DRC.....
American horses enjoying spa-like Dubai stables
It may seem like an arduous task for a horse to be shipped all the way from the United States to the United Arab Emirates and then race against the world’s best runners on the Dubai World Cup (Gr.1) program.
But there are some definite perks in the process.
Once they land in Dubai, the horses are taken to air-conditioned stables on the sprawling Nad Al Sheba complex—including five new barns built since last year—where the box stalls can be twice as large as what they are used to at American racetracks.
Since there is no racing in the weeks leading up to the Dubai World Cup, the area is quiet, often punctuated only by birdsong and the regular melodic calls to prayer from the nearby mosques.
With grass planted and watered around the barns, the horses can graze if their handlers choose to allow them, and they also can roll and relax in round pens.
“Idiot Proof loves it here,” said Robert Sise, assistant trainer of the Grade 1 winner who will be a favorite in the Dubai Golden Shaheen (Gr.1), sponsored by Gulf News. “He’s put on 100 pounds since he’s been here.”
While Sise might have been exaggerating about the amount of weight the colt gained after the trip—which most people believe would cause horses to lose weight—he said all the horses that have wintered with Idiot Proof in California and traveled to Dubai also have been eating lustily since their arrival.
Henrietta Steele, assistant to trainer Dale Romans, said their three-year-old colt Massive Drama, who will contest the UAE Derby (Gr.2), looks better now than he did when he left Florida, and his gleaming coat seems to back up her assessment.
“I can’t wait for (Romans) to have a look at the horse and see how shiny he is,” she said.
Meanwhile, Dubai Sheema Classic (Gr.1, sponsored by Nakheel) contender Better Talk Now is relishing his rolling time in a round pen as well as daily grazes, said Tom Finn, assistant to trainer Graham Motion, and exercise rider Fenella O’Flynn.
“Everything is spot on,” Finn said of the care that the Dubai Racing Club personnel have helped provide in the quarantine barn area.
Horse of the Year Curlin also has enjoyed his stay in Dubai, where he has been given an entire barn to ensure a peaceful environment and an uninterrupted training routine. Only Curlin’s pony companion Pancho is stabled in the same quarters, said assistant trainer Scott Blasi.
Quarantine regulations also have ensured that Curlin has not been bothered by journalists, photographers or other curious onlookers. Guards and barricades surround the barn area so that visitors who are not connected with the horses are prevented from entering and thus possibly spreading contagious diseases among the horses that have gathered from around the world.
For Curlin’s fellow Dubai World Cup (sponsored by Emirates) contender Well Armed, traveling to the United Arab Emirates has represented a homecoming. The five-year-old gelding previously raced in Dubai in 2006, when he was a winner during the Dubai International Racing Carnival, and assistant trainer Jake Vinci is sure that the horse remembers Nad Al Sheba fondly.
“He knows he is back—I can tell. He goes around and just stops and looks at things with his ears pricked. He loves it here,” Vinci said.
