The Maktoums: From Bedouins to Billionaires (Part I)

Horseracingnation.com - Full Article

March 15 2016

Time does not wait in Dubai. It is an impatient measure of what is immediately past and what is going to happen next. And so it is for Sheikh Mohammed bin Rashid al Maktoum who dreamt the same dreams of his father, Sheikh Rashid…the dream of transforming Dubai from a sleepy seaport dependent on pearling into an international trading center sustaining his people into the future. Yet this Sheikh doesn’t just conjur; he plans and executes. He hires the brightest of talent and expects the best in performance. He operates, in part, from OPM (other people’s money)…investment dollars. And like any dream that requires a kind of myopia with the reality of investments amid world fiscal meltdowns and international terrorism, Sheikh Mohammed never wavered from his vision of Dubai. Much like the racehorse in flight, he grabs the bit and charges forward.

Of the things that Sheikh Mohammed treasures beyond Dubai’s future are his children and his horses. For this is a determined man, a champion endurance rider himself, who has consistently infused the pockets of bluegrass breeders at the Keeneland and Fasig-Tipton auctions in his quest for the Kentucky Derby roses and Breeders' Cup glory. The Maktoum brothers first set their sights on American bloodstock in 1980, spending $2.45 mil on primarily the Northern Dancer line (Levin/2002). “The Dancer” had been a relatively smallish colt but had proven heart and stamina on the American track in the 60s. As a sire, his progeny had proved adept on all track surfaces, particularly grass, which was the European, Asian and Australian surface of choice. The Dubai entourage was just getting warmed up when in ‘84 they spent close to $42 mil setting a record for single day sales at Fasig-Tipton. Continuing to make purchases into the present day with his majib, led by John Ferguson and some of the finest bloodstock minds in the racing industry, they are a force in international racing. Of note is the fact that 1980 was not the first sale attended by “Sheikh Mo” in Lexington. The previous year he flew commercially into Lexington incognito. Upon arrival he discovered that the area’s hotels were booked to capacity and ended up staying at a small motel down the road from Keeneland. The next morning, dressed to blend in, he hovered in the back of the sales theatre, careful not to draw the attention of the Irish bloodstock agents from the Curragh that might recognize him from British stakes racing where the Maktoum brothers had been making their mark (Wilson/2006).

What is unique about the Maktoum mentality is that they consider any loss as a lesson and a factor in the next victory….something to build upon...

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Emirates Airline backs 2016 Dubai Crown Prince Endurance Cup

Gulfnews.com - Full Article

Ride brings the curtain down on the week-long Festival t the Dubai International Endurance City

Published: 15:32 March 17, 2016 Gulf News
Staff Report

Dubai The CEI 3* Dubai Crown Prince Endurance ride, sponsored by Emirates Airline and organised by Dubai Equestrian Club (DEC), will be held on Saturday and will bring the curtain down on the week-long Dubai Crown Prince Endurance Festival at the Dubai International Endurance City (DIEC).

The festival, which commenced earlier this week included four separate endurance rides featuring the CEN Dubai Crown Prince Ride for Ladies on Monday, the CEN 100km Dubai Crown Prince Ride Restricted to Private Stables/Individuals on Tuesday and the CEN 120km Yamamah Endurance Cup for Mares on Wednesday.

The prestigious Dubai Crown Prince Endurance Ride will be held over 140km...

Read more here:
http://gulfnews.com/sport/horse-racing/emirates-airline-backs-2016-dubai-crown-prince-endurance-cup-1.1692320

FEI launches bid process for key events

FEI.org

15 Mar 2016

The bid process has opened today (15 March) for bid cities seeking to host the FEI European Championships 2019 and the FEI World Cup™ Finals in four disciplines for 2019 through to 2021.

Bids are invited for the FEI European Championships 2019 across all FEI Disciplines - Jumping, Dressage and Para-Equestrian Dressage, Eventing, Driving, Endurance, Vaulting and Reining – with the choice to host single or combined disciplines.

Applications for FEI World Cup™ Finals in Jumping, Dressage, Driving and Vaulting are open for 2019, 2020 and 2021, with bidders encouraged to host all four disciplines together.

Allocations will be made at the FEI Bureau meeting during the FEI General Assembly in November 2016.

“It is really exciting to launch the bid process for some of our key events”, FEI Secretary General Sabrina Ibáñez said today. “The process is designed to select candidates able to deliver sporting events of the highest quality and raise the profile of our sport.

“We are looking forward to receiving a wide range of bids from across Europe for the FEI European Championships 2019 and from cities around the world for the FEI World Cup Finals in 2019, 2020 and 2021 and expect applications from new cities as our sport continues to grow across the globe.”

The Bid Application & Questionnaire and Bid Guide is now available for download by interested parties here:
http://fei.org/news/fei-launches-bid-process-key-events

Four big UK endurance rides announced; prize-money only for best-conditioned

Horsetalk.co.nz - Full Article

Horsetalk.co.nz | 15 March 2016

Four world-class endurance rides will be held at Euston Park in Britain this northern summer, with a promise that the ability of horses to finish in the best condition possible will be a focus of the contests.

In a major move, it was announced that all prize-money would be allocated for the Best Condition Award.

A similar strategy has been used with considerable success this season at the Bou Thieb endurance venue in the United Arab Emirates, where awarding the lion’s share of prize-money to the best-conditioned horses has been a key component in local rules that have kept speeds down and drastically reduced injury and veterinary issues...

Read more: http://www.horsetalk.co.nz/2016/03/15/four-uk-endurance-ridesprize-money-best-conditioned/#ixzz42zGOyH5F

Endurance: Tales from the FEI’s X-Files

Horsetalk.co.nz - Full Article

Horsetalk.co.nz | 14 March 2016

Many years ago, when I was at the bottom of the pecking order in a newsroom, it was my job to sort the morning mail and distribute it to the reporters.

I worked with a lovely woman named Gaynor Loriman. Every month or so, Gaynor received a mailed newsletter from the South Korean embassy in New Zealand. It was addressed to Gay Nor Fori Mar.

Years later, when I was picture editor at another newspaper, I got my very own letter from the Korean embassy. In the days before digital pictures, they had kindly sent me an updated head-and-shoulders file photograph of their beloved president. I opened the cardboard cylinder and pulled out a poster, measuring 1 metre by 1.5 metres.

This is the same nation that went on to give us Psy and Gangnam Style. That, I guess, is just how the quirky South Koreans roll.

I have been pondering these past few days about how the FEI rolls, as we digest the two FEI Tribunal decisions relating to the series of rides in the United Arab Emirates (UAE) in which the results inexplicably mirrored those of previous races...

Read more: http://www.horsetalk.co.nz/2016/03/14/endurance-tales-fei-x-files/#ixzz42tRCANmz

Endurance in UAE has outpaced skills of trainers and riders, expert suggests

Horsetalk.co.nz - Full Article

Horsetalk.co.nz | 13 March 2016

Endurance in the United Arab Emirates (UAE) has grown faster than the skills of trainers and riders, an American specialist in the discipline who once worked as a trainer in the region told an international conference.

Emmett Ross told delegates to the inaugural International Bou Thieb Endurance Conference of the need for education to further the sport in the region.

Ross is a past chef d’equipe to the US Endurance Team and is shortly to take on the organization of the endurance section for the upcoming World Equestrian Games in Bromont, Canada.

Ross suggested that the intense pressure to win from many owners and the high levels of prize money had given rise to many of the region’s problems...

Read more: http://www.horsetalk.co.nz/2016/03/13/endurance-uae-outpaced-trainers-riders-expert/#ixzz42ndpjafN

UAE Suspensions: Return of the Bogi

Horse-canada.com - Full Article

Cuckson Report | March 11, 2016

News that Dr Hallvard Sommerseth has been suspended for a mere two years for his role in the submission of over 500 sets of bogus endurance results to the FEI makes you wonder exactly what heinous crime a senior figure in global equestrianism has to commit to get the possible lifetime FEI ban for fraud. I guess that holding up the FEI accounts department and demanding all the Longines money would result in little more than polite escort from the King Hussein building and a nice box of Swiss chocolates to eat on the way home.

Abdul Aziz Mohammed Yasin Sheikh, head of the endurance department at the UAE federation, is also suspended for just 18 months for his part in this fiasco. Both will also have to re-qualify as four-star judges before they are allowed to officiate again. Well, that’s an extra bummer for them – not.

To introduce some much needed levity when unravelling the Bogus Rides scam 12 months ago, my plucky helpers christened the perpetrators “the Bogi.”

Well, it looks like the Bogi will return soon. As they receive credit for time served already, Sommerseth can return to judging next year. He has no doubt been able to claim back his derisory 4,000 Swiss francs fine as a business expense from his employers...

Read more here:
http://www.horse-canada.com/cuckson-report/return-of-the-bogi/