Dubai Creek Mile at Meydan heads stellar week for UAE race fans

DUBAI: The card for this week’s horse racing at Meydan Racecourse in the UAE is nothing short of outstanding for the time of year. The first thoroughbred Listed race of the season, the Dubai Creek Mile, has two Group 1 winners in it, plus a host of horses that could stamp their mark on Dubai World Cup night. Sixth in the 2021 Dubai World Cup when last seen, the talented and popular Military Law trained away last season without making a race for trainer Musabbeh Al-Mheiri and owner Nasir Askar.

And he will need to be fit to win, facing a Uruguayan Group 1 winner in Atletico El Culano, plus Golden Goal, who must give 2 kilograms to the field because of his Group 2 win last season. Another strong contender will be Capezzano, a Group 1 winner returning after almost one year off and tipped to be back to his best. The card also has a strong three-year-old rated conditions event, race six, which sees the return of last year’s G3 UAE 2000 Guineas winner Azure Coast.

The horse has had a remarkable career, starting in Russia, before winning two of three starts in the UAE last season, returning to Moscow with a win in September, and now traveling back to Dubai. This time he will be with his Russian jockey Myrzabek Kappushev up against a tough field including UAE Derby fourth-place finisher Bendoog, one of the biggest horses in training at the yard of champion trainer Bhupat Seemar. Racing fans in the UAE are in for a treat at the weekend, with four meetings, including Al-Ain on Friday, Jebel Ali on Saturday, and the Jewel Crown fixture at Abu Dhabi on Sunday.