Dubai World Cup Carnival, Super Saturday get richer

Thunder Snow's jockey Christophe Soumillon celebrates after winning the Dubai World Cup. - KT file

Next year's Dubai World Cup Carnival and Super Saturday will see an increase in prize money as well as an elevation in statuses, the Dubai Racing Club (DRC) confirmed.
The Dubai World Cup Carnival, which is the lead-up to the Dubai World Cup, the world's richest race meeting, will see 10 nights of top quality racing with a generous $12,740,000 prize purse on offer.
The Dubai World Cup Carnival will kick off the New Year with the first race meeting on January 2, 2020. And it will be an action packed 10 weeks of racing at the iconic Meydan Racecourse with the final meeting on February 27.
Next year's Super Saturday, which is a dress rehearsal for the $35 million Dubai World Cup, will take place on March 7.
Super Saturday will witness seven course and distance preps for the Dubai World Cup with contenders from all around the globe warming up for the big day at the end of March.
Next year's Dubai World Cup, a landmark 25th renewal, will be staged on March 28, with the pièce de résistance being the Group 1 Dubai World Cup, at $12 million, the richest race in the world.
As far as increase in prize money, the Group 2 Dubai City of Gold will get a $50,000 upgrade, meaning Super Saturday will rise up to $2.7 million.
Last season's Super Saturday witnessed three of the nine contenders going on to win on the big night, with Godolphin's Thunder Snow making history by winning the world's richest race back-to-back.
Thunder Snow, saddled by Emirati Saeed bin Suroor, the most successful trainer with an astonishing nine wins, had taken part in the $600,000 Group 1 Al Maktoum Challenge Round 3.
Meanwhile, the Group 2 $250,000 Singspiel Stakes gets an upgrade in prize money as well as status, while six $175,000 turf handicaps have been upgraded to Listed status (base rating of 95).
The Dubai Dash, to be run over 1000 metres and is a dress rehearsal for the fast-paced Group 2 $250,000 Meydan Sprint will be contested on February 20.
Blue Point, who waltzed into the history books by becoming only the second horse since 2003 to win two Group 1 races at Royal Ascot - the King's Stand Stakes and the Diamond Jubilee Stakes, had won the Meydan Sprint last season before going on to triumph in the Group 1 Al Quoz Sprint on World Cup night.
The Carnival will witness two Group 1s, 10 Group 2s, 10 Group 3s and 10 Listed races along with four Purebred Arabian races -three Group 1s and one Group 2.
james@khaleejtimes.com