Al Maktoum Challenge, Round 1

The Al Maktoum Challenge, Round 1, is a horse race run over a distance of 1,600 metres (1 mile) in January on dirt at Meydan Racecourse in Dubai. It is the first of three races in the Al Maktoum Challenge series which serve as trial races for the Dubai World Cup.

Al Maktoum Challenge, Round 1
Group 2 race
LocationMeydan Racecourse
Dubai, United Arab Emirates
Inaugurated1994
Race typeThoroughbred - Flat racing
Race information
Distance1,600 metres
SurfaceDirt
TrackLeft-handed
Purse$250,000 (2015)[1]

It was first run in 1994 on dirt at Nad Al Sheba Racecourse. It was transferred to Meydan in 2010 where it was run on the synthetic Tapeta Footings surface. In 2015 the synthetic surface at Meydan was replaced by a dirt track.[2]

The race began as an ungraded stakes race before attaining Listed status in 1996. The race was elevated to Group 3 level in 2002 and became a Group 2 event in 2013.

Records

Record time:

  • 1:35.48 - Spindrift (1999)

Most wins by a horse:

  • 2 - Le Bernardin (2016, 2017)

Most wins by a jockey:

Most wins by a trainer:

Most wins by an owner:

Winners
Year
 Winner
 Age
 Jockey
 Trainer
 Owner
 Time
1994 Red Rainbow 6 Johnny Murtagh Dhruba Selvaratnam Jaffar Ali 1:39.20
1995 Halling 4 John Carroll Saeed bin Suroor Godolphin 1:38.40
1996 Tamayaz 4 Frankie Dettori Saeed bin Suroor Godolphin 1:37.18
1997 Kammtarra 4 Frankie Dettori Saeed bin Suroor Godolphin 1:35.62
1998 Wathik 8 Paul Eddery Paddy Rudkin Saeed Al Ghandi 1:37.63
1999 Spindrift 4 Gary Hind Saeed bin Suroor Rashid bin Mohammed 1:35.48
2000 Siege 4 Sylvain Guillot Saeed bin Suroor Hamdan bin Mohammed Al Maktoum 1:35.70
2001 China Visit 4 John Carroll Saeed bin Suroor Godolphin 1:36.12
2002 Skoozi 6 Wayne Smith Allan Smith Rashid bin Ahmed Al Mualla 1:35.99
2003 Estimraar 6 Wayne Smith Mazin Al Kurdi Rashid bin Mohammed 1:36.81
2004 State Shinto 8 Ryan Moore Mazin Al Kurdi Rashid bin Mohammed 1:37.37
2005 Grand Emporium 4 Weichong Marwing Mike de Kock A Geemooi 1:39.92
2006 Blatant 7 Richard Hills Ismail Mohammed Princess Haya of Jordan 1:36.71
2007 Imperialista 3 M Cardoso Cosme Morgado Estrela Energia Stables 1:35.96
2008 Happy Boy 4 Jose Aparecido da Silva P Nickel Filho Roberto A L Reichert 1:36:37
2009 My Indy 4 Frankie Dettori Saeed bin Suroor Godolphin 1:36.52
2010 Gloria de Campeao 6 Tiago Josue Pereira Pascal Bary Estrela Energia Stables 1:38.48
2011 Mendip 4 Frankie Dettori Saeed bin Suroor Hamdan bin Mohammed Al Maktoum 1:36.45
2012 Musir 5 Christophe Soumillon Mike de Kock Mohammed bin Khalifa Al Maktoum 1:35.85
2013 Barbecue Eddie 9 Dane O'Neill Doug Watsom Hamdan Al Maktoum 1:37.24
2014 Shuruq 4 Silvestre de Sousa Saeed bin Suroor Godolphin 1:35.84
2015 Surfer 6 Richard Mullen Satish Seemar Zabeel Racing International 1:38.21
2016 Le Bernardin 7 Tadhg O'Shea Ali Rashid Al Raihe Ahmed bin Mohammed Al Maktoum 1:37.12
2017 Le Bernardin 8 Tadhg O'Shea Ali Rashid Al Raihe Ahmed bin Mohammed Al Maktoum 1:36.67
2018 Heavy Metal 8 Mickael Barzalona Salem bin Ghadayer Hamdan bin Mohammed Al Maktoum 1:37.80
2019 North America 7 Richard Mullen Satish Seemar Hamdan bin Mohammed Al Maktoum 1:35.88
2020 Kimbear 6 Pat Dobbs Doug Watson Rashid bin Humaid Al Nuaimi 1:37.56
2021 Military Law 6 Antonio Fresu Musabbeh Al Mheiri Nasir Askar 1:36.42

See also

References
  1. UAE races, IFHA Blue Book
  2. Peter Scargill (14 May 2014). "Dirt to replace Tapeta at Meydan for next season". Racing Post. Archived from the original on 18 May 2014.
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