Frankie Dettori will not be the only rider who arrives on Thursday morning in Dubai having taken a red-eye flight from London.
Having ridden in nine races in England on Wednesday, jockey Luke Morris was set to take the 10pm flight from London Heathrow to the UAE to partner Lui Rei in the opening 1,200-metre handicap at Meydan on Thursday.
To underline his work ethic, the 25-year-old jockey is down to ride six mounts back in England on Friday.
It will be the second time the former British all-weather champion has graced Meydan this season, having ridden Lui Rei to eighth place two weeks ago on the opening night of the Dubai World Cup Carnival.
Morris also missed out on a big paycheque two weeks ago when Hototo was a narrow second, also for trainer Fawzi Nass.
“Generally, I arrive at 8.30am and I have room in the Meydan Hotel where I have a bath, have a few hours of sleep before chilling out for the rest of the day by the pool before racing,” he said. “My flight leaves at 10pm and 15 minutes later I am asleep.”
If you think commuting along the Shiekh Zayed Road is bad, spare a thought for Morris, who averages 60,000 miles a season in England in the search for winners, although to be fair he has the help of a full-time driver.
In the realms of any other sport you would be laughed out of town if you turned up before a fixture having flown in overnight on the day of the match, but Morris highlights an essential difference with horse racing.
“For me, I don’t have weight issues and I can have a meal on the flight and have breakfast when I get there,” he said. “A football player plays for 90 minutes, whereas I will be in any race for under two minutes. It’s not a problem.”
sports@thenational.ae
