LONDON: The Dubai Duty Free International Weekend at Newbury Racecourse on Friday and Saturday has attracted 17 high-class two-year-olds at the five-day confirmation stage.
The highlight of the weekend will be the Group 2 Dubai Duty Free Mill Reef Stakes, which will include Weatherbys Super Sprint winner Gubbass, the John and Thady Gosden-trained Dhabab, and three of the first four home in last month’s Group 2 Al-Basti Equiworld Dubai Gimcrack Stakes, namely Gis a Sub, Twilight Jet, and Fearby.
The Free Mill Reef Stakes is one of three group races on Saturday’s program backed by the weekend’s title sponsor this year celebrating 26 years of sponsorship at the Berkshire course.
Colm McLoughlin, executive vice chairman and chief executive officer of Dubai Duty Free, said: “We are delighted that many of the sport’s leading owners and trainers continue to support the feature races at the Dubai International Weekend providing us with a valuable platform for the promotion of our brand.
“We wish them all the very best as we look forward once again to enjoying top-quality racing at Newbury.”
Entries for the Group 3 Dubai International Airport World Trophy are headed by Khaadem who carries the Shadwell Estate Co. colors made famous by the late Sheikh Hamdan bin Rashid Al-Maktoum.
Khadeem was last seen winning the Listed Scarborough Stakes at Doncaster over the same five furlongs trip earlier this month for trainer Charlie Hills and is likely to be joined in the line-up by Tis Marvellous, winner of the Shergar Cup Dash at Ascot in August, and the British Queen’s horse King’s Lynn who won the Listed Achilles Stakes at Haydock in May.
Shadwell also look set to be represented in the Group 3 Legacy Cup with Al-Aasy who returns to Newbury having won the Group 3 Finest Surprise Stakes in April and the Group 3 Aston Park Stakes at the same venue the following month.
Friday’s card is headlined by the Dubai Duty Free Cup, a Listed contest for three-year-olds and over, run over a distance of seven furlongs. Among the entries are Al-Suhail and D’Bai for trainer Charlie Appleby who will be hoping to continue his run of big race successes for Godolphin after winning last Saturday’s St Leger, the final Classic of the season, with the Irish Derby winner Hurricane Lane.
The Dubai Duty Free International Weekend concludes the 2021 racing season for Dubai Duty Free in Britain and Ireland which began with the Free Spring Trials Weekend at Newbury in April ahead of the Free Irish Derby at The Curragh in June before heading to Ascot for this year’s renewal of the Dubai Duty Free Shergar Cup last month.
