE FOR
THE EVERYDAY HORSEPLAYER Second Edition
July 2007]
by Jim Lambert
Founder Horse-Race-Handicapping.com
The Dubai World Cup is the richest
race in thoroughbred horse racing. At the
time of the writing of this book, the 12th annual staging of the
race had just taken place (March 31,
2007 ). The centerpiece
event, the Dubai World Cup, boasted an astounding $6,000,000 U.S. dollar purse,
and showcased arguably the two best horses on the world stage, Discreet Cat and Invasor. The Eclipse award
winning Invasor captured the World Cup, and the
winning
connections collected a cool $3.5 million dollars for their trouble, more than
the entire purse for the 2007 Kentucky Derby and its five supporting
stakes races.
Reserve Your Breeders Cup Report From
Horse Race Handicapping.com
To Order Breeders Cup 2007 Report
Click
Here
The Dubai World Cup is run annually
at Nad Al Sheba Racecourse. As part of
the program, there are five additional thoroughbred Group 1 and 2 races and a
Group 1 for purebred Arabians. The total
purses for the stakes program exceeded $21,000,000 in 2007, as they did last
year in 2006. To understand how
astronomical these figures really are, consider Kentucky Derby day, one of the
biggest days in American racing. On
May 5, 2007 ,
Churchill Downs played host to the 133rd Kentucky Derby, along with five
supporting stakes races. The combined
purses for the Derby and the
five supporting stakes are $3,350,000, with $2,000,000 earmarked for the
Kentucky Derby alone.
The other big day in American racing,
and growing by leaps and bounds in importance, is of course Breeders’ Cup day. In an effort to stay competitive with the
Dubai World Cup program, the NTRA (National Thoroughbred Racing Association)
and the
Breeders Cup Limited (Ltd) responded in 2006 with an eight race
Breeders Cup program (at Churchill Downs) worth an all-time high of $20,000,000
in purses. This represented about a $6
million increase from the $14,000,000 awarded in purses for Breeders’ Cup 2005
at Belmont
Park (New York). For 2007, the NTRA has expanded the Breeders
Cup program to two days and eleven races, worth a combined total of $23,000,000
in purses. This is a direct response to success
of the Dubai World Cup program. Breeders’
Cup will be held on Friday, October 26, and Saturday, October 27, 2007 at Monmouth
Park (New
Jersey).
Let’s back to the Maktoums.
Dubai is one of
the seven emirates that make up the United
Arab Emirates, in the north mid region of the Arabian
Peninsula. The Arabian
Peninsula rests atop the northeast border of Saudi
Arabia.
Dubai has the largest population and is the second largest emirate by area,
after Abu Dhabi. A majority of
the emirate's revenues are from the Jebel Ali Free Zone (JAFZ)
and, increasingly, from tourism and other service businesses (the Jebel Ali Free Zone is a commercial
zone with minimal restrictions and taxation and is host to over 1,100 companies
from more than 70 countries).
In
Dubai, horse racing is front and center in the enticements for businessmen and
tourists alike. And the Maktoums are
front and center in the world of horse racing in Dubai, and increasingly
throughout the entire world.
Sheikh Maktoum
Rashid Al Maktoum, the ruler of Dubai, died in January of 2006 at the age of 62. Sheikh Maktoum Rashid
revolutionized racing with his two brothers, Sheikh Mohammed and Sheikh Hamdan.
At the time of his death,
Sheikh Maktoum had hundreds of horses in
training throughout the world, employing several renowned international
trainers. These included Michael Stoute,
Mark Johnston, and Ed Dunlop in Britain,
where Sheikh Maktoum’s
breeding and racing interests have made an historical impact on the British
racing industry. Sheikh Maktoum owned a
long line of stakes winners, including his best known champions Fantastic Light and Shareef Dancer.
In addition to racehorses, Sheikh Maktoum
owned Gainsborough Stud (in Newmarket)
at the time of his death. Gainesborough
was and still is home to many of his standing stallions.
Sheikh Maktoum and his brothers have been
largely responsible for the growth of truly international competition in the
sport in the last two decades, and particularly in the last ten years. The Maktoum family has horses in training in
Britain,
France,
the United States,
and Australia.
Sheikh Mohammed
The two surviving brothers are
Sheikh Mohammed and Sheikh Hamdan, and the current ruler of
Dubai is Sheikh
Mohammed. Sheikh Mohammed, as in the
case of the preceding ruler, his older brother Sheikh Maktoum, is also the Vice
President and the Prime Minister of the
United
Arab Emirates.
Sheik Mohammed is the owner
Godolphin Racing, Inc., founded in 1994, with its first full year of racing
operations in 1995. Godolphin Racing operates one of the world's premier thoroughbred horse racing stables in
Dubai, in England, and in increasing importance the United States with its
American arms Darley Stable (owned by Sheik Mohammed) and Shadwell
Stable
(owned by Sheik
Hamdan). Godolphin takes
its name from the Godolphin Arabian.
Sheikh
Mohammed is the driving and spiritual force behind the Godolphin operation.
The Godolphin racing manager is Simon Crisford, and from the
beginning the senior trainer has been Saeed bin Suroor. Bin Suroor, formerly a policeman, took out
his training license in 1994 and the following year was appointed as trainer
for Sheikh Mohammed's Godolphin operation.
Bin Suroor has been named British Champion Trainer on four occasions, and
currently trains the jewel of the Godolphin string, Discreet Cat, one of the
finest race horses in training in the world today. Godolphin also owns Afrashad, a high-priced
Ocala 2-year-old, who turned in a
number of emphatic victories in
America.
Sheikh Mohammed’s Darley Stable owns Bernardini, the 2006 Preakness
winner.
In 2006 Godolphin had over 250 horses in training, including
more than eighty 2-year-olds. Godolphin routinely
purchases yearlings at the major sales (such as the Keeneland and
Ocala sales in the
U.S.), and also buys horses
privately, such as the gifted Discreet
Cat.
Godolphin came to
dominate British racing, and then made a splash in the American Breeders’ Cup
after a fitful start. Bin Suroor (along
with assistant Jeremy Noseda) won several group 1 races in 1995 in
Britain,
France,
Italy,
Japan, the
United States, and
Hong Kong. Noseda left Godolphin in 1996
to pursue a solo training career and was promptly replaced by the former Bill
Mott assistant Thomas Albertrani. To
this day Albertrani trains for Sheikh Mohammed’s Darley Stable in
Kentucky.
After no victories
in thirteen Breeders’ Cup starts, Godolphin finally broke the ice when Daylami took the 1999 Breeders’ Cup
Turf. Dubai Millennium captured both the prestigious Dubai World Cup and
the Prince of Wales Stakes in 2000. The
champion Fantastic Light secured
the Man o' War Stakes and the Hong Kong
Cup in 2000 and went on to win the 2001 Breeders'
Cup Turf in the U.S.
Godolphin and bin Suroor captured the 2001 Prix de l'Arc de Triomphe
with the great Sakhee, and in the
same year Godolphin’s Tempera and Imperial Gesture finished 1st
and 2nd in the Breeders’ Cup Juvenile Fillies. Both fillies were trained by Eoin Harty, a
one time Bob Baffert assistant. The immensely
talented Street Cry won both the prestigious
Dubai World Cup and the Stephen Foster Handicap in 2002. One year earlier, an ill-timed ankle injury
prevented Street Cry from competing
in the (2001) Kentucky Derby, foiling Godolphin’s best chance to win the
coveted first jewel of the Triple Crown.
In 2003, Godolphin registered its 100th group or grade 1 win when Sulamani won the Arlington Million (on
disqualification of Storming Home). In 2004 Godolphin earned its fourth British
owners' championship, and in 2005 Stellar
Jayne (a $3.6 million yearling purchase) captured the 2005 Ruffian Handicap
(Belmont Park,
New York) under the careful handling of bin Suroor. In 2006 Bernardini
captured the Preakness (Pimlico,
Maryland) and placed second in the Breeders’ Cup Classic for Sheikh Mohammed’s Darley
Stable and handler Tom Albertrani.
Horse-Race-Handicapping.com RETURNS
$7,334.70
FOR $5,164
For
The Breeders Cup World Championships 2005-2006
For 2007 Report
Click
Here
World Champ Injured In Workout
Invasor, the defending Horse of the Year,
suffered a fracture to the sesamoid bone of his right hind ankle
in a workout Saturday at Belmont Park and was immediately
retired from racing. Invasor's
owner is Sheikh Hamdan, the brother of Sheikh Mohammed, owner of
the Godolphin racing empire. Invasor will commence his
career as a stallion as soon as he is treated and recuperated.
Invasor reached sixth place on the all-time North American earnings
list, and was fast climbing towards the top at the time of his injury.
To be on the list, a horse must have at least one race in North America,
and all earnings (including foreign) are counted.
Here is the earnings list at the time of his injury.
Copyright 2007
Horse-Race-Handicapping.com