Five horses that thrived in Dubai & the UK in 2024

Although not trained by Tom Clover when producing a then-career best in the G2 Dubai Gold Cup behind Tower Of London last March, the Newmarket handler certainly benefited from his new acquisition enjoying a spell in Dubai.

Switched to Clover after subsequently disappointing for previous connections in a Longchamp Group 2, Al Nayyir (pictured) wasted no time regaining his form for his new stable in the G2 Lonsdale Stakes at York where he outran his weighty odds to push Vauban all the way to the line.

A drop in class to Listed level saw him bolt up at Newmarket on soft ground before he was far from disgraced behind the imperious Kyprios on Champions Day in the Long Distance Cup. If it ain’t broke, don’t fix it - so another trip to Meydan for Dubai World Cup night looks a prescient move.

Any horse purchased and owned by Dr Jim Hay and his wife Fitri has half a chance of ending up in Dubai at the Carnival and, in Democracy Dilemma, the duo have a speedster who progressed and thrived for a couple of outings in the UAE prior to returning home for the summer.

It took the son of Cotai Glory no time at all to show the benefit of his time at Meydan, stepping off the plane in early May to score at Chester, his third career victory on the Roodee. From that point, Robert Cowell’s likeable sprinter ran consistently before getting his head in front again in late August in the Listed Beverley Bullet.

A similar programme next year may well await and he is worth considering should he head to Chester for the May meeting once more as his course stats read 1811 at the north west venue.

A spring trip to the Middle East for the Dubai Gold Cup worked perfectly for Giavelotto who did nothing but thrive for his excursion to Dubai. Marco Botti’s globetrotter improved on his previous year’s effort in the G2 staying test by taking fifth, just under four lengths behind impressive scorer Tower Of London who had also beaten him in Saudi Arabia five weeks beforehand.

Giavelotto has never really looked a true stayer at two miles and a subsequent drop in trip saw him run out a stylish winner of the Yorkshire Cup at York at the expense of Vauban. Connections then campaigned him at 12 furlongs on two of his next three starts and that proved a smart move with victories at Newmarket in the G2 Princess Of Wales’s Stakes and in Hong Kong where he tasted top-level success for the first time in the Longines Hong Kong Vase. Unlike most, he is getting quicker as he gets older and the G1 Dubai Sheema Classic in March looks a very viable option.

Following two Meydan defeats in January and February, trainer Ralph Beckett could hardly have envisaged that Starlust would wind up an industrious calendar year with success in a Breeders’ Cup Turf Sprint.

A winter in the sun clearly helped the Zoustar colt’s longevity as he ran 11 times from January to December, was highly competitive throughout in the main while his CV also included a creditable third to Bradsell in the Nunthorpe at York. The G1 Al Quoz Sprint on World Cup night in April would look the natural target with his owners big fans of Dubai racing.

With a Carnival record of 0-44 last year, it was perhaps indicative of his stable’s winter that Wild Tiger managed to be beaten in both his Meydan starts in 2023-24, the second in a handicap at odds of 4-6.

Thankfully for connections he left those subdued efforts behind with three UK victories equipped in the cheekpieces, culminating in a Royal Ascot success in the Royal Hunt Cup. It will be interesting to see if the progressive son of Frankel can transfer his significant UK improvement back to Dubai.