2009 Trainee Views

January, Dubai 2011

Having spent the last four months immersing ourselves in the Australian racing industry we set off from the Hunter Valley for some much-welcomed downtime over Christmas. While half the group returned straight home for the holidays a few of us made a side-trip to the Orient to experience the weekend of world-class racing that Hong Kong has to offer. Courtesy of the generous invitation of Mark Player of the Hong Kong Jockey Club Ludovic, Vicky, Scott, Chris, Jennifer and Veer were given an intimate view of Hong Kong and the Cathy Pacific Hong Kong International Races.

The impressive hospitality of the Hong Kong Jockey Club was on display as they welcomed us along with the international racing community to one of the biggest horse racing events of the year. Like the major players of the industry we were greeted at the airport and then taken to our accommodation at the Hyatt Sha Tin.

The next morning we enjoyed “Breakfast with the Stars” while watching the morning workouts of such standouts as Mastery and Snow Fairy. We also caught up with Greg Carpenter, Chief Handicapper for the Victoria Racing Club, whom we had met during our time in Melbourne. He introduced us to the members of the World Handicapping Panel where we had a spirited discussion about the end-of-the-year international ratings.

We saw some of the best facilities in the world, from air-conditioned double story stables to the HKJC equine hospital. The racing itself was some of the most competitive we have seen. Vicky and Scott were fortunate enough to extend their exploration of the Orient racing in a trip to Singapore on their way home to New Zealand.

Next stop Dubai. Here we reach the pinnacle of the course, the sixteenth running of the Dubai World Cup in Sheikh Mohammed’s homeland.

Our first lecture was on Arab culture given by Emirates Academy lecturer Shaun Harper. The talk enlightened us to some of the mystery of this oasis in the Middle East desert. Everyone was amazed by the pictures of Sheikh Zayed Road taken thirty years ago: from three buildings standing in the desert to now, with the city centre with all kinds of modern architectures, Dubai has come a long way due to the incomparable vision of His Highness Sheikh Mohammed. We also enjoyed a mosque visit, a local souk and city tour during our first week.

Like everything in Dubai, the racing facilities are top class. We have had wonderful visits to the stables of Dhruba Selvaratnam in Jebel Ali Racecourse, Doug Watson and John Hyde in Al Quoz, Erwan Charpy and the International Stables in Meydan and Satish Seemar’s Zabeel Stable. We heard different opinions on Michael Dickinson’s Tapeta track versus a traditional dirt track and learnt training regimes adapted to Dubai’s hot climate. We were also lucky enough to meet the legendary “horse whisperer” Monty Roberts who generously spent a few hours answering questions from each of us in Satish Seemar’s office. We also meet Dr. Jami Whiting at Dubai Equine Hospital.

The Meydan project has attracted everyone’s attention in the racing world. We were given a detailed presentation and a tour by Meydan CEO Mr. Frank Gabriel and Malaysia TAK Group consultant Mr.Teo A. Khing. We also had a virtual tour of a future equine city at TianJin city in China, which is a new cooperative project between Dubai and China.

We started our placements in Dubai in the early mornings of our second week. Besides placements at Falcon and Associates, Godolphin, International Stable, Satish Seemar, John Hyde, Dhruba Selvaratnam, Erwan Charpy and Mike De Kock, some trainees are completing their placements with new organizations and individuals Rob Stevenson, a farrier who specializes in Quix Shoes, and with the Dubai Racing Channel. In the afternoons, we have lectures at the Emirates Academy of Hospitality Management developing our business skills, which will guide us through the production of our final business plans.

As we enter 2011, our group has 60 percent of the course already behind us. We are all amazed at how time flies. It’s remarkable to think that the first year trainees are beginning their farriery course this week in Kentucky. It seems like only yesterday that we were freezing our fingers off at the January sale at Keeneland. Now, we’re sunning ourselves in Dubai and appreciating every moment we have left on the course!

We wish everyone good luck in 2011!

Jennifer Zhou and Veer Vikram Singh Tomar