DUBAI // It was 1992 and Julian Smart was nestled in the cargo section of a plane flying from California to Abu Dhabi, accompanying two Purebred Arabian horses, Rabdan Ahmer and Suede.
That long and lonely journey was to change his life.
He was 21 and did not have much of a clue where he was headed, apart from the fact he was to be the racing trainer for Sheikh Tahnoon bin Zayed.
“We were racing Purebred Arabian horses in California and Sheikh Tahnoon brought some of the horses down to Abu Dhabi and I was very, very lucky to be invited to come along with them as a trainer,” Smart said this week.
“A new life unfolded for me. I had the best 14 years of my life in Abu Dhabi. I was offered the position by Sheikh Tahnoon but when I got here it was basically HH The President’s (Sheikh Zayed bin Sultan) Stables.”
Smart had horses for Sheikh Tahnoon and Sheikh Mansour and they all ran under the banner of HH The President.
“We had a lot of success,” he said. “We went to France and bought more horses.
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“It all started with Dent Du Loup, the warhorse who has a record which I can safely say can never be broken.
“He ran in 15 consecutive Maktoum Challenge legs. That will never happen again, that I am absolutely sure of.”
Dent Du Loup won his first two races and retired with a career record of (8-12-11) in 44 starts from January 1, 1995, to January 18, 2001.
Some of the big prizes Smart won were multiple HH The President's Cup, the National Day Cup and Maktoum Challenge legs. He won the Dubai Kahayla Classic with Nez D'Or in 2002.
“Nez D’Or was one of the fancied horses in the 2002 Kahayla but he still had to race against some of the good horses in opposition,” Smart said. “He stumbled at the start in that race and I thought it was all over because he was last. Somehow or another, he ended up circling the field and came around wide of the field. He came right down the outside and ran away with it.”
Smart was born and lived in Swansea, Wales, until 1989 when his parents migrated to Canada.
He was offered work by an owner of Purebred Arabians in California and jumped at the opportunity.
He returned to Meydan for the first time since he moved to Qatar to win the 2010 Kahayla Classic with Jaafer, the first Qatar-trained horse to win the Arabian showpiece on Dubai World Cup night.
“He was a brilliant horse and to come and compete in such races to win for Qatar first time was an honour and privilege,” Smart said.
“I travel all over the world with these horses. I am forever going to be indebted to Sheikh Tahnoon for the opportunity to come to the Gulf. I have been to Oman and now Qatar. They were great years.”
Smart was the first trainer to bring a horse from Oman, Zoumir, who won the UAE Arabian Derby in 2008.
“The Arabian racing industry has been absolutely brilliant for me,” he said. “I owe an awful lot to Sheikh Tahnoon for bringing me here all those years ago but now I am here to beat him.”
Smart is double-handed in Saturday’s Kahayla Classic with Djainka Des Forges, last year’s runner-up, and Taraf, in a field that includes Valiant Boy, running in the colours of Sheikh Tahnoon.
Smart moved to Qatar after HH The President’s Stables closed.
“Qatar racing is improving unbelievably,” he said. “I remember when I came to Abu Dhabi in 1992 and now this place has grown tremendously over the years and Qatar is not far behind.
“With the influx now, particularly Sheikh Joaan (Al Thani) and Al Sakab Racing, they are taking it to a different level.
“The quality of horses has improved and I think, in general, Qatar have the better Arabians. But thoroughbreds, not yet.
“It is good to see one or two from Qatar coming over so they are going in the right direction.”
apassela@thenational.ae
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