O’shea guides Laurel River to Dubai World Cup victory
As the race unfolded, Laurel River steadily widened the gap, leaving the rest of the field trailing behind. This victory marks the biggest win yet for the 11-time UAE champion jockey O’shea
Laurel River capped off the Dubai World Cup in style ater dominating rivals to secure an impressive eight-and-a-half-length victory, guided by the inspired front-running tactics of Tadhg O’shea.
The six-year-old surged out of the widest gate and never looked back, leaving the entire field in his dust to claim the coveted $12 million prize.
As the race unfolded, Laurel River steadily widened the gap, leaving the rest of the field trailing behind.
His Highness Sheikh Mohammed Bin Rashid Al Maktoum, Vice President and Prime Minister of the UAE and Ruler of Dubai, attended the 28th Dubai World Cup held on Saturday at the Meydan Racecourse.
Speaking on the occasion, Sheikh Mohammed said: “The 28th Dubai World Cup is a testament to the UAE’S dedication to uniting the world through the pursuit of excellence. Since its inception in 1996, the Dubai World Cup has played a key role in raising Dubai’s status as a global sporting hub and a leader in the equestrian industry.”
“The participation of the world’s top-rated horses, and renowned jockeys and trainers from across the globe reflects Dubai’s stature in the international horse racing landscape.”
Sheikh Hamdan Bin Mohammed Bin Rashid Al Maktoum, Crown Prince of Dubai, and Sheikh Maktoum Bin Mohammed Bin Rashid Al Maktoum, First Deputy Ruler of Dubai, and Deputy Prime Minister and Minister of Finance of the UAE, also attended the event.
Sheikh Hamdan honoured the winners of Dubai World Cup 2024.
This victory marks the biggest win yet for the 11-time UAE champion jockey O’shea and trainer, Bhupat Seemar. Last year’s champion, Ushba Tesoro, settled for second place, with Senor Buscador finishing third.
“I have to pinch myself. I’ve been very fortunate out here to win multiple championships and to ride any winner on this stage is special,” said the Irish in his post race interview.
Juddmonte Farms, the same operation that campaigned Arrogate, elected to transfer their homebred son of the all-conquering Into Mischief from America to the Dubai-based stable of Seemar in the summer of 2023.
To say things were off to an inauspicious beginning would be an understatement of monumental proportions, as Laurel River faded tamely to finish seventh in the G3 Al Shindagha Sprint (1200m) in late January, but he bounced back to post an equally emphatic victory in the G3 Burj Nahaar (1600m) on Super Saturday to punch his ticket to World Cup night.
Ater drawing 12 of 12 at Wednesday’s barrier draw at the Armani Hotel in the Burj Khalifa, many would have downgraded the chances of Laurel River.
And yet Saturday evening, the homebred decisively surged into a clear lead at the midway stage and went on to score by eight and a half lengths, breaking that particular record held by the legendary Dubai Millennium, who won the 2000 World Cup at Nad al Sheba by six lengths.
Trainer Bhupat Seemar said: “I’m still coming to terms with what’s happened. I think it’ll probably sink in in another day or two. It’s absolutely amazing. Tadhg said this morning ‘we’re drawn 12, I’m not going to be two-minded about it, I’m going to go forward.’
Earlier, Rebel’s Romance emerged a clear-cut winner to maintain an excellent run for Godolphin in the Longines Dubai Sheema Classic.
In what developed into a tactical contest in which very few horses were involved, the hardy six-year-old was handing Sheikh Mohammed’s operation its fourth victory in the 2410m turf classic since 2017, with Jack Hobbs, Hawkbill and Old Persian striking in consecutive years.
It was a record fith win in the race for jockey William Buick, who was able to keep it prety simple. Point Lonsdale bounced into the lead from the outset and dictated a steady pace as Buick tailed him in second, with Shahryar following at a respectable distance. Facteur Cheval sprang something of a surprise victory for France in the Dubai Turf, gaining a short-head verdict from the Japanese challenger Namur.
Trained by Jerome Reynier near Marseille, Facteur Cheval carried the colours of the American-based syndicate Team Valor LLC and Gary Barber while Maxime Guyon was in the saddle, winning the race for the second time ater Solow in 2015. Danon Beluga, runner-up a year ago, finished off well again for third.
Sheikh Mohammed attends event, says 28th Dubai World Cup is a testament to UAE’S dedication to uniting the world through the pursuit of excellence; Hamdan honours winners.
When Arrogate overcame a world of trouble to win the 2017 Dubai World Cup, many racing fans said it was the best performance in the history of the race, and in a broader sense, one of the best performances ever seen.
It’s entirely possible that Laurel River under Tadhg O’shea managed to upstage that effort on Saturday with an absolutely stunning, front-running tour-de-force in the $12 million G1 Dubai World Cup at Meydan.
As the race unfolded, Laurel River steadily widened the gap, leaving the rest of the field trailing behind. This victory marks the biggest win yet for the 11-time UAE champion jockey O’shea and trainer, Bhupat Seemar.
Juddmonte Farms, the same operation that campaigned Arrogate, elected to transfer their homebred son of the all-conquering Into Mischief from America to the Dubai-based stable of Seemar in the summer of 2023. To say things were off to an inauspicious beginning would be an understatement of monumental proportions, as Laurel River faded tamely to finish seventh in the G3 Al Shindagha Sprint (1200m) in late January, but he bounced back to post an equally emphatic victory in the G3 Burj Nahaar (1600m) on Super Saturday to punch his ticket to World Cup night.
Conventional wisdom dictates that winning the Burj Nahaar leads to a start in the Godolphin Mile over the same course and distance on the big night, but Seemar and the Juddmonte braintrust called an audible and routed the six-year-old to the Dubai World Cup instead: a race 12 times as valuable, but incrementally more challenging on a few levels, not least the 2000-metre distance of the race.
Ater drawing 12 of 12 at Wednesday’s barrier draw at the Armani Hotel in the Burj Khalifa, many would have downgraded the chances of Laurel River.
And yet Saturday evening, the homebred decisively surged into a clear lead at the midway stage and went on to score by eight and a half lengths, breaking that particular record held by the legendary Dubai Millennium, who won the 2000 World Cup at Nad al Sheba by six lengths.
Trainer Bhupat Seemar said: “I’m still coming to terms with what’s happened. I think it’ll probably sink in in another day or two. It’s absolutely amazing. Tadhg said this morning ‘we’re drawn 12, I’m not going to be two-minded about it, I’m going to go forward.’
“He’s got so much natural pace. He comes out of the gate and this is why we ran him over six furlongs (in the Al Shindagha).
“Tadhg was able to get some easy fractions and then I saw Defunded coming on his outside but he just kept on going further. I expected to see all the closers flying at him but he kept going.
“I was a small kid when I was watching these colours winning some of the biggest races in the world. What the late Prince Khalid Abdullah has done for racing is amazing, I couldn’t believe I was going to be training the horse for that farm and in those colours. And now to win one of the world’s great races for them is unbelievable.”
The horses who finished in Laurel River’s wake on Saturday amplified just how impressive his victory was.
Last year’s winner Ushba Tesoro raced far back for the opening 1600 metres, but wound up with his customary late run to finish second, just beating out recent Saudi Cup winner Senor Buscador for the $2.4 million second prize. Senor Buscador added to his $10 million payday in Riyadh with a nity check for $1.2 million.
O’shea said: “I’ve been fortunate enough to have had Dubai World Cup night winners but you don’t get many opportunities and I’m going to be forever grateful to Juddmonte for keeping me on the horse, they could use anyone and they’re a worldwide operation that’s really successful.
“When he had his first run for the stable we thought he’d disappointed, but we never lost faith. He was explosive last time and I said the other morning to Bhupat (Seemar), I pulled him aside and said I’d never ridden a horse with his ability ever. And he’d just done an easy work on his own.
“With the dirt you can’t be half-hearted, you have to go forward. If he didn’t stay, he didn’t stay. We were aware of that. The main thing that won the race, it’s easy to say when you win, but I was able to keep filling him up and filling him up.”