Three Dubai World Cup Carnival races upgraded

– The Meydan Group is pleased to announce that three races in the 2018 Dubai World Cup Carnival (DWCC) programme have been upgraded, adding thunder to an already exceptional international racing calendar at Meydan Racecourse.

The DWCC gets underway on Thursday 11 January 2018 and features 10 meetings prior to the season finale, the Dubai World Cup Day scheduled for 31 March. Among the three races that have been upgraded is the 1800m Singspiel Stakes run over the same distance as Dubai Turf on World Cup

Dubai

Day which was won in 2017 by the Mike de Kock-trained Light The Lights under Christopher Soumillon, and has gone from being a Listed race to a Group 3 contest.

The promotion for Singspiel Stakes to a Group 3 race means the opening night of the 2018 Carnival programme features two Group races, the other being the Group 2 Al Maktoum Challenge R1.

The 1200m Dubawi Stakes also moves up from Listed to Group 3 status. It was won in 2017 by veteran star Reynaldothewizard who entered the record books with his third consecutive win of the race. The Dubawi Stakes is a buildup races for this trip, along with the Group 3 Mahab Al Shimaal on Super Saturday prior to the Group 1 Dubai Golden Shaheen on Dubai World Cup Day. And finally a change relevant to trainers opting for the 1000m dash to the Group 3 Meydan Sprint which is the finale for the 1000m campaign during the season, has been promoted to a Group 2 race effectively raising the bar for the turf sprinters. Star sprinter Ertijaal who won the Meydan Sprint in 2017 concluded his season with a gallant performance in the Al Quoz Sprint on World Cup Day to finish third behind French raider, The Right Man.

In other changes, the Meydan Classic, a listed turf race for three-year-olds, sees an increase in distance from 1400m to 1600m. The Dubai World Cup Carnival 10-fixture programme is scheduled to feature 65 races with a total purse of $10,870,000. There will be 61 thoroughbred races and four Group Purebred Arabian races. Malih Lahej Al Basti, Vice Chairman, Meydan Group said: “We are proud of the exceptional quality of entries we receive each year at the Dubai World Cup Carnival, and we are constantly seeking ways to further enhance our offering. With the upgrade of three black type races this season we believe this will appeal to trainers and owners.We look forward to the spectacle at the Dubai World Cup Carnival, when a number of the world’s best horses compete for some of the highest prize money in the business on Meydan’s world stage.”Stable applications close on Saturday 11 November –