Today's Edition
DUBAI (WAM)
His Highness Sheikh Mohammed bin Rashid Al Maktoum, Vice President, Prime Minister of the UAE and Ruler of Dubai, on Friday attended the prestigious ‘Fashion Friday’ event at the Meydan Racecourse.
The event is a key highlight of the Dubai Racing Carnival and a standout in the region’s horse racing calendar, renowned for its internationally acclaimed high-calibre races.
The evening featured the participation of an elite lineup of the world’s finest horses preparing for the 29th edition of the Dubai World Cup, scheduled for April 5, 2025.
The event’s nine races, classified across various group categories, brought together 99 horses competing for a total prize pool of Dh10.53 million.
The centrepiece of the evening was the Group 1 Al Maktoum Challenge, the sixth race of the programme. It serves as a key preparatory race for the Dubai World Cup, covering a distance of 2,000 metres on the dirt track with prize money of Dh3.68 million. Among the competitors was the defending champion, Kabirkhan.
Another highlight was the Group 1 Jebel Hatta, the seventh race of the evening, which is a key lead-up to the Dubai Turf. The race, contested over 1,800 metres on the turf, had a total prize pool of Dh1.85 million.
The evening also included races from the Group 2 and Group 3 categories, such as the Al Fahidi Fort over 1,400 metres, the Blue Point Sprint, and the Group 3 Firebreak Stakes, which featured the 2024 Dubai World Cup winner, Laurel River, as part of his preparations for another attempt at the prestigious title. Additional races included the UAE 2000 Guineas for three-year-olds.
The evening also featured standout races such as the Group 3 Al Shindagha Sprint over 1,200 metres and the Al Khail Trophy, run over an extended distance of 2,810 metres.
The programme opened with Al Maktoum Challenge for Purebred Arabian horses, a Group 2 race that set the stage for an exceptional night of competition.
Since its launch in 2024, ‘Fashion Friday’ has gained remarkable recognition, attracting some of the best international horses and reinforcing Dubai’s position as a global centre for horse training.
