Sheil Mohammed bin Rashid Al Maktoun President of the United Arab Emirates and Ruler of of Dubai quoted recently ‘Development is an ongoing process and the race for excellence has no finish line’ the same person as quoted in his book when initially pitched the idea of Dubai of a commercial and tourist hub from his counterparts, foreign ministers reacted by quoting ‘What will tourists find in Dubai? Who is going to come to the heat and humidity of Dubai? Then the rest joined in laughter’.

Perhaps this sets the backdrop as to the sheer growth trajectory the country has been on since the seventies and Godolphin which has shaped flat racing both in the UAE and Europe including Ireland.  This brief backdrop is important when now looking at the sheer worldwide interest in the Dubai World cup, as the saying goes difficult roads lead to beautiful destinations. 

The 2023 Dubai World Cup provided quiet the spectacle, with the Country fully out of Covid 19 lockdowns, this was a chance to showcase Dubai racing on the world stage. The purse of £10 Million on offer, Ushba Tesoro, a towering six-year-old secured a sensational victory for Japan outrunning Algiers,Bendoog in close pursuit. Alas, it was not to be a fairy tale win for Ed and Simon Crisford with jockey James Doyle donning the gold silks. 

The win was another display of Japan’s global ascendancy in horse racing, following the commanding victories of Derma Sotogake in the UAE Derby and Equinox in the Sheema Classic. This was Japan’s second success in the World Cup after Victoire Pisa’s triumph in 2011. 

Although Ushba Tesoro struggled to handle turf races in Japan, since switching to dirt the horse has been rejuvenated, winning local Group 1s in the Tokyo Daishoten and Kawasaki Kinen. The relatively unheralded contender has now added one of the sport’s greatest prizes to his haul under the desert sky and in an area which the foreign minsters all those year ago were quoted as saying ‘Who is going to come and visit a desert?’ with the stadium packed to the rafters. ‘Oh ye of little faith’.

Japan’s champion jockey, Yuga Kawada expressed his delight and as quoted ‘It was his first time running overseas, and there were queries with the travel and the different surface, but he was training quiet well here, and we knew the horse was in very good condition. It was just a matter of how he could keep his head in the race, and he did that very well today’.

Trainer Noboru Takagi who himself has enjoyed local Group 1 success in Japan with the likes of White Fugue and Sound True commented ‘ It is by far the greatest honour’ 

Ushba Tesoro the son of Orfevre, was given a close race by Emblem Road, the fast-finishing 2022 Saudi Cup winner, while the Crisfords’ Algiers tired in the closing stages, resulting in heartbreak for the well-fancied horse. Frankie Dettori must be disappointed with a seventh place finish having rode last year’s winner Country Grammar but albeit it has won a record-breaking third Dubai Turf on Lord North an hour earlier, with Dettori commenting ‘At least I got one’.

The accolades of the day went to Japan and Ushba Tesoro, who may now be considering a tilt for the Prix de l’Ard de Triomphe with their newest star.