DDF celebrate 20th anniversary at Newbury

Leading airport retailer sponsor seven of 14 races offering over £200,000 at two-day event

Dubai Duty Free’s commitment to the two-day Dubai Duty Free Spring Trials Meeting at Newbury Racecourse sees the world’s leading airport retailer mark a landmark 20 years of sponsorship at the Berkshire venue in England on Friday.

The early season fixture is a significant source of winners for the year ahead, a fact which is best illustrated by Kingman’s resounding victory over subsequent 2,000 Guineas winner Night Of Thunder in the Group 3 Greenham Stakes at the meeting.

Top-class performers at the meeting including Western Hymn, J Wonder and Eagle Top will also be making their seasonal reappearances.

Dubai Duty Free sponsors seven of the 14 races offering over £200,000 (Dh1 million) in prize-money, over two days of high-quality racing.

New Providence, trained in Newmarket by Hugo Palmer, looks set to contest the Dubai Duty Free Stakes ahead of a crack at the 1,000 Guineas (G1) in May.

The filly, who won three of her six starts last season including a Group 3 at Salisbury in September, looks to follow the same path as Lahan used as a stepping stone ahead of claimed Classic glory in the 1000 Guineas in 2000.

Significant milestone

Commenting on the operation’s two decades of association with Newbury, Colm McLoughlin, Executive ViceChairman of Dubai Duty Free said: “This year’s running of the Group 3 Dubai Duty Free Stakes marks a significant milestone in our relationship with Newbury and with British racing, although Dubai’s association with the race formally known as the Fred Darling Stakes predates our entry into horseracing sponsorship in the UK.

“During the past 20 years we have seen dramatic growth in our own business and we have also been pleased to be able to watch Newbury Racecourse develop into the multi-facetted operation it is now.”