To say that Day 2 in Dubai has been eventful is an understatement. We are just midway through the day and it has felt like five. Part of that is good, and part of that is not so good.
The early wake-up call had me out from the Emirates Towers on a luxury motorcoach as Wednesday was designated as Godolphin's Open Stable (instead of house) for the media. A glamorous spread was in the background, the flawless training track in the foreground. I'll estimate a crowd of 150 were present and as the first of the Godolphin contingent were paraded in front of the crowd, a massive explosion rocked the distance at 7:10 A.M. local time. Earth-shattering. A very unique bang.
Now, let's share a moment of honesty.
It's the Middle East. There was an explosion. All true.
But it is also Dubai.
Simon Crisford, racing manager for Godolphin was providing background on each horse galloping by and he continued unabated as an initial plume of white smoke turned to black, followed by a raging stream of thick, debris filled, dirty air. About twenty minutes later, a host of paper-like debris littered the air and poured onto the pristine grounds of Godolphin's Al Quoz Paddocks. As the parade of horses ended, a press conference featuring Godolphin trainer Saeed Bin Suroor, jockeys Kerrin McEvoy and Frankie Dettori, and the aforementioned Crisford commenced and the four dodged the floating paper and whatever else was flying through the air.
There was, undoubtedly, a feeling of extreme unease amongst everyone present, but everything continued as usual because, after all, this is Dubai. I don't think I need to explain anything more about that. I will post pictures later but time is extremely short at the moment.
From the racing standpoint of things, the trip to Godolphin, while enlightening and interesting, failed to yield any information of note for Saturday's races. I'm fairly convinced that Happy Boy, the runaway winner of the first round of the Maktoum Challenge, is not as well-regarded within the Godolphin camp as he may have been prior to his being privately purchased. He was one of the few Godolphin runners on Saturday's card who was shown to the media today. A leg infection kept him from running again at the Carnival and he may be a bit short for the effort that would be required on Saturday.
Only half of the World Cup meet participants were present at the "open stable." Creachadoir (Dubai Duty Free), Literato (Dubai Duty Free), My Indy (UAE Derby), Numaany (UAE Derby) and Elusive Warning (Godolphin Mile) were part of Godolphin's parade of horses (missing were Blackat Blackitten, Jalil, West Wind, Cocoa Beach, Gravitas, Diabolical) - a measured release of ten horses at a time, galloping at the same speed, making it almost impossible to tell the differences or intricacies separating each of the horses. It was as impressive as it was sterile.
They clearly love their horses and truly do treat each of them equally. Crisford mentioned every single horse passing giving his take on their future prospects, distance limitations, etc. for all. On that note, don't back Ibn Khaldun in the English Derby futures as Crisford flatly stated he believed there was no chance he gets 12 furlongs (RacingDispatch.com Euroblogger Robert Bradley should appreciate that tidbit).
The gaggle of media moved on from Godolphin to Nad al Sheba Racecourse for a brief pause prior to a series of presentations from the management of Meydan, the new racecourse and community being built in the shadow of Nad al Sheba. A computer in the press room had Youtube video streaming of the fire. (In fact, here it is: http://youtube.com/watch?v=C5N7AD3g-L8. I actually have a picture of the initial smoke that followed just after the blast. There was something surreal about the catering crew covering the lavish pastries with towels so they would not be hit with the falling debris.
Outside of the dunes south of Dubai, the area around this emirate is flat. Dubai is prone to flooding as was seen here prior to the first night of the Dubai International Racing Carnival. It also makes it impossible to avoid seeing the smoke from all over. News reports confirm that the explosion took place at a fireworks warehouse; that would make sense.
A guided tour of Meydan began after some delay and we received a tour of the facility's construction. In a word: amazing. More than that, I don't know what else to say about it. From zero to hero in no time, Meydan is rising from the desert and is on schedule to go live for the Dubai World Cup 2010. Again - pictures and more will come later.
Some news - the media received confirmation from Meydan officials that the new main track surface will be synthetic, with all bets on that Michael Dickinson's Tapeta the one that gets the nod. Officials were mum on which type of synthetic would be used, but since Tapeta is in place at the Al Quoz facility and is proven to hold up in the Dubai heat, many expect it will be the one.
I did have extended discussions with Coral oddsmaker Simon Clare about the American runners here in Dubai. If any of you were backing Barbecue Eddie, I apologize in advance. I talked him up quite a bit. It is humorous how fascinated Clare was to hear my take on any Richard Dutrow-trainee, Wesley Ward charge Esperamos, the geriatric turfer Better Talk Now, or the typical Bill Currin sentiment on his sprint candidate Bushwacker (his assistant trainer flatly pronounced on Tuesday that Bushwacker will win, no questions).
The post-position draw takes place in less than two hours at the Madinat Jumeriah Resort and I must get ready to go.
Plenty more will be coming later today following the draw. Beginning tomorrow, I'll release race-by-race analysis on the blog with selections through the superfecta for each of the races.
Leave a comment