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2008 Trainee Views

February, Dubai

Someone very correctly said that ‘Seeing is Believing’. Although we had been given an introduction about Dubai by Joe Osborne and Emma Ridley in Australia, our experiences in HH Sheikh Mohammed’s home country have been beyond our imagination. Thanks to the efforts of the team at The Emirates Academy, we were able to experience the Arab culture to the fullest during our first week in Dubai. After Shuan Harper’s informative lecture about Arab culture and customs, we had a city tour, which included visiting the local Mosque and the local souk, where Brian, Mick and Charlie started a spending spree by purchasing watches and a magic carpet.  We also visited the Burj Al Arab, the famous landmark hotel of Dubai, the interiors of which were breathtaking. Trips to the Mall of Dubai, the biggest shopping mall in the world, and The Mall of the Emirates saw fashion guru Jimmy Unwala in full swing checking out the best of what Dubai has to offer. We were also lucky to be here in time to witness the opening ceremony of the Burj Khalifa, the tallest building in the world and this, along with stable visits, completed our amazing and unbelievable first week in Dubai.

The racing facilities in Dubai are top notch and comparable to the very best that we have seen the world over. We had some fantastic visits to the stables of Erwan Charpy, Dhruba Selvaratnam, Doug Watson, Musabah Al Muhairi, Herman Brown, Mike De Kock, Satish Seemar and John Hyde, which were arranged by Ajay Anne, a DFS graduate and our coordinator in Dubai. During the visits, there were some great debates about the use of different training facilities, such as treadmills versus swimming pools, the difference between the Tepeta and traditional dirt training track, and different feeding regimes. Other visits included the Dubai Equine Hospital, the Zabeel Feed Mill and the Camel Reproduction Centre while lectures about equine nutrition and handicapping were given by Dr Rensia de Wet and Melvin Day.

While we spend our mornings in different stables to further develop our practical horsemanship skills, we are in the classroom in the afternoons developing our business skills. The lectures we get include Marketing, Information Technology, Human Recourses and Finance. Gary, a graduate of Business Studies, Sorrel, a professional accountant, and Meagan, the marketing expert, are leading the field, the remainder of which contains graduates of Classics, Criminology, Animal Sciences and Political Sciences. We are all enjoying the classes and working on several projects and presentations.

The Meydan project has attracted the closest attention of every racing enthusiast since its announcement in March 2007. We were given a detailed presentation and a tour by Frank Gabriel, the CEO of the Dubai Racing Club, and Adrian Lim, one of the key members behind the project. We have been fortunate enough to watch New Approach’s Irish Champion Stakes, Rachael Alexandra’s Oaks, and Shocking’s Melbourne Cup victory in flesh but seeing the races at the International Racing Carnival at Meydan is like something out of this world.  While we are shadowing the stewards at different positions, such as the weighing room, the paddock, the starting gates, etc at race nights, the Learning Committee in the group has ensured that every race is counted for by holding a tipping competition which was the brainchild of Mick. Brian is the current leader at the moment and it comes as no surprise considering that he is very well-bred for the purpose but others are not many lengths behind. We also had a taste of racing at Jebel Ali, the home track of Dhruba Selvaratnam, which saw entertainment in the paddock between races in which Garfield, Tigger, Mickey and Minnie danced to the tune of local music and it was something that was most unique.
Outside working hours, we keep exploring this amazing city. Charlie took part in the ten kilometre run on the Dubai marathon day while Mick had an amazing experience in the swimming pool at the Academy with Brian, the ‘butterfly’ expert. Evenings after class are spent playing basketball as everyone is pumped up with the Kentucky Wildcats playing some amazing basketball this year much to Cardinals supporter PJ’s distress. Wildcat supporters Billy and Jimmy have popularized the quote ‘Heard the Cats are No.1 this year’. We celebrated Chance’s birthday at Mall of Emirates Ski Dubai. Meagan and Bill, who are from cities that have never seen snow, were in awe of an indoor Skiing facility. The day ended with a delicious dinner at the Madinat Souk. We all have been trying various cuisines in Dubai which range from local Arabic and Indian restaurants to the famous Friday Brunches!

Jimmy Unwala organised for the DFS crew to travel to India for the McDowell Signature Indian Derby in Febuary, the first group of trainees ever to make this trip. The two day trip was a great cultural experience for the trainees as they not only got to see the best event on the Indian racing calendar but also got to see a traditional Parsi marriage of Jimmy’s cousin. The crew got to see history in the making when Jacqueline won the Derby and became the first horse ever to win the Indian 1000 Guineas, 2000 Guineas, Oaks and Derby. On arrival Dr. Cyrus Poonawalla hosted dinner for the trainees at his residence where everyone got to interact with him and discuss Indian breeding and racing. A special thanks to Capt. Jamshed Appoo who organized the hotel stay, the best seats in the house and paddock access for all trainees at the races. While we all knew that PJ had a celebrity hidden in him somewhere it came out on Derby Day when he was elected as Mr. Bold and Beautiful by none other than Miss India. The trainees were interviewed about their Darley Flying Start experiences by various TV networks and reporters during the course of the day. The evening was spent attending the wedding which saw the crew enjoy some traditional food and customs. Some found the food a bit hot to handle while professionals like Chance and Gary cleaned their plates. The trip was a great success and hospitality shown by Jimmy’s family ensured that everyone had an amazing experience which will hopefully see the Indian Derby become a regular feature of the Flying Start trainees’ extracurricular itinerary in the future.

Our time in Dubai so far has been truly fantastic and everyone is gearing up for the Dubai World Cup to be held at Meydan next month. We shall keep you posted.

Bill Wong and Jimmy Unwala


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