Ahmed Ajtebi admits he’s living the dream. The Emirati jockey had made incredible strides over the last year which saw him with what he believed were six competitive rides on Dubai World Cup night.
     “I only started race riding four years ago and now I have some fantastic rides on the biggest stage of all,” said Ajtebi. “It was my ambition to have just one ride on Dubai World Cup night before Nad Al Sheba closes, but now I rode six (five thoroughbred rides and one Purebred Arabian), and a chance of actually winning. I am so excited especially as I am only an apprentice – this has all happened so quickly. I’ve come such a long way, I can’t believe it”.
     “I started out riding mainly Arabian horses as second jockey for Ali Rashid Al Raihe, he gave me the chance and I am really grateful to him, but I was not getting that many rides. But things have really taken off this year ever since I got back from a summer in the UK, where of course, I was lucky enough to ride a Royal Ascot winner”. In June last year, he created history when he rode Regal Parade for Dandy Nicholls to win the Buckingham Palace Stakes during Royal Ascot week.
     “I had a new job this year for Mubarak bin Shafya and it’s really taken off. I’ve had 16 winners this season and one more would make me so proud.”
     “Gladiatorus is the best horse I’ve ridden but the Dubai Duty Free looked the toughest race,” he said. “There is no overwhelming favourite like Cigar, Dubai Millennium, Invasor or Curlin this year”.

The pageantry and fanfare of Royal Ascot must have seemed a long way from the dusty camel tracks, where Ajtebi first showed his prowess in the saddle between the ages of seven and 15. Although, he insists the two animals are kingdoms apart. “The only similarity is four legs,” said Ajtebi, who rode in the region of 200 winners in over 3000 camel races. “The saddles are different, you have no irons, you have one rein and a long camel stick, which you use to try and keep it straight. We raced over all trips between five furlongs and six-and-a-half miles, but the maximum weight for camel riders is 25kg, so when I got too heavy I decided to have a look at thoroughbreds”.
     His ability on camels caught the eye of His Highness Sheikh Mohammed bin Rashid Al Maktoum, who took him to one side after watching him ride as a teenager. “He pushed me,” Ajtebi said. “He said that the UAE had horses in training everywhere in the world, but Dubai had no jockey. I told him that I had never ridden a horse in my life, but I would try. Personally I see myself as an ambassador for the UAE and I think it’s important that I project the right image, as I am representing my country when I compete”.
     “My biggest dream is to make my country proud of what I can achieve. I want to show the world that the UAE can produce good jockeys. My goal is to support my country and raise the UAE flag at every opportunity I get”.

In 1984, Germany’s top race - the Grossser Preis Von Baden - was won by Australian horse Strawberry Road who was owned by John Singleton, trained by John Nicholls and ridden by Brent Thomson. Remarkably, 25 years on, all three men were in Dubai for the Dubai World Cup. Singleton owns Tuesday Joy; Thomson was there as the DRC’s Australian agent and Nicholls is assistant trainer to Musabah Al Muhairi.
     Trainer David Hayes was there again with Niconero who finished 11th in the Dubai Duty Free last year. But that was not Hayes’ first trip to Dubai. Back in 2002 when he was based in Hong Kong, he came to Dubai with Helene Vitality who finished second to Nayef in the Dubai Sheema Classic.
     Me Tsui, who trained Dubai Golden Shaheen hopeful Lucky Quality, was a trackwork rider for Hayes in Hong Kong.
     Gai Waterhouse was represented by Tuesday Joy in the Dubai Duty Free. Her first runner in Dubai was Juggler who ran sixth in the memorable rain postponed 1997 Dubai World Cup.
     Craig Williams, Niconero’s jockey, rode 12 winners in Dubai in the 2001-02 season.

     Darren Beadman, who rode Tuesday Joy, was runner-up on Viva Pataca in last year’s Dubai Sheema Classic. After his race, he would have ridden in three countries in a week - Dubai, Hong Kong and Australia. He returned to Australia to ride More Joyous, for Singleton, in the Golden Slipper - the world’s richest 2 y.o. race.
     Everywhere you look at Nad Al Sheba track you will see key racing officials who hail from Australia. They include Gerard Bush who is the chief steward; Terry Spargo, the course broadcaster and Martin Talty who is Manager of the International Department for the Dubai Racing Club.
     Elvstroem, who won the Dubai Duty Free in 2005, is Australia’s only Dubai World Cup night winner. Australian jockey Kerrin McEvoy won the UAE Derby on the same night.
     Last year’s Dubai Sheema Classic winner Sun Classique was bred in Australia while the 2007 victor Vengeance of Rain began his racing career in Australia under the name Subscribe.
Dubai World Cup runner Muhannak is owned by an Australian, Richard Pegum.

“I’ve won for the King,” elated jockey Jim Cassidy said after piloting the Bart Cummings-trained Roman Emperor to an emphatic win in the $1.6 million David Jones AJC Australian Derby (Aus-G1) at Randwick. The Montjeu (Ire) colt held off runner-up New Zealander Harris Tweed by a neck to become the 252nd Group 1 winner for Australian Racing Hall of Fame trainer Bart Cummings. Roman Emperor completed 2400 meters in 2:31.09 on turf rated as dead while prevailing at 15.20-to-1 odds.. Harris Tweed, who also is by Montjeu, nipped third-place finisher Predatory Pricer by a nose for second in a thrilling three-horse photo finish. Australian Derby favorite Sousa was fourth in the 16- horse field. Cummings, 81, won the Australian Derby for the fifth time and is believed to be the oldest trainer to win the race.

Cassidy won the Australian Derby in 1990 with Dr. Grace and in 1993 with Innocent King.

Look here will try to become the first horse to achieve a prestigious double in the Coronation Cup (Gr.1) at Royal Ascot. Trained by Ralph Becket for owner Julian Richmond- Watson, the four-year-old Hernando (Fr) filly will seek to become the first horse to win the Juddmonte Epsom Oaks (Eng-Gr1) and Coronation Cup since English champion Time Charter accomplished the feat in 1982 and 1984. The last filly to win the Coronation Cup was European highweight In The Groove

 (GB) in 1991.
     Look Here finished third to United States champion grass horse Conduit (Ire) in the Ladbrokes St. Leger at Doncaster. One horse standing in Look Here’s way at Royal Ascot is French Group 1 winner Youmzain. The 2008 Gran Prix de Saint-Cloud (Fr-G1) winner is among the 32 entries for the Coronation Cup. Youmzain finished fourth in the Nakheel Dubai Sheema Classic (UAE -G1) in his most recent start.

‘Winds of change swirl round Coolmore’s king. He is among the greatest racehorse trainers in history but Aidan O’Brien’s partnership with the legendary breeder John Magnier is under threat’. John Magnier and Aidan O’Brien must have winced when they read that headline introduction to an article by McGrath in the Independent. McGrath had apparently persuaded the boss of Ballydoyle to discuss the future of the stable and to see how he saw a possible decision by Magnier to hand over his stable to his son-in-law David Wachman ‘because he’s family’. The fact that anyone with even limited amount of common sense would see Magnier as committing suicide in replacing Aidan O’Brien as Coolmore’s trainer at present emphasizes what a confection McGrath’s premise was. It was a piece of whimsy by a whimsical reporter in a newspaper that thrives on whimsy. O’Brien, a man of faith, hands over a CD

to everybody who comes to work at Ballydoyle, a series of axioms which represents best, his feelings and philosophies. McGrath inserted lines from this CD periodically into his article.
     Wachman has proved he is a capable trainer but he has not even begun to demonstrate that he could handle the huge team of potentially high-class horses as O’Brien has shown, especially in 2008.
     How O’Brien came to talk so philosophically and vulnerable to a reporter is remarkable. The presentation of the article gave the impression he felt that it was inevitable that he would be replaced, possibly sooner than later. Perhaps the reporter wanted to accentuate the point about O’Brien’s alleged submission to a probably imagined fate. The story sound intriguing…

The Epsom Oaks (Eng-G1) has attracted 77 nominations. There is an international twist to this year’s nominations to the 1 ½ mile English classic with 29 entries coming from Ireland, three from France, and two North Americanbased runners from Kentucky-based trainer Ken Mcpeek. Dream Empress was a Grade 1 winner last year, taking the Darley Alcibiades Stakes (G1) over 1 1/16 miles on the polytrack

surface. She also finished as the runner up to eventual champion two-year-old filly Stardom Bound in the Bessemer Trust Breeders’ Cup Juvenile Fillies (G1). “The mile and a half trip should be right up her alley because she’s out of a Nijinsky mare” said McPeek. “Striking Dancer is an impressive filly and I’m pretty confident she’s a group performer”.