Dubai, De Kock and plenty of Dirhams

Kieran Packman / Timeform / 04 February 2010 / Leave a comment

The vast stand at Meydan

Kieran Packman reflects on the opening of the world's most hyped racecourse

"The facts show he had 13 winners at Nad Al Sheba in 2009 compared to only 4 in Britain and his horses hit the Meydan ground running last week with a double"

Meydan is either 'The World's Greatest Racecourse' or an over-hyped vanity project depending on whose opinion you've read in the week since its opening. Suspiciously, those peddling the former viewpoint seem largely to reside aboard racing's much discussed gravy train, next stop Dubai.

Ambivalence is rarely a good starting point for any article, but I have to admit that's my attitude towards the $2billion development. A few observations arose when watching the opening card though:

Mike De Kock - Firmly established as something of a Dubai specialist, his record in the Middle East versus his record in the UK raises derision from some and even suspicion from others. The facts show he had 13 winners at Nad Al Sheba in 2009 compared to only 4 in Britain and his horses hit the Meydan ground running last week with a double. Much as I love a conspiracy theory, this simply strikes me as sensible maths on De Kock's part. Take this week's Group 3 contest over nine furlongs, in which he has two runners engaged - the winner's purse is £74,074. To win that amount in the UK, you'd have to win a Group 3, then you'd have to go and win another one! (Darley Stakes at Newmarket and the Select Stakes at Goodwood both £36,900 to the winner last year).

Following De Kock blind is far from a path to riches, as it took 113 darts to find those 13 bulls last year, but the ability to have his team primed for the biggest pots is surely something to be admired.

Dubai racegoers - Just what are they cheering for? The fervent shouting home of any winner from the stands is one of the most bizarre spectacles in sport. Though their apparent enthusiasm for an animal covering ground mildly quicker than another one does offer some hope for the Mark Johnston school of thinking that racing can stand alone as a sport without the attraction of betting. I'm not convinced.

Tapeta - Something to be positive about, as though completely unrelated to polytrack and not without hiccup (Ahmed Ajtebi got acquainted with it close up after Desuetude lost his footing), its introduction is another step forward in terms of establishing a surface that is encountered globally. Pro-ride hasn't received entirely glowing reports in California and not just because, in some eyes, it led to the Europeans making hay at the Breeders' Cup, but that surface is close in many ways to polytrack and the Meydan surface is of similar ilk. A day when the best in the world can square up with no excuses is surely a day to relish and Tapeta appears to be a step in that direction.