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Fashion Friday aimed at attracting the best horses to Dubai

Glittering nine-race card offers Dh 10million in prize money alongside a best-dressed fashion competition

The new-look Dubai World Cup Carnival continues its evolution with the launch of Fashion Friday, the second of three major, themed meetings that are aimed at enhancing the overall status of the popular racing festival and attracting more horses and connections from around the GCC and the world.

As its name suggests, tomorrow’s Fashion Friday race meeting at Meydan racecourse will celebrate all that is great about high-calibre flat racing with a showcase of fashion and glamour which sets it apart from other sports events in the county.

“Fashion Friday is at the heart of the restructuring that the Dubai Racing Club is implementing during the season to give it a new look,” said Major General Dr. Mohammed Essa Al Adhab, Board Member and Executive Director of Dubai Racing Club.

“We decided to have a high-quality race meeting early in the season to give connections from around the region and world the chance to come to Meydan to participate in the prestigious event.

“The majority of the races on our themed Fashion Friday meeting are group races which means that the best horses, trainers and riders were encouraged to compete in Dubai,” Al Adhab added.

“In addition, we have an attractive Dh 10 million on offer across the nine races which sends out a message that Dubai, and the Dubai Racing Club, appreciate the efforts of racing connections to bring horses to Dubai by rewarding them suitably.

“We are also encouraging attendees to come racing and make a style statement by contributing to the overall elegance of the occasion with the qualifying rounds of the Fashion Stakes best-dressed competition,” Al Adhab said.

“On top of that, we are doing a lot of family events to give back to the community and the best way to do that is to combine our prestigious races with high fashion by hosting the preliminary rounds for the Dubai World Cup Fashion Stakes.”

Erwan Charpy former champion trainer and Racing Advisor to the Dubai Racing Club, announced the details of the new Bonus Scheme for nine qualifying races for the Dubai World Cup which is set to start on Fashion Friday race night with

three feature races – the Al Maktoum Challenge, Jebel Hatta and UAE 2000 Guineas.

“This is the first time we have such a high-quality card so early in the season,” said Charpy.

“It is part of revamping to further establish Dubai on the racing calendar.

“We wanted to attract big horses and international runners in Dubai earlier than in the past. We have the first of three bonus races as well where the winner will receive an invitation to run in the corresponding race on Dubai World Cup night and if any horse wins both races the winning connections will receive an additional 10 per cent of the prize money on the big night.”