HorseRacingNation.com NewsWire

TM Fred Texas Wins EMAAR Dubai Kahayla Classic. Yes, Arabians ROCK.

Sun, 01 Apr 2012 03:36:54 GMT

The Dubai World Cup: a spectacular day of world-class racing, brought to you by the Dubai Racing Club at the otherworldly, state-of-the-art Meydan Racecourse. Only the best horses, from every corner of the globe, dare to step onto the Tapeta at Meydan on this most auspicious day. Fourteen of those horses who dared were not Thoroughbreds—they were Arabians…

You know Arabians—the Original Racehorse. The breed that's at least 5,000 years old—and looks virtually the same as it did at the beginning. (Their image was painted onto jars in Egypt in the Iron Age—and, if you didn't know better, you'd think they were painted this morning.) These 14 Arabians brought five millennia of history with them onto the track when they entered the gate on March 31st, for the EMAAR Dubai Kahayla Classic. This race has been on the card every year of the Dubai World Cup—but for many fans of Thoroughbred racing (and too-many Americans) it was the first time witnessing history in the flesh.

His Highness Sheikh Moh

Royal Delta and the Dubai World Cup: Fit to Fight

Thu, 29 Mar 2012 20:22:14 GMT

We all cringe when horses are put into races for which they are not qualified, or ready. This pairing is not cringe-worthy: neither trainer, Bill Mott nor new owner, Ben Leon, would do that to the buff, chiseled filly. The horse who was created and first raced under the silks of the late, beneficent Prince Saud bin Khaled, was purchased for the astronomical price of $8.5 million at the November (2011) Keeneland Sale by Leon. Leon's decision was made with his head and his heart:

“There is only one of her. It's like a Picasso. If you are looking for a broodmare by pedigree, you will pick Royal Delta. If you're going to choose a racing filly or one by conformation, you'll pick Royal Delta. How many animals are here that bring all those factors together? She has an intrinsic value."

This historic moment is brought to you by two men who'd love to win the $10 million Dubai World Cup—who wouldn't?—but who are acutely aware that the misplacement of a horse in a race is far-more than just potentially embarrassing.

Royal Delta, the Eclipse Award-winning Ch