2008 Trainee Views
March, Dubai
The idiom ‘Time Flies’ is really what defines Dubai the best from our perspective. It just feels like yesterday when we wrote our first trainee’s view for Dubai but now we are back in the Emerald Isle. Although it has been a week since the Dubai World Cup, none of us can actually believe that the three months we spent in Dubai are over and we are now missing the warm sunshine, as when we gaze outside our new training room in Kildangan all we see is rain, rain and more rain.
Plenty has happened in the seven weeks between the Indian Derby in Mumbai and the Dubai World Cup. We spent a lot of time on our Finance, Marketing, Human Resource and I.T. modules at the Emirates Academy of Hospitality Management. Everyone is happy with their grades but more importantly everyone, from the finance expert Gary to the I.T. expert Jimmy, is happy with what they have learnt. We already knew how important practical horsemanship skills are in the thoroughbred industry but now we appreciate that business skills play a critical a role it plays in successful careers also. We sincerely thank the professors and staff at the Academy and look forward to utilizing what we have learnt in our business plans and in our roles on graduation.
The 24th of March was just a normal Wednesday for most people, but it was a memorable day for our group as we got to meet His Highness Sheikh Mohammed at the Burj Al Arab for lunch. Although we did not spend as much time with him as we did with the professors, we all felt that we learnt as much as, if not more, than what we did in the classrooms. A wide range of topics were covered, from horsemanship to leadership, from Dubai’s traditional value to the city’s future development. His Highness passed on plenty of wisdom through different stories, and once again reminded us to believe in ourselves, and to take actions to realize our dreams. The hospitality was amazing and the spread was lavish to say the least. It was truly an amazing day for us and we all had been waiting for the opportunity to meet and greet His Highness. Also day, we had a talk by His Excellence Mohamed Ali Alabbar, the chairman of Emaar Properties. We then visited Burj Khalifa, the tallest building in the world. Although it was not yet fully open, we were fortunate enough to take the lift to the top of the building, which was legitimately named ‘At the Top’. The view from the balcony was absolutely breathtaking. We could see almost all of Dubai from the top and also Sheikh Mohammed’s vision. We also had a tour of Dubai Mall, the largest shopping mall in the world which fashion experts Jimmy and PJ knew better than even the tour guide.
We also had plenty of visits and the one that stood out was the visit to Godolphin Stables at Al Quoz. Simon Crisford and Saeed bin Suroor gave us the tour of the stables and different facilities, such as the swimming pool, vet room and the famous sea walker. We were amazed by the top class facilities, but even more amazed by Simon’s superb memory, as he gave us the details, from race records to pedigrees to the vet history of every horse when we walked through the barn. The horses looked fantastic and we are sure there will be plenty of winners in the summer, so there is a hint for all the punters! Racing surfaces have been one of the hottest topics in the industry and so it was in Dubai too as the traditional dirt had been replaced with the Tepeta, the invention of Mr. Michael Dickinson. Trainers, jockeys, owners and the grooms all had an opinion on it and we were given an opportunity to form our own. The track management team in Meydan allowed us to walk on both Tepeta and the turf track and answered different questions in the most professional manner. It was another rewarding visit for the crew.
The International Racing Carnival provided us a lot of quality racing. Brian, Gary and Sorrel won the Darley Flying Start tipping competition, which was hugely successful under the management of Mick. There was a three-week break at Meydan between the Super Thursday and the Dubai World Cup. The gap was filled in by racing at Jebel Ali and of course Cheltenham, which we were able to watch at a local Irish pub. The atmosphere in the pub was electric. Chance was introduced to jump racing by the English and Irish experts, which soon led to some interesting debates among the group. The Dubai World Cup Week was the highlight of the Dubai phase, if not the whole course to date. Our placements in different stables came to an end and in the two weeks before the World Cup we were assisting Falcon in various activities to facilitate the smooth running of the event. Falcon is a company set up to promote Dubai nationally and internationally and we were able to further practise our people skills as we were assigned to greet people from different parts of the world and mingle with them for a few days. We were all proud of being part of team Falcon.
Saturday was the D-Day; the grand opening ceremony of Meydan exceeded everyone’s expectations. More importantly, the exciting finishes produced by the top equine athletes, headed by Dubai World Cup winner Gloria De Campeao was beyond everyone’s imagination. The night ended with an amazing concert which featured Elton John and Santana. And as the concert finished, we said our final goodbye to the sunshine in Dubai and now we are back in Ireland and in the home stretch trying to put in our best foot forward to finish our last three months of the course with flying colours.
Bill Wong and Jimmy Unwala
