Gulf Conflict Causes Meydan Dropouts, Dubai World Cup Rolls On
It’s the time of year when international attention hones in on the Dubai World Cup at Meydan, but with the ongoing conflict in the Middle East affecting the emirate daily, there are doubts about how many horses, jockeys and trainers will actually make the journey, if the event will go ahead and if there’ll be enough horses to fill the fields.
Japan’s superstar Forever Young is already in Dubai after his G1 Saudi Cup win and trainer Yoshito Yahagi, who plans to travel to the emirate, is reported in the Japanese media as saying his staff and horses there were fine and expressed confusion at the sense of danger being reported.
Yet there remains some real risk in Dubai. Four people were injured near Dubai airport Wednesday when Iranian drones fell there, two and a half weeks before the 30th G1 Dubai World Cup is scheduled. One person has been killed in Dubai and six are dead across the whole UAE as a result of the conflict that started on February 28.
On Sunday, Iran said it was using 60 percent of its firepower to target US bases and other strategic interests in the Gulf region and 40 percent targeting Israel.
The latest injuries in Dubai came a day after British Airways suspended all flights to the emirate. The airline is one of several major carriers to have cancelled flights until at least the end of the month, with Hong Kong’s Cathay Pacific having already cancelled Dubai flights until March 28 at the earliest, the day scheduled for the Dubai World Cup.
Despite what Iran called its ‘37th Wave’ of drones and missiles being launched across the Gulf region on Wednesday morning, and the suspension of sports events including horse racing in neighbouring Bahrain and Qatar, the official line is that the racing continues in Dubai and the World Cup is still on track.
A Dubai Racing Club statement sent to Idol Horse said: “The 30th Dubai World Cup will take place as scheduled at Meydan Racecourse on Saturday, 28 March 2026. Preparations continue as planned and we look forward to welcoming guests and the racing community for the event.”
But some media personnel slated to cover the fixture have dropped out following flight cancellations, and a number of overseas owners and trainers have pulled their yet-to-fly horses from their Dubai race engagements in recent days, notably from Japan.
Hong Kong’s Fast Network will duck his planned assignment in the G1 Al Quoz Sprint at the World Cup fixture.
The list of Japanese horses that have pulled out might yet lengthen. At least 11 horses have been ruled out in the past week, notably Masquerade Ball – who subsequently picked up a minor injury that would have ruled him out anyway – Wilson Tesoro, Mikki Fight, Win Carnelian, Costa Nova and last year’s Dubai Sheema Classic winner Danon Decile, who trainer Shogo Yasuda announced as a non-traveller via social media.
Danon Decile’s absence from the Sheema Classic leaves that race looking particularly sparse, with a question mark hanging over whether last year’s officially-designated world’s best racehorse, Calandagan, will travel to Dubai from France.
On the flip side, nine horses trained at Ritto are still intending to board a flight to Dubai on March 18 if the situation does not worsen, while a list of horses travelling from the Miho training centre outside Tokyo has not yet been released by the Japan Racing Association (JRA). The JRA will not send any officials to the meeting.
Among the Ritto horses booked to fly is the G1 Arima Kinen victor Museum Mile, intended for the G1 Dubai Turf, as well as T O Elvis, Gaia Force, Lugal and Pyromancer.
Alongside Forever Young already on the ground are American Stage, Shin Forever, Luxor Cafe and Wonder Dream, all intending to run off the back of their Saudi efforts, whereas another Japanese Saudi runner, Keiai Agito, has been booked on a flight out on March 16.
Dubai Super Saturday showed that the authorities in Dubai are prepared to go ahead and race even as its defences prepare to take down missiles and drones. So, with the local horse population, plus the overseas runners already on the ground, and some diehards prepared to fly in, it is likely the meeting will go ahead on a reduced scale. Unless the situation worsens, that is.
This Week In Horse Racing History
North America’s champion juvenile of 1976 Seattle Slew stepped out as a three-year-old at Hialeah on March 9, 1977. He won the seven-furlong contest easing down in track record time of 1:20 3/5, setting him up nicely for easy wins in the Flamingo Stake and the Wood Memorial before his Triple Crown heroics in the Kentucky Derby, Preakness and Belmont.
On March 10, 1808, the first Derby winner Diomed, successful at Epsom, England in 1780, died in Virginia, USA at age 31.
Hall of Famer John Longden won the last race of his 40-year career, the San Juan Capistrano Handicap at Santa Anita Park, on March 12, 1966. The horse he rode, George Royal, was the 6,032nd winner of his career.
Reads of the Week
Umamumsume: Pretty Derby is an award-winning game and multi-media franchise based on horse racing, which has organically brought cross-over fans into the sport, but is the industry and its marketers doing enough to tap into the phenomenon? David Morgan explores.
In this week’s Idol Thoughts, Hong Kong racing expert and former jockey Shane Dye gives his opinion on last weekend’s Master Trillion protest and pinpoints what good stewards get right, but also what most stewards miss, as well as his take on Tentyris’ Newmarket Handicap defeat.
Racing Photo Of The Week
Jockey Derek Leung, trainer Frankie Lor and his assistant Patrick Lo gather around a phone and watch the replay of Master Trillion’s ‘win’ with justifiable concern. Leung would lose the race in the stewards room after James Orman, the rider of runner-up The Golden Knight, objected to the first-past-the-post. The stewards deemed that Leung’s mount had caused enough interference to have affected the result and the placings were reversed.
Date
8 March, 2026
Photographer
Photo by Sing Tao
Location
Sha Tin Racecourse, Hong Kong
Jockey Derek Leung, trainer Frankie Lor and his assistant Patrick Lo gather around a phone and watch the replay of Master Trillion’s ‘win’ with justifiable concern. Leung would lose the race in the stewards room after James Orman, the rider of runner-up The Golden Knight, objected to the first-past-the-post. The stewards deemed that Leung’s mount had caused enough interference to have affected the result and the placings were reversed.
Global Blackbook
La Belle Scene was a different class to her rivals in the three-year-old maiden over 1800m at Nakayama on Sunday, suggesting she’s likely to step into classic trials reckoning. The dark bay filly was making her career debut and raced behind midfield under Kiwamo Ogino, best known for riding Gendarme to win the G1 Sprinters Stakes at the same track in 2022.
Ogino shifted La Belle Scene five and six wide for a looping run around the final turn and the Sunday Racing-owned filly did it with ease, rolling to the lead and quickening clear through the final 250m to register a five-length success.
The runner-up Tosen Brillare had finished fifth and eleventh in two previous starts, but the third, Runway Muse had been beaten into second on debut behind a horse that was Listed-placed next start.
La Belle Scene is trained by Yuichi Shikato, who has had notable top level wins with Screen Hero, Efforia and most recently Win Carnelian, and this win suggests the filly has the scope to progress into a high-class galloper. The daughter of Kizuna is out of La Force, a Group 2 winner and Group 1 placed in the United States, from the stout family of the G1 Prix du Cadran winner Le Miracle, tracing back directly to the 1966 Epsom Oaks and Irish 1,000 Guineas heroine Valoris.
World Horse Racing Calendar: What’s Coming Up
Golden Slipper Day
Rosehill, Australia, March 21
Paradoxium moved to the head of a weak market following his win in the G2 Todman Stakes at Randwick last weekend. The Bjorn Baker-trained colt beat Stretan Ruler a length and a half. That win deposed Baker’s Warwoven as the antepost favourite, the colt having placed only fourth in the G2 Skyline Stakes last time after winning his first two. Also in the mix is the Annabel and Rob Archibald-trained filly Chayan, three-length winner of the G2 Reisling Stakes on Saturday’s Randwick card.
Dubai World Cup Day
Meydan, Dubai, March 28
If the racing goes ahead then Forever Young will have a great opportunity to make up for his gritty but below-par third in last year’s G1 Dubai World Cup, having won his second G1 Saudi Cup in Riyadh last month. Another seeking a Saudi-Dubai double is the American raider Reef Runner, successful in the 1351 Turf Sprint at King Abdulaziz Racecourse.
Australian Cup Day
Flemington, Australia, March 28
The G1 Australian Cup is a 2000m race that has been won by such greats as Makybe Diva, Lonhro, Bonecrusher and Dulcify. This year’s race could feature last weekend’s G1 All-Star Mile winner Tom Kitten and the third in that race, the exciting mare Pride Of Jenni. Australian Guineas winner Observer is another possible runner.
Tancred Stakes Day
Rosehill, Australia, March 28
British raider Dubai Honour won the G1 Ranvet Stakes and G1 Queen Elizabeth Stakes in 2023 and is likely to attack the G1 Tancred Stakes this time for trainer William Haggas. Other potential runners are Sir Delius and Aeliana. Also on the card, Hong Kong owners will be eyeing up potential imports from the G2 Tulloch Stakes, while the G1 Vinery Stud Stakes is an important prep for fillies going towards the Oaks. ∎
