Saeed bin Suroor: Dubai World Cup’s legacy of excellence borne out of Sheikh Mohammed bin Rashid's vision

Dubai’s vision has always involved establishing the city as a global benchmark in every aspect from innovation, commerce, luxury living and a hub for international sporting events.

The Dubai World Cup (DWC) is one such marker of Sheikh Mohammed bin Rashid. The Vice President and Ruler of Dubai’s voracious ambitions for the event was to secure its reputation as one of the highlights on the horse racing calendar.

As such, the DWC and Meydan Racecourse were built and established with the unwavering passion, love, and devotion by a turf giant in the industry – Sheikh Mohammed.

Sheikh Mohammed laid out the blueprint with his siblings, the late Sheikh Maktoum and Sheikh Hamdan, together with Sheikh Ahmed.

They all shared a passion for horses that has kept the ball rolling on the nation’s horse-racing scene, which has soared to nearly unparalleled heights over the sport’s history.

There’s no better person to serve as the narrator of this success story than the long serving Godolphin trainer Saeed bin Suroor as he speaks on the foundations of one of the flagship race meetings that takes place at Meydan Racecourse on Saturday and counts 29 years in the running.

Godolphin was founded in 1991 and Bin Suroor was appointed as the first trainer for the Dubai racing operation.

The Emirati took the racing world by storm when he claimed the first of his four British trainer’s championship titles in only his second year after receiving his UK trainer’s licence in 1995.

Until now, he has saddled over 2,400 winners around the world, of which more than 200 are Group or Grade 1s, highlighted by 13 English Classics, the Prix de l’Arc de Triomphe in France and the Arlington Million in the United States.

Bin Suroor is also the most successful trainer in the DWC, winning the prize nine times and the only trainer to saddle the same horse, Thunder Snow, to win the prize twice in a row in 2018 and 2019.

Bin Suroor hails from a family that has owned and bred Purebred Arabians, which is how he got acquainted with Sheikh Mohammed before being appointed the Godolphin trainer.

“The royal and affluent families owned and bred the Purebred Arabians, and they took part in the traditional races in the desert and later on racetracks in Dubai, Sharjah and Abu Dhabi before racing was staged under Rules,” Bin Suroor told The National in an exclusive interview.

“I was born to a family that owned and bred the Arabian horses for generations. So I was related to horses since I was a baby and I loved them all through until now.”

It was horses that led him to cross paths with the Dubai ruling family.

“Back in the days, there were discussions to bring down thoroughbreds and begin racing big time,” Bin Suroor said.

“Thoroughbred racing was already established in Europe and the USA and the races were celebrated and possessed a rich history and traditions.

“The question arose that Dubai will never be able to go back in time to establish races that had centuries of history and traditions. The only way to make the Dubai World Cup to get the international attention was to stage the world’s richest race.”

The inaugural DWC had a prize money of $4 million, the richest race for the thoroughbreds at the time. The total prize fund now stands at a whopping $30.5 million, including the $12 million purse for the feature Dubai World Cup race.

It is the type of prize fund that has attracted some of the best equine luminaries from around the world including the entry of Cigar, the two-time American Horse of the Year.

The dark bay son of Palace Music won 16 consecutive races and ended his career with 19 wins, four seconds and placed third five times.

“Cigar was a superstar at that time and the horse coming down and winning the Dubai World Cup was a perfect advertisement for Dubai,” Bin Suroor recalls.

“Cigar’s arrival for the inaugural Dubai World Cup made headlines in the racing industry around the world. His victory set the benchmark for what was to come.

“Dubai couldn’t have wished for a better start and today the Dubai World Cup remains one of the most sought after meetings in the equestrian world. The event draws the best horses from all corners of the earth and an audience anxiously waiting for the action on the track.”

The Emirates Racing Authority was founded in 1992 and racing under Rules were first held in the 1993/94 season, which led to the meteoric rise of racing in the UAE.

“Like how Dubai started to boom as a city, racing too established itself in no time,” Bin Suroor explains.

“No sooner had the racing industry here started to grow then came the idea of staging a race that would capture the world. Many countries had their iconic races and race meetings but Dubai as a new venue could only take the world by offering the biggest prize money at the time.

“Then one thing led to another and today the Dubai World Cup attracts the best horses and is followed and watched by the racing fans from around the world.”

Wayne Mason, the travelling head lad of the Zabeel Stables, is one of the longest serving people in the UAE’s racing industry. He was lucky to have watched Cigar win the Hollywood Gold Cup at Hollywood Park on July 2, 1995.

“I had the good fortune of seeing the great Cigar complete his ninth straight victory that day,” the Chennai resident, who accompanied the Jebel Ali Stables trainer Dhruba Selvaratnam to the US with three horses, said.

“I was so excited when I heard Cigar was coming down for the Dubai World Cup. He was the hot topic among the racing circles when the news broke out.”

Mason spent 25 years as a work rider, jockey, and stable head lad at Sheikh Ahmed’s Jebel Ali Stables before moving to the Zabeel Stables following the retirement of Selvaratnam.

“Arriving in Dubai in September 1992, I never expected racing to reach the level of a Dubai World Cup and a racecourse built of such repute and prestige, and some of the best horses from around the world to come and race in Dubai,” he said.

If the inaugural DWC meeting set the world alight, what followed in the second year was a near disaster. Dubai experienced a heavy deluge of rain before the start of the opening race, leaving the track under water.

Sheikh Mohammed was personally out on the trackside to inspect the damage. He even ordered military helicopters to fan and dry the surface but it was unfortunately all in vain.

The meeting was eventually rescheduled and took place a week later with Sheikh Mohammed inviting all the international connections to extend their stay in Dubai as his guests.

With bright sunshine expected over the next couple of days, Nad Al Sheba was ready to put on a show and the race fittingly won by Singspiel, a horse owned by Sheikh Mohammed, trained by Michael Stoute and ridden by American Jerry Bailey.

“This type of preparation to have the race meeting rescheduled can only happen in Dubai under the directives of His Highness,” Bin Suroor added.

In 1998, Bin Suroor was denied success when Swain under Mick Kinane was beaten by a short head by Bob Baffert’s Silver Charm with Gary Stevens atop.

The Emirati didn’t have to wait long as he scooped the first of his nine successes with Almutawakel in the silks of the late Sheikh Hamdan and ridden by Richard Hills.

He completed back-to-back wins when Dubai Millennium under Frankie Dettori carried the Godolphin silks to win in a record time of 1mins, 59.50 secs, the first and only horse until now to run under two minutes at the Nad Al Sheba Racecourse.

While every winner of the DWC was special for Bin Suroor, he picked Dubai Millennium as his best, being bred by Sheikh Mohammed.

Jockey Frankie Dettori, left, Sheikh Mohamed bin Rashid, then the UAE Minister of Defence and Crown Prince of Dubai, and Sheikh Rashid bin Maktoum, Ruler of Dubai, celebrate after Dubai Millennium won the Dubai World Cup at Nad Al Sheba on March 25, 2000. AFP
Jockey Frankie Dettori, winner of the world's richest horse race, gestures to the crowd after winning the 2000 Dubai World Cup aboard Dubai Millennium. AFP
Jockey Frankie Dettori celebrates. AFP
Jockey Frankie Dettori celebrates. AFP
Dubai Millennium, ridden by Frankie Dettori, passes the finish line. AFP
Dubai Millennium, ridden by Frankie Dettori, crosses the finish line at the Nad al Sheba racetrack to win the world's richest horse race in March 2000. AFP
Dubai Millennium, ridden by Frankie Dettori, raises the hand of Sheikh Mohammed bin Rashid, after the race. AFP

With the DWC meeting getting bigger and better every year, it became paramount to build a racecourse that could accommodate a 60,000 strong crowd.

“Meydan is a stand-out racecourse in the world,” Bin Suroor said of the facility that includes the world's first five-star trackside hotel with 285 rooms, two racetracks and the Grandstand, which consists of a racing museum and 72 corporate suites for entertaining guests throughout the year.

“Meydan provides pure luxury of watching the races from the balcony of the hotel. It’s a new experience for anyone who wants to watch the races from the hotel room.”

Tadhg O’Shea, winner of the DWC on Laurel River last year, heaped more praise on the flagship meeting and the facilities.

“For me, the Meydan Racecourse is a mesmerising place where dreams become reality,” the all-time leading jockey with 826 winners and 12 UAE jockey's titles said.

“The DWC meeting gets bigger and more prestigious year in and year out. It has attracted a worldwide audience, which I believe is the vision of Sheikh Mohammed.

“For me, the DWC meeting is a huge occasion. It's fantastic to be part of it. It has got one of the best turf tracks in the world.

“Any international jockeys that have ridden all over the world have nothing but compliments about both the turf and dirt tracks.

“The minds of those overseeing the event never sits still, they are always striving to improve, whether it's the race programme or new ideas, new initiatives, so it's forever moving forward.”

Bhupat Seemar, who became the first local trainer to win the DWC with Laurel River, lauded the event as a prestigious annual extravaganza in the world racing calendar.

“To watch and be a part of the Dubai World Cup for over 20 years and then to win it eventually was a dream come true,” he said.

“The DWC meeting has left an indelible mark on the equine world. It’s not only the highlight of the UAE season but a meeting that attracts the leading horses, trainers, owners, breeders and racing fans from all over the world.”

As part of the successful stable staff of Zabeel, Mason has watched every single race of the Dubai World Cup live and singles out Laurel River’s win last year as his most memorable moment after the Bin Suroor-trained Al Mutawakel’s victory in the silks of the late Sheikh Hamdan in 1999.

“The late Sheikh Hamdan was very supportive in the growth of racing and I always admired him as for being such a good support for everyone in the industry,” he added.

“Laurel River’s win was a very special to all the stable hands. It was awesome to be part of that celebrations and one of the most cherished moments on the job.”

Going into the weekend’s DWC meeting conspicuous in their absence in the season’s highlight and the feature event of the nine-race card is the Godolphin silks.

“It’s a tough race to win and you really need to come with a horse to challenge for the prize,” Bin Suroor said on the Dubai racing operation's absence in the race.

Bin Suroor, 56, counts over 34 years as Godolphin trainer but his passion and commitment for work remains the same. He works seven days a week throughout the year and has been adequately rewarded with numerous successes.

“I don’t consider what I do as a job. It’s the passion that drives me,” he said. “His Highness has always supported me. He’s a very generous and kind person, and his passion and love for horses is unrivalled. It’s an honour to be trainer for him.

“Every horse that won the Dubai World Cup was carefully handpicked and prepared for this race. It takes a long time to prepare them, mostly from racing on the turf and running them on the dirt surface.

“I couldn’t find a horse for this edition but hopefully be back to have another go at the prize.”

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