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Winner: Plus Que Parfait
Owner: Imperial Racing LLC
Trainer: Brendan Walsh
Jockey: Jose Ortiz

Official Time: 1:58.41 (1900m, Track Record: 1:55.18 – Mendelssohn, 2018)

Margin of Victory: ¾ lengths

Brendan Walsh, who once spent a decade working on the Godolphin team in Dubai before heading to the USA with hopes of becoming a trainer, saw his long-held dream come true when his his first runner in the Dubai, Plus Que Parfait, won the $2.5 UAE Derby Sponsored by the Saaed & Mohammed Al Naboodah Group (G2).

Winner: Cross Counter (GB)
Owner: Godolphin
Trainer: Charlie Appleby
Jockey: William Buick

Official Time: 3.19.00 (3200m, Track Record: 3:17.92 – Vazirabad, 2018)

Margin of Victory: 1 1/4

Cross Counter successfully bridged the gap between Australia and the UAE with a brilliant victory for jockey William Buick over Isopolini – like the winner a 4-year-old owned by Godolphin and trained by Charlie Appleby – in the Dubai Gold Cup sponsored by Al Tayer Motors (G2), run over 3200m and with a purse of $1.5m.

Winner: AF Maher (AE)
Owner: Mr. Khalid Khalifa Al Nabooda
Trainer: Earnest Oertel
Jockey: Tadhg O’Shea

Official Time: 2.15.67 (2000m, Track Record: 2:13.68 – Tallaab Al Khalediah, 2018)

Margin of Victory: Nose

AF Maher confirms his class in the Dubai Kahayla Classic

$6 million Dubai Turf (G1) sponsored by DP World
Majestic Mambo—Majestic Mambo, trained by South African Mike de Kock, is having just his second start for the yard. Last out, he finished sixth to Dream Castle in the Group 1 Jebel Hatta over the Dubai Turf’s 1800m turf trip.

“That was a very good run,” De Kock said. “He needed that race badly and had a really good blow afterwards. Three weeks on, he is now much straighter, but it is a very strong race.”

In the same race, De Kock also saddles Yulong Prince who will be having his first start for the trainer.

The world’s elite horseracing performers from 2018 will be honoured at the His Highness Sheikh Mohammed bin Rashid Al Maktoum Horseracing Excellence Awards, on March 28, 2019, two days ahead of the world’s richest race meeting, the US$35 million Dubai World Cup 2019. An initiative of the Vice President and Prime Minister of the UAE and Ruler of Dubai, HH Sheikh Mohammed bin Rashid Al Maktoum, the awards are a testimony to sporting excellence in the UAE and across the globe.

Audible—Co-owners Jack Wolf of Starlight Racing and Elliott Walden of WinStar Farm were on scene at Meydan to lay eyes on the son of Into Mischief as he prepares for his start in the $12 million Dubai World Cup sponsored by Emirates Airline (G1). Under exercise rider Amelia Green, Audible came to the track in his usual time slot, shortly after 7:00 a.m., to gallop twice around.

Divine Image, who has drawn post number 6 in the Group 2 UAE Derby sponsored by Saeed & Mohammed Al Naboodah Group, is bidding to become only the second filly to lift the 1900m dirt race that two years ago produced 2018 Dubai World Cup winner Thunder Snow. Trained by Charlie Appleby, the daughter of Scat Daddy has been victorious on her last two starts at Meydan and produced an impressive performance when she burst clear by 7 ¼ lengths, beating the boys in the Listed Al Bastakiya three weeks ago.