A long way to Mallow

By Stephen Dwyer

Tadhg O’ Shea arrives at Meydan early. It is Dubai World Cup Day, the climax of the racing season in the United Arab Emirates. A nine race card carries almost $30 million in prize money, with $20 million of that set aside for the last three races alone. An hour and a half before the first race, Tadhg is sitting in the shade by the weigh room. Looking relaxed he is happy to talk about the season just past.

Including the two rides he at this year’s World Cup, Tadhg O’ Shea will have ridden in 278 races this season. He is the busiest jockey in the United Arab Emirates and it is no happy coincidence that with 37 wins, he is about to be crowed Champion Jockey for the second time in three years.

Last season he missed out on completing a double in the jockey’s championship when losing out by a single winner to Kildare native Wayne Smith. Not so this time as he finished five winners ahead of Royston Ffrench and nine ahead of Wayne Smith in third. In his tenth year racing in Dubai, O’ Shea is well settled to riding at Meydan, the world’s largest and most expensive racecourse.

The United Arab Emirates are long way from home. It is about 4,000 miles as the crow flies to Dromahane near Mallow, where Tadhg O’ Shea hails from. With no real family racing background, he attended the eleven month RACE academy and graduated from there in 1998. O’ Shea rode his first winner a year later at Tipperary for Michael Halford. That winner, Class Society, was the first of many as an apprentice and serving his time at the Halford yard, O’ Shea won two Champion Apprentice titles.

It was after winning his first Champion Apprentice title that the opportunity arose for Tadhg to travel to Dubai. He recalls “Sheikh Hamdan Bin Rashid Al Maktoum very kindly sponsored a trip to come to Dubai for a four-month all-expenses trip. It was a working holiday where I spent a month each working with four different trainers. Erwan Charpy from France, Paddy Rudkin from the UK, Kiaran McLaughlin from the USA and John Sadler from Australia”

Four months in Dubai passed all too quickly and this exposure to different training yards had a lasting influence on the young jockey. This trip also planted a seed that he could compete on an international level. When O’ Shea won the Champion Apprentice title in Ireland for the second year, another four month trip was made to Dubai. It is also worth mentioning that the jockeys he beat to the title were Colm O'Donoughue and Pat Cosgrave, both high class riders then and now. From an early age O’ Shea showed very real potential and was quick to capitalise on it in Dubai.

After losing his apprentice claim, O’ Shea was to spend five seasons with Erwan Charpy as the stable’s first-choice jockey. The opportunities offered by Charpy, coupled with a strong work ethic elevated the young Cork man’s career. So much so that he was offered the position of second jockey with the much-vaunted Sheikh Hamdan racing outfit. Angus Gold, the racing manager to Sheikh Hamdam offered Tadhg the position in 2008 where he would replace Martin Dwyer. O’ Shea admits “without even thinking, the answer was immediate”.

The scale of the opportunities in Dubai is deeply impressive, there is racing three days a week and scores of high-class horses available to ride; O’Shea admits “I count myself as very lucky to ride with Sheikh Hamdam, he is a very loyal and knowledgeable man and is one of the best judges of a race you can meet. With the amount of horses he has and the setup over here I have to pinch myself most days when I wake up in the morning”.

Living in Dubai for five full months of the year is made much easier with the company of his wife Debbie and their 18 month old son, Daragh. It was at the RACE academy that Tadhg met Debbie, they have known each other for half their lives and Tadhg semi-seriously jokes that “Debbie is a full time mummy to two of us, Daragh and myself”.

Right across the spectrum, Debbie provides immeasurable support to Tadhg and he is quick to provide examples where she assists with his diet and more importantly; encouragement; “Debbie is very supportive, I met her in 1998 at RACE and we went to Michael Halfords. She comes from a racing background, her family own Blackhall Stud in Wexford and she is very knowledgeable. Debbie is always there for me on both the good days and the bad days and gives me a lot of confidence; she really is the unsung hero.”

Aside from racing three days a week and riding out each morning, Tadhg runs 5 Kilometres every day. No easy task given the intense heat. The outdoor run is around Zabeel Park and is completed even if he is racing that day. Maintaining a weight of 52KG is a managed a little better in temperatures often in the high thirties by mid morning.

The prize money in Dubai is also very attractive. Riding fees are 600 AED ($126) and the standard 10% cut of the prize money for riders applies. There is prize money awarded right down to sixth place. In his two rides on Dubai World Cup night Tadhg would finish sixth in the first race, collecting $5,000 for connections and fifth in the second race, where $30,000 was awarded for that placing.

For a 30 year old, Tadhg is an old hat at riding at the Dubai World Cup meeting. This year was his seventh and he believes that riding in Dubai and especially at this meeting has had nothing but a positive effect. “Dubai makes you a better rider, if you are going around with the best jockeys in the world for five months of the year it has to make you a better rider in every aspect”.

With many top jockeys having ridden in Dubai, O’ Shea is following is a familiar path to the top of the pecking order. Frankie Dettori and Mickael Barzalona are in demand for Godolphin and both are crowd favourites. However O’ Shea is a very popular figure and regularly interviewed in the media. Finishing the season with 17 winners, Richard Hills made a final appearance on World Cup night. O’ Shea is quick to praise Hills “Richard Hills has been a massive influence on my career; he is a very dedicated guy and could not have been more helpful to me”.

The appointment of Paul Hanagan, replacing Richard Hills as leading rider to Sheikh Hamdam was also well received “Paul is a great bloke; I think we will work very well together and we have been very close for a long time. I hope he rides as many winners as he can because it means if he is having a good year so am I and I wish him all the best”.

After riding his two races and collecting the jockey’s championship award Tadhg and his wife and son flew back to Ireland. His aim for the remainder of the year is of course to ride as many winners as possible for Sheikh Hamdam. He would dearly like to pick up a Group 1 and no doubt any spare rides in his book will be quickly filled.

Speaking about the current crop of three year olds, Tadhg is very sweet on a 3yo filly out of 2005 Oaks winner Eswarah “Firdaws is a filly we hope will be the flag bearer for us”. Trained by Roger Varian, she could be one to follow this season.

Tadhg’s philosophy in Dubai is very positive, he believes that you can only improve as a rider there and he knows it has brought him forward mentally. He is a very amiable person but under the surface is highly determined. “In November we will come back fighting to Dubai and will be going all out to win the title again”. He would welcome the influx of some younger Irish riders to Dubai as he knows first hand the doors that this can open.

Tadhg resolutely believes that the best is yet to come. Numerically this winter in Dubai has been his most successful to date, he makes the most of every opportunity and works very hard at getting the best from himself. You don’t get one of the top jobs in racing any other way.

Four thousand miles then from Mallow to Meydan but a journey well worth taking. There is no doubt that Tadhg O’ Shea’s star is still rising.

Dubai is lucky to have him.

 © The Irish Field - April 2012

A mile in May

 

By Stephen Dwyer

It is the youngest of the classics. 38 running’s of the St. Leger had taken place before the inaugural 1000 Guineas was held at Newmarket in 1814. Racing over a mile on the wide, galloping Rowley Mile Course , this year’s crop of elite 3yo fillies will meet on Sunday 6th May to earn the right to write themselves into history.

All of four centuries ago, King Charles II was a regular visitor to Newmarket. He would regularly ride Old Rowley, one of his favourite sporting horses on what is now called the July Course. Bothered by the problem of the sun getting in his eyes on this course, The King found a new stretch of turf. This became known as The Rowley Mile, the track on which the 1000 and 2000 Guineas are both run on each year.

Although restricted to fillies, the 1000 Guineas boasts the same prize money as the 2000 Guineas since 2001. Now an integral element of the 35-race British Champions' Series, the Qipco 1000 Guineas boasts a total prize fund of £350,000. It is an extremely competitive event and in recent years the results have been staggeringly close. In 2010 Special Duty was awarded the race in the stewards room when bumped in-running and beaten by a nose. Last year Blue Bunting won by 3/4 of a length,  Natagora won by 1/2 length in 2008, pulsating finishes are now the norm.

The 2012 renewal of the 1000 Guineas promises to be another exciting contest. Aidan O’ Brien bids to claim his second win in the classic with the current market leader, Maybe. Winner of the Group 1 Moyglare Stud Stakes and the Chesham Stakes both over 7f, Maybe steps up to a mile for the first time in the 1000 Guineas. By Galileo, the extra furlong should pose little difficulty for last year’s Champion 2yo filly and this exciting entry bids to extend her unbeaten sequence to six races. Maybe is out of Sumora, a Danehill mare, who is also a three parts sister to the 2011 Oaks winner Dancing Rain. Sumora was sold for 2.4 million Guineas to M.V Magnier of Coolmore and although Maybe is currently available at odds of 3/1 for the race, she is sure to go off shorter on the day.

Another interesting Irish runner is Lightening Pearl trained by County Meath-based Ger Lyons. Her target is the 1000 Guineas ever since she won the Cheveley Park Stakes over 6f on her final start as a juvenile. Although there are a questions over her stamina she has won over 7f and will certainly be quick enough.  Lightening Pearl only finished 2½ lengths behind Maybe in a Group 2 at the Curragh and at odds of 16/1 represents solid value.

Favourites have won three out of the last five renewals of the 1000 Guineas and Mahmood Al Zarooni who saddled Blue Bunting to victory last year bids to upset the chances of Ballydoyle. Al Zarooni trains Discourse, winner of the Group 3 Sweet Solera Stakes at Newmarket last August. Discourse ran on impressively under Frankie Dettori when justifying favouritism in the Sweet Solera Stakes over 7f but the form of that race has turned out to be very ordinary.  Clive Brittain’s Wahylah is the only runner who  who finished behind Discourse to subsequently win a race to date. Discourse also missed the remainder of her juvenile season with  an undisclosed injury and her pedigree suggests that she may be better over a longer trip.

It is worth noting that with three wins since 1998, Godolphin are the most successful winners of the 1000 Guineas in recent times. Another one of their runners, Lyric Of Light, enters the race with a live chance. Also trained by Mahmood Al Zarooni, Lyric Of Light is another high class unbeaten filly. Despite a tendency to hang  in the final furlong of her races she won the Group 1 Shadwell Fillies' Mile at the end of last season.  Lyric Of Light never wins by much however, the distances that she has won her three races by are ¾ length, a neck and a head. She also holds an entry in the Oaks and is a filly that warrants closer inspection given her course and distance form and the records of her connections in the race in recent years.

As well as being the second classic of the season, the 1000 Guineas is the inaugural leg of the fillies’ Triple Crown. The fillies’ Triple Crown comprise of the 1000 Guineas, The Oaks and St Leger. Realistically not many fillies have a live chance of winning the triple crown this year and it is rare to achieve this. The  the last filly to win all three was Oh So Sharp in 1985.

Another interesting statistic to note on May 6^th is that seven out of the last ten 1000 Guineas winners were trained in the UK and half of the last ten had won previously at Newmarket on their last race. Despite the Ballydoyle contingent looking particularly strong this year, Godolphin have made a good start to the season and are sure to go close. It has also been confirmed that both Lyric Of Light and Discourse will not have a preparatory run before the 1000 Guineas but there will be little doubt they will be fully tuned on the day.

The French too will not be without their say. They boast a good record in the race and without a doubt a filly to take serious note of is Jean-Claude Rouget's Mashoora. She was bought for 280,000gns at the 2010 Tattersalls yearling sales by Shadwell and is a full-sister to Lowther Stakes winner Silk Blossom. Mashoora won the Prix Imprudence  in eye catching style in April of this year. The Prix Imprudence is a major 1000 Guineas trial and the manner in which she won this race at Maisons-Laffitte  was imperious. Under a hands and heels ride from Christophe Soumillon  she was soon clear and heavily eased crossing the line. Travelling over to Newmarket she will have no fear of the challenge on offer.

Challenges then from all corners, little doubt that the quality and competitive nature of the 1000 Guineas allows it to be the centrepiece of a strong seven race card.

Very shortly there will be a new Queen of Newmarket, exciting times on The Rowley Mile.

Trivia Box:

Fastest winning time:	Ghanaati (2009) in 1m 34.22s
Widest winning margin:	20 lengths - Mayonaise (1859)
Longest odds winner :	50/1 - Ferry (1918)
Shortest odds winner :	1/10 - Crucifix (1840)
Most runners :	29 - in 1926

Race Details: 1,000 Guineas run at Newmarket: Sunday 06 May 2012

Race Odds (correct as of April 17th)

Maybe 3/1f

Wading 7/1

Discourse 8/1

Lyric Of Light 8/1

Mashoora 9/1

La Collina 12/1

Lightening Pearl 16/1

20/1 bar

(article copyright Betview Magazine)

A Beautiful Friendship

By Stephen Dwyer

An early departure could so easily have happened. Barely thirty seconds into this year’s Gold Cup, What A Friend met the second fence on a wrong stride and fell. Upsides him was Synchronised,  Tony McCoy was blessed not to be brought down as What A Friend tumbled on landing. McCoy then quickened away from the fallen horse, his luck was in. On the first circuit, Synchronised ran along the rail near the rear guard. Efforts to settle him proved in vain and several times he was out of camera shot such was his distance from the main protagonists. 

Half a mile later, McCoy was visibly hard at work on Synchronised when Ruby Walsh pulled up Kauto Star whose departure met with sincere applause from the 70,458 in attendance.  Nine 12-year-olds have been placed in Gold Cups but not this year and it remains to be seen if we have seen the last of the great horse. After the Gold Cup Ruby Walsh admitted that McCoy noticed that Kauto was not travelling well had said to him mid-race; “If I were you I’d pull him up”, it was a measured call and the right decision. 

As Kauto Star made his way back to the grandstand, McCoy was still niggling his horse along. He would touch 25/1 in-running during the race and several times it looked like his chance was lost. It seemed a tough day at the office for the Champion Jockey. Synchronised is not the most natural jumper in the world but McCoy made his mind up for him at several fences. Every time he was not fluent over a fence, his jockey would push and encourage him further. Turning for home, Synchronised was last of the chasing pack. Long Run was niggled by Sam Waley-Cohen and McCoy was several lengths off the pace. It was only at the last fence that a fully extended jump gained ground and he quickened on landing. Synchronised stayed on well, ears pricked, and won going away from The Giant Bolster and Long Run.  

Surprisingly,  Synchronised had run only once over fences this season prior to The Gold Cup. He beat the well-touted Quito De La Roque and Rubi Light in the Grade 1 Lexus Chase at Leopardstown over Christmas and was expected to travel well in this year’s renewal of The Gold Cup. Prior to winning The Lexus he had started at 25/1 and 50/1 in two Handicap Hurdles. If not a brilliant jumper, Synchronised is a magnificent stayer. He won the Midlands National over 4m 1f and is a dual winner of the Welsh National over 3m 5f. 

Speaking with McCoy afterwards he admitted; “Synchronised is all heart and he’s all will to win and I felt coming round the turn that nobody was going to come home better than him. This sounds like a crazy thing to say about a Gold Cup horse but he’s not really a chaser. He hasn’t got the physique but he won purely because of the size of his heart and by Jonjo producing him to win.”

 

It was a first Gold Cup victory for JP McManus and his 36^th Cheltenham win to date. JP didn’t back Synchronised but he knew his horse would see out the distance; “When he jumped the third last I began to think he had a good chance. I knew he’d stay very well and in the Gold Cup you have to get that trip. That’s the one thing you have to do, otherwise you don’t win it.”

JP was quick to praise McCoy. He was simply sensational aboard Synchronised, he used all of his experience and gritty resolve to win the race. He attacked the fences in contrast to Sam Waley-Cohen who you feel did not extract the best from Long Run. Instead of confidence trickling down to the horse, Waley-Cohen regressed into an uneasy rhythm. Remember that when Mr. Mulligan won the Gold Cup with McCoy on board in 1997, Sam-Waley Cohen was barely fifteen years old, that is the depth of the gulf in class. Waley-Cohen was also banned for two days for his third-placed ride on Long Run Cup after the stewards found he had used his whip above the permitted level. There is more to come from Long Run but the day rightly belonged to Synchronised who is the 8/1 favourite for the Aintree Grand National.  He is gamely bidding to become the first horse since Golden Miller in 1934 to win the Gold Cup and The Aintree Grand National in the same season.

There was a final twist in the story too, the Dam of Synchronised is Mayasta who was also owned by JP McManus. Mayasta, trained by Francis Berry for JP was the winner of nine races under rules. In a Handicap Hurdle at the Punchestown Festival back in 1996, Mayasta became the first winner that Tony McCoy rode for McManus. It was the beginning of a beautiful friendship.

The Big Four

By Stephen Dwyer

The odds are stacked against them. 16/1 is the current price for the big four to retain their crown. Hurricane Fly, Big Buck’s, Sizing Europe and Long Run are all worthy champions but surely something has to give ?

Cheltenham is no time to get heavily involved in short priced favourites. In recent Festivals the hotpots of Dunguib, Kauto Star and Master Minded were all beaten at odds of 4/5 or shorter. In 2011 Cue Card, Time for Rupert, Master Minded and Poquelin started around the 2/1 mark and again failed to win or in some cases, even place. No question that the “big four” are class acts but there are too many variables for them all to win this year. Although all are proven at Prestbury Park, it is a tall order to win there two years in a row.

Hurricane Fly, the reigning Champion Hurdler faces the toughest race of his career on Tuesday. Granted he was mightily impressive in last year’s renewal but faces a young improver in Zarkandar and an in-form Binocular. He had Peddler’s Cross, Oscar Whisky and Thousand Stars behind him in 2011 but none of these are as quick as Binocular on his day. There is one negative against Binocular in that the last winner of the Christmas Hurdle to go on and to Champion Hurdle success was Dawn Run in 1984. Binocular was held by Hurricane Fly at Punchestown last May and it is difficult to see him beating a horse considered by many to be as good, if not better than Istabraq. Last word on this to Tony Mullins who said at a recent preview night that “even another outbreak of foot and mouth won’t stop Hurricane Fly”.

Big Bucks rightly dominates the market for the World Hurdle. At the prohibitive odds of 4/9, he is expected to continue his unbeaten run over the extended trip and remain the highest rated National Hunt horse in the world. Oscar Whiskey and Thousand Stars provide the immediate opposition but the statistics are against them. Both ran in the Champion Hurdle last year and it is twenty years since a winner of the World Hurdle previously ran in the Champion Hurdle. That said pundit Mick Fitzgerald doesn’t rule out Oscar Whisky: “He will (Big Bucks) be beaten one day and Oscar Whisky could be the one to do it”. The Irish have also not had a winner of this race in seventeen years and in reality Big Buck’s is as close to a certainty as you will get at Cheltenham where his odds are the shortest of the entire Festival.

Winner of a Greatwood Hurdle, Arkle and Champion Chase, Sizing Europe will make a very bold bid to retain his title for 2012. He looked the most likely winner of the 2008 Champion Hurdle before almost stopping to a halt due to injury and has done nothing but improve this season.  As good as Sizing Europe may be however it is work mentioning that 10 of the last 11 defending Champion Chase winners were beaten when attempting to defend their title the following year. Nine of those started favourite or second-favourite. At Cheltenham last year Sizing Europe led home an Irish 1-2-3-4, no doubt an in-form Big Zeb will pose a challenge but more may come from Finian's Rainbow. Nicky Henderson believes Finian's Rainbow to be a more settled horse this term and his jumping has improved and is lightly raced. Sizing Europe may have them all on the stretch as he did last year and as it stands he is the one they all have to beat. It will take a very good horse to muscle past him.

Amateur riders only win the Gold Cup once every 30 years. Does this mean that after success in this race last year that Long Run cannot win again ? Connections believe that he can and none more so than his Corinthian pilot Mr. Sam Waley-Cohen. There are doubts as to whether Long Run has trained on since beating a below-par Kauto Star last year but Cheltenham plays to his strengths. The extra distance will suit but he has been held by Kauto Star all season. Nine of the last 12 Gold Cup winners won the King George the same year and Ruby Walsh has adopted different tactics with Kauto Star this year. Long Run has to settle early in his races as he is prone to jumping errors. There could be a big priced winner of the Gold Cup this year as there are doubts over Kauto Star’s age (just two 12 year old winners of the race and in the last 12 running’s of the Gold Cup, 59 horses aged 10 or older have been beaten). The amateur jockey aboard Long Run is also a negative for many who pin their main hope on  believing Long Run’s class will see him though.

From a betting perspective, the 6/4 available for a Hurricane Fly/Big Buck’s double is still short but attainable. Tread carefully however as over the  last four years there have been 67 horses to start under 4/1 and only 12 have won (with Quevega and Big Buck’s multiple winners).

Time then to enjoy but not lose your shirt, after all there are only four days in the year; the rest aren’t Cheltenham.

The Wonder Mare

By Stephen Dwyer

You can’t but admire The Hammer & Trowel Syndicate. Comprising of a bricklayer, Sean Deane and Ger O'Brien, a carpenter, the syndicate have a history of acquiring top class racing mares. The Hammer & Trowel pairing was set up at a Christmas party in 2006 and their three mares, J’y Vole. Thousand Stars and Quevega are a testimony to shrewdness and more than a little good fortune. Among this trio however it is Quevega who burns brightest. She is unquestionably the best mare in Ireland, England and perhaps Europe. Seeking a fourth win in the David Nicholson mares hurdle at Cheltenham in two weeks’ time, she is for many the safest bet of the entire festival.

Quevega is thoroughly French. She was bred by Pierre Rives near Allier in central France in 2004 from a six-time winning mare Vega IV and the precocious sire Robin Des Champs. She was quickly put into training with Bertrand de Watrigant who commended the soundness of the young filly; “She was kind and gentle and you could do anything you wanted with her. Truly, very easy and adorable with a terrific turn of foot”.

Sent to the summer sales as a three year old, Quevega was unsold in the ring but would win her next three starts before being spotted by bloodstock agent Pierre Boulard. At the time, Boulard was seeking a new mare for the Hammer & Trowel Syndicate. A couple of weeks later, Quevega arrived at Willie Mullin’s yard and has since progressed to become one of the leading stars of Closutton. She quickly won her first two hurdle races by a combination of 21 lengths and also ran in France at Auteuil, where she finished third in the Group 1 Prix Alain du Breil, just two lengths behind Hurricane Fly.

At Cheltenham in 2008, Quevega won the first of her three Mares hurdle races when easily quickening away from the field. It was 14 lengths back to the second mare, not bad for a race worth £100,000. She was the easiest winner of the entire Cheltenham festival. After finishing third in the Irish Champion Hurdle, Quevega returned to Auteuil for the Group 2 Prix la Barka but sustained a suspensory ligament that almost finished her career. Carefully rested, she would not race again for several months but took the renewal of the 2009 Mares race in Cheltenham in great style. By the age of seven, Quevega was a dual Cheltenham Festival winner and successful in nine of her 16 races.

After successfully landing the hat-trick in the Mares hurdle at Cheltenham last year, Quevega stepped up to 3 miles when winning the Grade 1 World Series Hurdle at Punchestown. That was in early May and she has not been seen on a racecourse since. Despite the long absence, trainer Willie Mullins has reported the eight year old to be in peak condition ahead of another run in the David Nicholson race. Conditions appears tailor-made for the wonder mare who to date has won over €500,000 in prize money for her connections. 

Although she is as short as 4/7 to win her fourth Mares Hurdle, opposition for Quevega appears thin on the ground. The main antagonist in the race, Unaccompanied, is only to run if Quevega does not. The only real negative is the face that the mares race is run on the opening day of the Festival when the ground regularly rides at its deadest for the week. This should not matter too much for Quevega and her class should see her through. Another big win at Cheltenham awaits The Hammer & Trowel Syndicate, you feel they are merely counting down the days.

  

Eye of the hurricane

By Stephen Dwyer

Like most people I remember very well the first time I saw Hurricane Fly. It was in the Future Champions Hurdle at the Leopardstown Christmas meeting of 2008. Although he was still only a four year old he blitzed a high class field which included a future Supreme Novices' Hurdle winner. Coming into the straight at Leopardstown that day Paul Townend looked under pressure trying to contain the fury underneath his reins. Hurricane Fly forged clear on the run-in as if a turbo-boost had kicked in, it was absolutely stunning. He won by ten lengths and you just knew this horse could win a Champion Hurdle.

Hurricane Fly would miss the next two Cheltenham meetings through suspensory ligament problems but last year he fulfilled his potential when winning the Champion Hurdle in impressive style. Hurricane Fly was bred in Ireland by Agricola del Parco and sold as a yearling at Goffs for €65,000. He was sent to France and subsequently bought out of the Jean-Luc Pelletan yard for an undisclosed sum on the advice of bloodstock agent Richard Hobson. The acquisition by Hobson (who is also responsible for the purchase of Golden Silver and Pomme Tiepy) was on behalf of retired Belfast construction businessman George Creighton and Rose Boyd who runs an equestrian centre in Co. Down.

The horse previously won three times in France where he also finished ahead of subsequent Champion Stakes winner Literato. From France he was sent to trainer Wille Mullins. Hurricane Fly won at the first time of asking in May 2008 at Punchestown. Since then, he has been beaten only once in 12 starts and now as an eight year old, is the perfect age for another Champion Hurdle win.

Where Hurricane Fly gets his speed from is no real secret. He is out of the winning Kenmare mare Scandisk, making him a half-brother to triple 7f-1m winner Thunderwing, He was sired by Montjeu, himself a world champion. Montjeu is of the top sires in the world for flat horses, his progeny has produced two Irish and two English Derby winners as well as the Prix de l’Arc de Triomphe and St. Leger. Montjeu’s speed has been passed on to Hurricane Fly and he is by far his most successful son on the National Hunt circuit.

The imperious Istabraq was six when he won the first of his three Champion Hurdles, Hurricane Fly is a best priced 6/4 chance for repeating his Cheltenham win next month. His high cruising speed, fluency over hurdles and his crushing  turn of foot should see him home.  Praise too from Ruby Walsh who said of the horse “He’d win a Group One on the Flat, too, if you wanted”.

 When running at Cheltenham last year, Hurricane Fly had already won seven Grade 1 races; this was more than all of his Champion Hurdle rivals put together. He became the first horse since Hardy Eustace in 2004 to complete the Champion Hurdle double at Cheltenham and Punchestown. His win at the Cheltenham Festival under Ruby Walsh was particularly special. This victory means that Ruby is now one of only four jockeys in the past four decades to have completed the treble of Champion Hurdle, Cheltenham Gold Cup and Grand National.

If anything this year, Hurricane Fly has improved. His run last month on deteriorating ground he cantered around Leopardstown. In doing so he won the Irish Champion Hurdle in a canter, barely breaking sweat. It is hard to pick holes in his form, Binocular and Zarkandar are worthy adversaries but all things being equal Hurricane Fly is a step above these two and you feel that he has the extra gears to take him to where he needs to be. In the past it has often taken two people to lead him around the parade ring. Hurricane Fly can be highly strung but this season he is a more settled horse. This may be the perfect year for a repeat of last year’s win as since 1951 only three winners of the Champion Hurdle have been aged older than eight.

He is reported by his trainer to be in excellent condition, after the Irish Champion Hurdle Willie Mullins declared "There is no stiffness or soreness at all. We couldn't be happier with him." With the Hurricane Fly camp upbeat about the chances of their star, it is all systems go for Cheltenham.

On a final note, Hurricane Fly’s groom, Gail Carlisle, says his guilty pleasure is carrots, one might think that after Cheltenham, there will be no shortage of them around Closutton.

The Dubai World Cup

By Stephen Dwyer

January is over, the warmest in years, but the traditional February cold snap has begun. Frost covers have been deployed for days on end and meetings are being cancelled up and down the country. At times like this it is hard not to think of sunnier climates and few compare to the United Arab Emirates.

 About 6,000 kilometres away the city of Dubai sits south of the Persian Gulf on the Arabian Peninsula. It was inhabited a millennium ago and was once an ancient mangrove swamp. Directly positioned within the Arabian desert the temperature is blisteringly hot and arid all year round. Yet within this empire of sand lies perhaps the most modern horse race course in the world, Meydan.

 Meydan racecourse officially opened early in March 2010. It is the most expensive track in history and took over 34 months to build. The original construction firm were dismissed when the work fell behind plan. The final cost? About $1.25 Billion. Twenty times the price of redeveloping Croke Park in Dublin and far more expensive than the new Wembley stadium. It also replaced Nad Al Sheba Racecourse which formerly occupied the same site.

 That amount of money built not one but a collection of world-class facilities. Apart from a mile-long grandstand, the racecourse can hold 60,000 spectators. Meydan Racecourse includes Meydan Marina, a 5 star hotel (the world’s first 5-star trackside hotel) an IMAX cinema and of course a 2,400 metre left-handed turf race track and a left-handed 8.75-furlong (1,750 metres) Tapeta synthetic dirt course. The scale is immense, spread out over 7.5 million square metres of what was once coral-white sand.

 Meydan opens for about five months of the year. 21 race meetings are held from November to March and these feature the Winter Racing Challenge, Dubai International Racing Carnival and the Dubai World Cup Night.

 The highlight of the year at Meydan is the Dubai World Cup at the end of March. With prize money nearing $30 million, the Dubai World Cup is the single richest day of Thoroughbred racing in the world. The last race of the night is the Dubai World Cup, which carries an arresting prize fund of $10 million. Locals are admitted free of charge and the spectacle is crowned with a colossal fireworks display by the Grucci brothers of New York (those of The Bellagio Hotel fame).

 But on a business scale what sets Meydan apart from other racecourses like Aintree, Epsom and Cheltenham is the vision of its creators. The chief architect noted “The vision was always that Meydan would be used 365 days a year, which is why there is so much adding that can be used outside racing times”.

 One of the challenges Meydan faces is its location. Flights to Dubai are expensive, a round trip would cost a couple of grand, all but the most dedicated or luckiest racing fans will see Meydan but it is a sight to behold. The grandstand itself is crowned by a dramatic, cantilevered crescent roof that features curved solar and titanium panels. In spite of the grandeur however, the horses take centre stage.

 The founder of Meydan is one of the greatest benefactors of horse racing. As a boy he would share his breakfast with his horse on his way to school. Today, Sheikh Mohammed bin Rashid Al Maktoum is  UAE Vice President, Prime Minister and Ruler of Dubai. His love for the sport and the horse is legendary and his stud farms around the world are afforded every resource.

 The 2012 Dubai World Cup takes place on March 31st. Excitingly, the world’s highest-ranked mare, the undefeated Black Caviar may make the 33 hour trip for the $2 million Golden Shaheen race.

 The Dubai World Cup also features considerable Irish interest. Last year’s Tattersall’s Gold Cup and Irish Champion Stakes winner, So You Think is currently the 7/2 favourite for the race. Trained by Aidan O’Brien, who saddled Cape Blanco to be fourth in last year’s World Cup, So You Think was last seen finishing sixth in the Breeders’ Cup Classic in November, having won three Group One races since being transferred to the Ballydoyle operation from Australia for his 2011 campaign.

 The Dubai World cup is a unique race not alone for its prestige, glamour and prize money but for the diversity of the field it attracts. Last year there was an emotional win in the wake of the Japanese disaster and tsunami as the two Japanese runners finished first and second. It is the uniqueness of the race which draws a huge audience year on year.

Black Caviar may be the star attraction but if So You Think can win the Dubai World Cup, Irish eyes will be smiling like emeralds in the Arabian desert.