Pride OF Dubai
A union of nations celebrated in Sydney today as the star colt Pride of Dubai pushed back one assault after another to win the $1,000,000 G1 Inglis ATC Sires Produce Stakes (1400m) today.
Proud Owners of Pride Of Dubai, Dubai royal Sheikh Mohammed Bin Khalifa Al Maktoum(far right), CHC Chairman Teo Ah Khing(far left), Coolmore Tom Magnier(2nd from left)
Dubai royal Sheikh Mohammed Bin Khalifa Al Maktoum, Australian owner John Murray, members of Ireland’s Coolmore and members of the China Horse Club roared in applause as the colt saluted after a gutsy duel in the straight before sharing hugs and smiles as delighted co-owners. The elite quartet of owners have individually shared in great success in 2015 already and collectively enjoyed a new high with Pride of Dubai at the flagship racing carnival called The Championship.
From left, Tom Magnier, Teo Ah Khing, Dubai royal Sheikh Mohammed Bin Khalifa Al Maktoum, Hugh Bowman, John Murray, Peter Snowden
“It is a great honour and very rewarding for our members to race a colt of this quality with Sheikh Mohammed, with Coolmore and with John. We are still new to international racing and we are very fortunate to share a wonderful journey with some very successful people and with a wonderful colt in Pride of Dubai,” said Mr Teo Ah Khing, Chairman of the China Horse Club.
“Our team assessed Pride of Dubai as one of the most exciting horses in Australia and he proved that today. This is a colt that is a dual purpose individual. He is a quality racehorses and he is an exceptional stallion prospect and that means he is a business unto himself. Once his racing days are done he will enter a new phase of his career as a commercial stallion at Coolmore in Australia and possibly overseas as well. But right now our members are just excited and enjoying being in the moment.”
Pride of Dubai’s win comes 24 hours after the China Horse Club enjoyed a trio of winners in Singapore with Arrowhead, A La Victory and Al Valore. The club’s colours will contest further races in the coming days, most notably in another $A1,000,000 race with First Seal, in this Saturday’s G1 Queen of the Turf Stakes in Sydney, Australia.
The addition of Pride of Dubai ensures the China Horse Club has a powerful racing team in Australia. The colt is arguably the premier juvenile in the country and he joins First Seal, the dominant three-year-old filly in the nation and Dissident, the most successful older racehorse this season. Globally this team also includes the multiple G1 winner Just The Judge with the China Horse Club race with Qatar’s Sheikh Fahad and the star colt Daredevil who it races with WinStar Farm, the premier horse stud in the United States.
“Our club works very hard to create occasions for our members to share moments. Today was one of those moments with Pride of Dubai. Yesterday we had those moments. We aspire to have more or these moments and to have them more regularly,” said Eden Harrington, General Manager for the China Horse Club.
“We are very fortunate that our members have shared in so much success so soon in China and in seven other countries around the world. It brings us a lot of joy to see members enjoy these wins so much.”
Pride of Dubai
Pride of Dubai won the G1 Inglis ATC Sires Produce Stakes by three-quarters of a length from dead-heaters Odyssey Moon and Rageese. It was the second successive G1 win for Pride of Dubai who announced himself as a star colt when winning the G1 Blue Diamond Stakes six weeks earlier. The two-year-old is the only juvenile in Australia to have won two G1 races this season.