With turf and Tapeta tracks replacing dirt, the lavish venue on the outskirts of Dubai is poised to bring major changes to the UAE's racing scene. Sarah Tregoning reports.
A luxury hotel and fine dining restaurants are all part of the Meydan grand tour, but what the horse racing world really wanted to get a look at during yesterday's media preview is just how the Nad Al Sheba dirt track has been transformed into a main 2,400-metre turf course with a 1,750-metre all-weather Tapeta track inside it.
The old venue hosted some truly memorable Dubai World Cup nights as great horses such as Cigar, Dubai Millennium and Invasor all cut up the dirt as they romped to victory in the richest race around.
But from the glass-fronted, 1.6km-long, 60,000-capacity grandstand there is nothing left of the old track and it is this difference, according to the Dubai Racing Club CEO Frank Gabriel Jr, that is likely to usher in a new kind of World Cup winner.
And while dirt specialists may now avoid the race, it is expected to attract a wider range of the world's best runners.
"Obviously the Dubai World Cup will now be run on a synthetic surface and we are likely to see some changes," Gabriel said. "There are always horses for courses and horses that run on grass and horses that run on dirt.
"But there is evidence to show that turf horses can perform on synthetic tracks and we could see some interesting competition between the dirt and turf horses who are going to meet on a level playing field. This is what we have seen in the US in the Breeders' Cup races."
The turf track has been designed with a straight 1,200-metre sprint stretch, opening up the possibility that the Dubai Golden Shaheen, the big sprint contest on World Cup night, could be switched to the grass. If the Golden Shaheen were to be run on the synthetic track, it would mean the horses would start opposite the grandstand on the far side of the track and run a bend into the finish.
Gabriel, however, did not rule out the chance of adding an extra race, which could conceivably be a turf sprint in addition to a sprint on the synthetic track, to the World Cup's traditional seven-contest card.
"We are still looking into this," he said. "But we see the fact that we have the straight sprint on the turf track as a great asset to us and we think trainers and owners will find it very attractive. We are thinking about adding an eighth race to the World Cup card and we are considering all the details that our new courses offer us."
Trainers will also be pleased with the facilities, which are nearing completion. The receiving barn at the end of the grandstand welcomes the runners. From there a track will take them to the back of the grandstand and a tunnel will lead them up into the paddock where they will parade before racing. Additional tunnels will give access to the synthetic track.
Additional design details have also been added to enhance the spectator experience on World Cup night.
The World Cup will now start on the track right in front of the grandstand, allowing the crowd front-row seats to the horses circling and being loaded into the gates before the off. The starting gates will be cleared and the horses will race round the track, before finishing in front of the stands.
Other elements of interest have also been added to the racing schedule, including a Meydan Masters on Super Thursday weekend. This is likely to be an international jockeys' challenge of the type recently hosted in Hong Kong, although the final details of this have not yet been decided.
"We have some of the best jockeys in the world here and we hope to have a jockeys' competition to add to our programme," said Meydan's board chairman and CEO, Saeed al Tayer.
Al Tayer added that the Dubai Racing Club had received numerous entries for the Dubai International Racing Carnival, which would be judged and accepted on the basis of quality.
Gabriel and al Tayer both said that they hoped to increase the numbers attending for weekly race meeting. "We want to see more people coming racing," said Gabriel. "We have a different product now and we think its appeal is still a broad one. We want to keep the people who came racing every week last season and also attract new spectators to the sport."
Gabriel could not confirm whether entry to the general racing concourse would be free, as had been the case at Nad Al Sheba.
stregoning@thenational.ae
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Paatal Lok season two
Directors: Avinash Arun, Prosit Roy
Stars: Jaideep Ahlawat, Ishwak Singh, Lc Sekhose, Merenla Imsong
Rating: 4.5/5
The specs
- Engine: 3.9-litre twin-turbo V8
- Power: 640hp
- Torque: 760nm
- On sale: 2026
- Price: Not announced yet
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6.30pm Meydan Classic Trial US$100,000 (Turf) 1,400m
Winner Bella Fever, Dane O’Neill (jockey), Mike de Kock (trainer).
7.05pm Handicap $135,000 (T) 1,400m
Winner Woven, Harry Bentley, David Simcock.
7.40pm UAE 2000 Guineas Group Three $250,000 (Dirt) 1,600m
Winner Fore Left, William Buick, Doug O’Neill.
8.15pm Dubai Sprint Listed Handicap $175,000 (T) 1,200m
Winner Rusumaat, Dane O’Neill, Musabah Al Muhairi.
8.50pm Al Maktoum Challenge Round-2 Group Two $450,000 (D) 1,900m
Winner Benbatl, Christophe Soumillon, Saeed bin Suroor.
9.25pm Handicap $135,000 (T) 1,800m
Winner Art Du Val, William Buick, Charlie Appleby.
10pm Handicap $135,000 (T) 1,400m
Winner Beyond Reason, William Buick, Charlie Appleby.
Killing of Qassem Suleimani
ARGYLLE
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RESULT
Aston Villa 1
Samatta (41')
Manchester City 2
Aguero (20')
Rodri (30')
UAE currency: the story behind the money in your pockets
Masters%20of%20the%20Air
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The specs: 2019 Mini Cooper
Price, base: Dh141,740 (three-door) / Dh165,900 (five-door)
Engine: 1.5-litre four-cylinder (Cooper) / 2.0-litre four-cylinder (Cooper S)
Power: 136hp @ 4,500rpm (Cooper) / 192hp @ 5,000rpm (Cooper S)
Torque: 220Nm @ 1,480rpm (Cooper) / 280Nm @ 1,350rpm (Cooper S)
Transmission: Seven-speed automatic
Fuel consumption, combined: 4.8L to 5.4L / 100km
Key facilities
- Olympic-size swimming pool with a split bulkhead for multi-use configurations, including water polo and 50m/25m training lanes
- Premier League-standard football pitch
- 400m Olympic running track
- NBA-spec basketball court with auditorium
- 600-seat auditorium
- Spaces for historical and cultural exploration
- An elevated football field that doubles as a helipad
- Specialist robotics and science laboratories
- AR and VR-enabled learning centres
- Disruption Lab and Research Centre for developing entrepreneurial skills
RESULTS
5pm Maiden (PA) Dh70,000 (Dirt) 1,400m
Winner AF Nashrah, Tadhg O’Shea (jockey), Ernst Oertel (trainer)
5.30pm Maiden (PA) Dh70,000 (D) 1,400m
Winner Mutaqadim, Riccardo Iacopini, Ibrahim Al Hadhrami.
6pm Maiden (PA) Dh70,000 (D) 1,600m
Winner Hameem, Jose Santiago, Abdallah Al Hammadi.
6.30pm Maiden (PA) Dh70,000 (D) 1,600m
Winner AF Almomayaz, Sandro Paiva, Ali Rashid Al Raihe.
7pm Handicap (PA) Dh70,000 (D) 1,800m
Winner Dalil Al Carrere, Fernando Jara, Mohamed Daggash.
7.30pm Handicap (TB) Dh70,000 (D) 1,000m
Winner Lahmoom, Royston Ffrench, Salem bin Ghadayer.
8pm Handicap (PA) Dh70,000 (D) 1,000m
Winner Jayide Al Boraq, Bernardo Pinheiro, Khalifa Al Neyadi.
Info
What: 11th edition of the Mubadala World Tennis Championship
When: December 27-29, 2018
Confirmed: men: Novak Djokovic, Rafael Nadal, Kevin Anderson, Dominic Thiem, Hyeon Chung, Karen Khachanov; women: Venus Williams
Tickets: www.ticketmaster.ae, Virgin megastores or call 800 86 823
Bundesliga fixtures
Saturday, May 16 (kick-offs UAE time)
Borussia Dortmund v Schalke (4.30pm)
RB Leipzig v Freiburg (4.30pm)
Hoffenheim v Hertha Berlin (4.30pm)
Fortuna Dusseldorf v Paderborn (4.30pm)
Augsburg v Wolfsburg (4.30pm)
Eintracht Frankfurt v Borussia Monchengladbach (7.30pm)
Sunday, May 17
Cologne v Mainz (4.30pm),
Union Berlin v Bayern Munich (7pm)
Monday, May 18
Werder Bremen v Bayer Leverkusen (9.30pm)
Killing of Qassem Suleimani
What can victims do?
Always use only regulated platforms
Stop all transactions and communication on suspicion
Save all evidence (screenshots, chat logs, transaction IDs)
Report to local authorities
Warn others to prevent further harm
Courtesy: Crystal Intelligence
Killing of Qassem Suleimani
THE BIO
Ms Al Ameri likes the variety of her job, and the daily environmental challenges she is presented with.
Regular contact with wildlife is the most appealing part of her role at the Environment Agency Abu Dhabi.
She loves to explore new destinations and lives by her motto of being a voice in the world, and not an echo.
She is the youngest of three children, and has a brother and sister.
Her favourite book, Moby Dick by Herman Melville helped inspire her towards a career exploring the natural world.
Sweet%20Tooth
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COMPANY%20PROFILE
%3Cp%3E%3Cstrong%3ECompany%20name%3A%3C%2Fstrong%3E%20Mozn%3C%2Fp%3E%0A%3Cp%3E%3Cstrong%3EStarted%3A%3C%2Fstrong%3E%202017%3C%2Fp%3E%0A%3Cp%3E%3Cstrong%3EFounders%3A%3C%2Fstrong%3E%20Mohammed%20Alhussein%2C%20Khaled%20Al%20Ghoneim%2C%20Abdullah%20Alsaeed%20and%20Malik%20Alyousef%3C%2Fp%3E%0A%3Cp%3E%3Cstrong%3EBased%3A%3C%2Fstrong%3E%20Riyadh%2C%20Saudi%20Arabia%3C%2Fp%3E%0A%3Cp%3E%3Cstrong%3EIndustry%3A%3C%2Fstrong%3E%20FinTech%3C%2Fp%3E%0A%3Cp%3E%3Cstrong%3EFunding%3A%3C%2Fstrong%3E%20%2410%20million%3C%2Fp%3E%0A%3Cp%3E%3Cstrong%3EInvestors%3A%3C%2Fstrong%3E%20Raed%20Ventures%2C%20Shorooq%20Partners%2C%20VentureSouq%2C%20Sukna%20Ventures%20and%20others%3C%2Fp%3E%0A
The specs
Engine: 4.0-litre flat-six
Torque: 450Nm at 6,100rpm
Transmission: 7-speed PDK auto or 6-speed manual
Fuel economy, combined: 13.8L/100km
On sale: Available to order now
UAE tour of the Netherlands
UAE squad: Rohan Mustafa (captain), Shaiman Anwar, Ghulam Shabber, Mohammed Qasim, Rameez Shahzad, Mohammed Usman, Adnan Mufti, Chirag Suri, Ahmed Raza, Imran Haider, Mohammed Naveed, Amjad Javed, Zahoor Khan, Qadeer Ahmed
Fixtures:
Monday, 1st 50-over match
Wednesday, 2nd 50-over match
Thursday, 3rd 50-over match
The specs: 2018 Jaguar E-Pace First Edition
Price, base / as tested: Dh186,480 / Dh252,735
Engine: 2.0-litre four-cylinder
Power: 246hp @ 5,500rpm
Torque: 365Nm @ 1,200rpm
Transmission: Nine-speed automatic
Fuel consumption, combined: 7.7L / 100km
Company profile
Date started: December 24, 2018
Founders: Omer Gurel, chief executive and co-founder and Edebali Sener, co-founder and chief technology officer
Based: Dubai Media City
Number of employees: 42 (34 in Dubai and a tech team of eight in Ankara, Turkey)
Sector: ConsumerTech and FinTech
Cashflow: Almost $1 million a year
Funding: Series A funding of $2.5m with Series B plans for May 2020
if you go
The flights
Air Astana flies direct from Dubai to Almaty from Dh2,440 per person return, and to Astana (via Almaty) from Dh2,930 return, both including taxes.
The hotels
Rooms at the Ritz-Carlton Almaty cost from Dh1,944 per night including taxes; and in Astana the new Ritz-Carlton Astana (www.marriott) costs from Dh1,325; alternatively, the new St Regis Astana costs from Dh1,458 per night including taxes.
When to visit
March-May and September-November
Visas
Citizens of many countries, including the UAE do not need a visa to enter Kazakhstan for up to 30 days. Contact the nearest Kazakhstan embassy or consulate.
COMPANY PROFILE
Name: Xpanceo
Started: 2018
Founders: Roman Axelrod, Valentyn Volkov
Based: Dubai, UAE
Industry: Smart contact lenses, augmented/virtual reality
Funding: $40 million
Investor: Opportunity Venture (Asia)
Jetour T1 specs
Engine: 2-litre turbocharged
Power: 254hp
Torque: 390Nm
Price: From Dh126,000
Available: Now